In his 18th year running a small sports-memorabilia store on the North Side, John Arcand of Big John & Little Debby’s Collectibles reported his best financial year ever in 2006. And he’s expecting to improve on that financial success in 2007.
Part of the credit, he’s proud to say, goes to other area card shops.
Arcand and several other area shop owners met last August to form the Northern Illinois Hobby Retailers Association. Six local shop owners are now the group’s original six, a co-op association that has since expanded to include 13 local card shops.
“It’s not going to be a money-maker, but it sure should be a money-saver,” Arcand said. “The only cost to shop owners is to maintain a Web site,” which will include info about the association, all shops (and links to the stores’ Web sites), promotional events from all participants and more.
The group’s site, www.nihr06.com, also has links to and from other hobby-related sites, such as MLBPA, which launched a radio advertisement campaign in January for the association.
“Working with other local shops has worked out great. It’s amazing that something like this hasn’t been done previously,” Arcand said.
The association will continue to expand this year, adding up to 20 other shops, Arcand said, and members won’t be limited to northern Illinois, as its name states. Stores from as far away as Green Bay and Indianapolis will be considered for membership.
“The biggest plus comes in advertising, which normally isn’t possible [financially] for people in our industry,” he said. “Now we can.”
