by Rachel Witkowski
Staff Writer
Three stores have become one and Discount Pro Wear owner Harold Fine now has the biggest store at the Landing.
Discount Pro Wear has expanded into 10,000 square feet housing hundreds of sports gear items including the new Gators basketball national championship line.
The new store opened earlier this week after moving from the space next to it — a 3,400 square-foot facility. Fine has operated stores at the Landing for nine years including one sports store, an autograph sports store and a tourist store/gift shop. All three are now in one unit with a 10-year lease.
“I love it, once the move is done,” said Fine. “We liked the way the store turned out.”
With the help of four female employees, Fine said he laid out his plans and they did the rest.
“I’ve been asked three times now what designer I hired,” he said. “They’re all smart, they’re all pretty, and they have excellent personalities and they all know sports.”
Fine said he acquired the space three weeks ago and started moving in last week. Tile was placed in the aisles along with an aspen turf carpet throughout the store and the poles were painted colors of different college and professional teams. There is also a round room specifically for Jaguar items and a Florida tourist section with large pink flamingos and shark teeth necklaces. The back wall by a second glass register is covered with flags and hats that Fine has collected from almost all the teams in Jacksonville dating back to an autographed hat from the Red Caps baseball team, which was established in 1938, according to Fine.
Even though the store has gained an additional 6,600 square feet, Fine said he didn’t add anything to his inventory other than the Gator championship line. And some of the products are still in boxes at the back of the store. Fine said he remembers walking into his first sports store across from the current one with 1,300 square feet and wondering how he would ever fill the space.
“Now we’re scuffling for space in here,” he said.
With an increase in space, the rental fee also increased by about 20 percent from the total amount of the previous three stores, according to Fine. But during the first five days the store has been open, Fine said sales have gone up about 125 percent per day, which he also credits to the Gators’ championship.
“I have always been a Gator fan, win or lose,” he said. “It would be all right with me if we had a triple national championship this year.”
The store’s “bread and butter” is the 10,000 hats it currently sells, he said. Once fully stocked, it will carry about 12,000 hats. Gator and Jaguar fans are Fine’s most dedicated customers and about 65 percent of his customers are female, he said.
“Females who like sports are more avid fans than guys,” he said.
But, Fine’s most avid fans are his female employees.
“The guys know not to come in here without knowing their sports,” he said. “If you want to talk sports, they’ll talk sports. If you want to argue sports, they’ll argue it.”
And Fine’s employees are dedicated to their job. Fine said they were building the store from 9 a.m.-midnight and he expects it to be complete in about four days.
“I love it,” said Ashley Guinn, who has worked at Discount Pro Wear for four years. “And all our regulars love it, too.”