Sports Stop

What Sports Stop does

Sports Stop is a family-owned custom apparel and decoration business founded in 1982 in Mason, Michigan (originally operating as Mid-Michigan Athletics and renamed in 1986). The company provides screen printing, embroidery, laser engraving, and vinyl lettering services for schools, sports teams, small businesses, and individual customers across Mid-Michigan. Sports Stop also operates a wholesale screen printing and embroidery division (Contractors Printing) and holds a Crown Trophy franchise (#70), extending the offering into awards and recognition products.

The business serves customers through three channels: three physical retail locations in Mason, Grand Ledge, and St. Johns, Michigan; a wholesale division producing decorated apparel for B2B customers; and an online Team Store platform (powered by Inksoft) that supports 50+ active recurring accounts. The company is also an ASI dealer, giving it access to a catalog of more than 750,000 promotional products. Production equipment and techniques are conventional for the custom apparel industry: screen presses for ink-based decoration, multi-head embroidery machines for stitched applications, CO2 or fiber laser engravers for hard goods, and vinyl cutters for cut-letter graphics.

Revenue is generated through per-order pricing on decorated goods, team store revenue shares with schools and clubs, wholesale contract pricing through Contractors Printing, and trophy/award sales via the Crown Trophy franchise. Pricing varies by decoration method, garment quality, and order quantity; team store accounts provide recurring seasonal volume. The company is privately held, has 11-50 employees, and was purchased by Kevin and Vicki Schafer in February 2013. No funding rounds, acquisitions beyond the Crown Trophy franchise, or material M&A activity have been disclosed.

Name

Sports Stop

Legal name

The Sports Stop

Website

https://sportsstop.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

1982

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Family-owned custom apparel and decoration business founded in 1982 serving Mid-Michigan schools, sports teams, and businesses through three retail locations, a wholesale printing division, and a team store platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Custom Apparel and Decoration Services

NAICS

Sporting Goods Retailers (45911), Sporting and Athletic Goods Manufacturing (33992)

SIC

Sporting & Athletic Goods, Nec (3949), Apparel & Other Finishd Prods Of Fabrics & Similar Matl (2300), Coating, Engraving & Allied Services (3470)

akta.pro primary industry

Team & School Athletic Uniforms Retail (CRAMACAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Team Sports & On-Field Performance Apparel (CRAAAEAE), Sports Collectibles, Fan Gear & Licensed Merchandise Retail (CRAMABAO)

Keywords

• Custom apparel printing
• Screen printing services
• Custom embroidery services
• Promotional products
• Team apparel stores

Headquarters

HQ city

Mason

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Custom Apparel Orders: Custom-designed apparel and merchandise produced to order for teams, businesses, organizations, and individuals. Includes screen printing, embroidery, and vinyl lettering services.
2. Retail Sales: In-store retail sales of pre-made sports apparel, accessories, and merchandise for local school teams and community organizations.
3. Team Store Revenue Share: Organizations set up Team Stores and purchase items at wholesale price, then set their own retail prices. Sports Stop handles production and pays organizations after orders are complete, taking wholesale prices for revenue.
4. Crown Trophy Awards: Trophies, medals, awards, and plaques through Crown Trophy franchise serving leagues, organizations, corporations, and educational institutions.
5. ASI Promotional Products: Access to over 750,000 promotional and specialty products as an ASI dealer. Products include hats, bags, and customized merchandise for fundraising, employee gifts, and brand awareness.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sports Stop is a family-owned custom apparel decoration and team merchandise business offering in-house screen printing, custom embroidery, laser engraving, and vinyl lettering services applied to apparel, accessories, signs, and awards. The company serves local schools, youth and adult sports teams, businesses, and nonprofits through three Michigan retail locations, an online Team Store platform, and a wholesale production division called Contractors Printing.

Product overview

Sports Stop is a family-owned custom apparel and decoration business founded in 1982, operating as a single-location-to-multi-location retail and wholesale operation. The core offering consists of custom screen printing and embroidery services applied to apparel (t-shirts, polos, hoodies, uniforms, varsity jackets) and accessories. The company operates a Team Stores e-commerce platform allowing organizations to create branded online stores for fundraisers and merchandise sales. Additional product lines include Crown Trophy (awards, medals, plaques), ASI Promotional Products (750,000+ logoed merchandise items), custom signs/banners/vehicle decals, and laser engraving services. The business operates three retail locations in Michigan (Mason, Grand Ledge, St. Johns) and maintains a wholesale division called Contractors Printing. Services are positioned as one-stop-shop solutions for teams, schools, businesses, and community organizations with over 40 years of experience.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Contractors Printing: Wholesale Screen/Silk Printing operation
• Crown Trophy
• ASI Promotional Products

Products and services

• Custom Screen Printing

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Crown TrophycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorCrown Trophy is a nationally known franchise that Sports Stop operates as a locally owned store. The Schafer family has successfully served the Grand Ledge and surrounding communities for many years as Crown Trophy store #70. Crown Trophy has over 40 years of experience providing award and recognition items to leagues, organizations, corporations, and educational institutions.
• ASI (Advertising Specialty Institute)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSports Stop is an ASI dealer of promotional products, providing access to over 750,000 promotional and specialty items. Products include logoed hats, t-shirts, bags, and other traveling advertisements for brand awareness. The partnership enables Sports Stop to offer thousands of customized promotional items for fundraising, employee gifts, and customer appreciation.
• InksoftcoreTechnology or IntegrationInksoft powers the online Team Store platform used by Sports Stop to create no-cost web stores for organizations. The platform allows customers to design their own stores, select products, and purchase online while Sports Stop handles production and fulfillment.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves12 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• OrderMyGear: OrderMyGear is a team store e-commerce platform that lets teams, schools, and organizations launch custom online stores for branded merchandise—directly analogous to Sports Stop's Inksoft-powered Team Stores concept.
• Underground Printing: Underground Printing is a custom apparel and screen printing company focused on college, school, and team merchandise with multiple retail locations. Directly comparable to Sports Stop in team/school apparel, custom decoration, and mixed retail/wholesale model.
• CustomInk: CustomInk is a national custom apparel platform specializing in decorated t-shirts, team uniforms, and spirit wear for groups, schools, and businesses. Directly comparable to Sports Stop's custom screen printing and team store offerings, with far greater digital tooling and scale.
• RushOrderTees: RushOrderTees is a custom screen printing and embroidery provider with no-minimum order policies serving teams, schools, and businesses. Closely comparable to Sports Stop across custom apparel production, online ordering, and team/group customers.
• LogoSportswear: LogoSportswear is an online custom team uniform and spirit wear retailer serving clubs, schools, and leagues. Highly comparable product line and customer base to Sports Stop's uniforms and team apparel business, with national digital scale.
• Crown Trophy (other franchise locations): Crown Trophy is a national awards and recognition franchise; Sports Stop operates the Grand Ledge (#70) location. Other Crown Trophy franchisees sell identical trophy, medal, and plaque assortments to leagues, schools, and corporations—the same end customer set.

Broad incumbents

• Riddell: Riddell is a leading team athletic equipment and uniform manufacturer serving football and other team sports. Overlaps with Sports Stop's team uniform and equipment supply business for schools and youth leagues, though at much larger scale.
• 4imprint: 4imprint is a leading promotional products distributor with a catalog exceeding 1 million items, comparable to Sports Stop's ASI dealer access (750K+ items). Both serve corporate gifting, employee apparel, and brand-awareness merchandise markets.
• Cimpress / Vistaprint: Cimpress (parent of Vistaprint) is a large-scale custom printing and promotional products platform serving SMBs globally. Overlaps with Sports Stop across custom apparel, signage/graphics, and promotional product categories, but at vastly greater scale and digital reach.
• BSN Sports: BSN Sports is a large team sporting goods and uniform distributor serving schools, leagues, and athletic programs. Comparable to Sports Stop in youth/high school team apparel, but at wholesale scale and broader product breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xinstagram.com/sports_stop_mi
• Facebookfacebook.com/Sports-Stop-Sportswear-482598498506874
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sports-stop-sportswear
• Instagraminstagram.com/sports_stop_mi

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sports Stop