Market opportunity: tennis balls

Here’s a market to target during the COVID-19 crisis: tennis.

It’s a great way to exercise while maintaining social distance. Plus, you can play fetch with your dogs to keep them active too.

Based in Greenville, NC, SmartPlayUSA (asi / 87800) has been printing tennis balls for over 25 years. As the official logo designer of Wilson Sporting Goods, Penn Racquet Sports and the United States Tennis Association, the supplier has supplied equipment for most of the tournaments you see on TV.

At the age of 68, Jim Palumbo was president of SmartPlayUSA, considers itself the last of the Mohicans on the tennis market. The consultant recently spoke to Palumbo about the popularity of tennis during the coronavirus pandemic and which end-user distributors should target.

Question: How is the tennis market doing now?
Jim Palumbo: Well, there are actually two markets for tennis balls: the tournament market for professionals and non-professional players and the new pet products market. I created the new pet tennis ball market 20 years ago when I got the smart idea to put brand logos on tennis balls that dogs use. It started and I started selling them to PetSmart, Petco, veterinary hospitals and pet groomers. It has now become the majority of my company.

Question: Is there a difference between pet balls and balls used in tennis matches?
JP: It’s basically the same rubber ball, but the pet ball is not pressured. The felt on a regular tennis ball is abrasive, while pet balls are made with a non-abrasive felt with an extra thick rubber core that is harder to split. When you see companies advertising that their hard balls are made for big dogs, that’s totally nonsense. That means they put clay in it because it is cheaper than rubber. When you heat clay, it hardens.

Question: How has sales been this year? I’m curious because tennis is a great outdoor activity during the pandemic, and it really is a micro market for distributors to focus on.
JP: Tournament balls fell from the ground because everything was canceled. As for the canned, pressurized tennis balls with logo, sales have started to return in recent weeks. Pet ball sales also declined, but they have returned to 20% to 25% where they were before the pandemic. People just stopped going out in the spring. Frankly, sales of tennis balls have generally declined in the past three years.

Q: Why is that so?
JP: I really feel that the major online distributors working with certain major suppliers are ruining the industry in terms of quality and ultimately sales. Total demand for tennis balls has declined in recent years due to poor printing. These big suppliers are screen printing logos in the ball, like you would a T-shirt. Well, the ink is right on the felt and you can get it off with your fingernail. Screen printing your tennis ball is like painting your house with watercolors. The only way to get a clear, clean, high ink logo printed on a tennis ball is by gravure. It’s not cheap and you don’t get a one-day turnaround, but it’s the only real way to do it.

What has happened is that these major suppliers are getting the balls from China or collaborating with an ecommerce site. They advertise a shiny tennis ball with logo, but that’s not what will show up at your door. If you have a bad experience, you will never order the product again. As for Im, the internet has harmed the industry. It used to be made from smaller suppliers who specialize in an item. Now that is taken over by major distributors who sell via the internet to unsuspecting users. It’s like when Walmart enters a neighborhood and smaller mom-and-pops go bankrupt. All you have left is clutter.

We must inform customers about this. It’s daunting to see companies without a passion for the product just pushing it to get sales. When Wilson calls me to ask for advice, it’s an elusive thing you can’t count on. Our goal should be to release a good product the first time to establish a trusted relationship with distributors.

Question: How did you get so well informed about tennis balls?
JP: Tennis is my passion. I am the man in the United States; I am the last of the Mohicans. I’ve been in every factory. Wilson actually sends people to my factory to experiment. I didn’t even play tennis until college. I received my financial degree from Syracuse and a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Rutgers.

One day, during the football practice, the tennis team came over for their own training. I saw this scrawny kid holding hands with his girlfriend. He only practiced for an hour and then left. He had the same grant as me! So I picked up a tennis racket and that has kept me in good physical shape all these years.