8 decades on, despite thin clientele, sports store bats on

CHENNAI: The fading letters on a grimy beige background may be a reflection of the diminishing interest in sport but 'Sharman & Co', which began catering to the needs of sports enthusiasts since before Independence, soldiers on. Of all the sports equipment shops that dot Wallajah Road all the way up to the M A Chidambaram stadium, it is arguably the oldest still in business.
The store, which was established in the 1930s and which changed hands in 1982, excelled during the boom after the famous 1983 World Cup win when cricket bats sold more than hot cakes, and is riding a bust when sporting and shopping activities are limited to five-inch smartphone screens.
“We did not have the stock to cater to the demand then,” recalls G Krishnamoorthy, the store’s manager for 33 years. “Sporting equipment used to come from Jalandhar and Meerut. It took time for consignments to arrive. I still remember the rush of cricket enthusiasts at this shop,” he r r says. It continued for the next l two years, when India won t World Championship of e Cricket in Australia, and business was brisk till 2000.
Former Test player C D Gopinath remembers going to the shop. “Our first choice was Uberoi (which was next to the LIC Building but has shut now). If we didn’t get our gear there, we went to Sharman,” he says.
Those memories are now confined to worn-out bills.
With gaming consoles and smartphones keeping youth busy, outdoor sport is no more a regular leisure activity. “The sports business started declining 2010 onwards. Equipment is expensive and people don’t play too much,” says Krishnamoorthy. Incidentally, the Android revolution in India started around the same time. The sporadic business today is limited to, Krishnamoorthy says, “craze sale“ and “holiday sale“. “During Wimbledon children come for racquets. If Saina Nehwal wins a tournament, techies buy badminton racquets,“ he says. Such is the slump that cricket sales, always the bulk of the business, have taken a hit. Krishnamoorthy says youngsters now prefer tennis-ball cricket. “With no pads, gloves or helmets required, there is no sale of the equipment through which we made most of our profits,“ he says. Also the sports goods business is shifting towards fitness equipment like dumbbells and treadmills which have dedicated chains.
The change in the sporting culture apart, the boom in e-commerce has taken a toll.
After accounting for freight charges, margin of profit and costs of running a shop, retail price of goods shoot up.
“Manufacturers prefer selling online . If they supply us they have to wait for the money. But online they get paid instantly. We can never match that,” Krishnamoorthy says.
“Customers come here, bargain hard and then leave.”