If you make your way to the back of Al’s Sporting Goods in Wilmington, you’ll still find a window where you can get cash for gold jewelry and diamonds. It’s a nod to Al’s 1935 origins, when the business was a pawnshop.
It’s much more than that today. As the Hart family welcomes its third generation to the business and continues to cultivate new ways to serve the area’s sportsmen and women and teams, it is a fixture in the community and provides customers with great service.
“I think our biggest strength is that we keep changing with the needs of the public,” said Sheri Hart, whose husband Bob co-owns the business with his father, Stan. “As trends change, we change. Now that our son, Shane, who is 24, is in the business, we have some new ideas.”
Business Briefing
Location: 200 N. Market St., Wilmington, DE 19801
Founded: 1935
Industry: Retail
Generations: 3
Website: www.alssportinggoods.net
Facebook: Al’s Sporting Goods
Al’s has added new lines to keep current, including Oakley sunglasses, Yeti coolers and Uggs boots. It also has a large Under Armour clientele, including eight Delaware high schools with UA contracts that buy from the store.
It’s important to change, but for Stan Hart, who started as a stock boy at Al’s in ’35, it’s all right to have some of the old standards in place.
He still comes to work Monday-through-Friday for five or six hours and is a link what has helped Al’s stay successful.
“We know our customers,” Sheri Hart said. “That helps with our longevity.”
