Brett Heffes, CEO of Winmark, discusses the growth of Play It Again Sports, capital allocation strategies, and building an everlasting business. Learn about the success of Winmark, a franchisor owning Plato’s Closet, Play It Again Sports, and Once Upon a Child.
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Quick takeaways
Windmark CEO Brett Heffes values community and legacy in franchise businesses, focusing on long-term success and value creation.
Play It Again Sports saw sales growth during the pandemic through multi-channel marketing strategies and strategic partnerships, driving brand awareness and customer engagement.
Deep dives
Brett Heathas' Perspective on Windmark's Long-Term Success
Windmark CEO, Brett Heathas, emphasizes the legacy aspect of franchise businesses, highlighting the focus on managing for the community and future generations. He discusses Windmark's efficiency, outperforming major companies like Salesforce and Procter & Gamble. The company's emphasis on long-term success and value creation makes it an attractive proposition for stock investors. Heathas delves into the company's first-quarter performance, describing it as 'adequate' and explains the rationale behind this assessment.
Challenges and Growth Strategies for Style Encore
Heathas delves into the challenges faced by Style Encore, Windmark's concept that struggles with store growth. He acknowledges self-inflicted issues such as awarding multiple agreements at once and a deviation from the core value message. Despite these challenges, he notes the financial viability of Style Encore and emphasizes the potential of men's products to drive growth. The company aims to address these issues and achieve store growth in the coming years.
Success Story of Play It Again Sports
Heathas shares the success story of Play It Again Sports, highlighting a turnaround in store performance and positive growth trends. The company saw significant sales growth during the pandemic, driven by fitness and team sports. Play It Again Sports' implementation of multi-channel marketing and strategic sponsorships contributed to increased brand awareness and customer engagement. The focus on brand partnerships and marketing initiatives has been instrumental in driving sales and store count growth.
Capital Allocation Strategy and Business Alignment
Heathas discusses Windmark's philosophy on capital allocation, emphasizing the focus on running a successful business to generate capital for allocation. The company believes in maintaining modest debt levels and avoiding excess cash holdings. Heathas explains the decision-making process regarding stock buybacks and dividends, aiming to create long-term value for shareholders. He also emphasizes the importance of aligning the interests of franchisees, shareholders, and employees towards the common goal of sustained business success.
Winmark doesn’t make a lot of noise. The business speaks for itself.
Winmark, a resale is a franchisor that owns concepts including Plato’s Closet, Play It Again Sports, and Once Upon a Child. The company has tripled the return of the S&P 500 since its IPO, and delivered an annualized return of 18% over the past five years.
So, investors may want to pay attention to it.
Motley Fool Canada’s Jim Gillies caught up with Winmark CEO, Brett Heffes for a conversation about:
- The growth of Play It Again Sports and a slowdown at Music Go Round.