Anyone been to this new sports store in Smithfield. If so, how does it compare to Dicks. Sounds like a good addition for the county. ============================== National chain arrives in Smithfield By Sarah McNeil, Staff Reporter SMITHFIELD -- A sporting-goods store has opened in Centre Pointe shopping center. Hibbett Sports, which has 600 stores in 23 states, prefers small towns, said its president, Mickey Newsome. “Hibbett Sports is made up of individual stores uniquely suited to the needs of the communities where we’re located,” Newsome said in a news release. “We don’t have a one-size-fits-all mentality.” In Smithfield, Hibbett offers equipment for football, baseball, basketball, volleyball, soccer, boxing, swimming and lacrosse. It has shoes for men, women and children from Adidas, Nike, Reebok, New Balance and others. Also, college sports fans can find hats from their favorite schools, and Hibbett carries clothing from Rocawear, a line created by rapper Jay-Z, and urban designer Enyce. Accessories such as sports bags, water bottles and socks are scattered throughout the store. “Our employees are trained extensively to make sure they can answer the questions and meet the needs of our customers,” Newsome said. “We consider ourselves a team, and the way we win is by making our customers happy.” Rene Jimenez is “head coach” at the Smithfield store. “My employees and I should be product-knowledged so we can service our customers on what they are looking for,” he said. “If it’s a specific shoe they are looking for, we try to narrow it down with them and find out what their needs are instead of giving them a shoe they do not need.” Hibbett is more customer-friendly than its bigger rivals, Jimenez said. “If you go into a big city, the customer expects to go in, buy something and not get any customer service at all,” he said. “If you go to Hibbett, we focus on our customers. Loyalty is what we are looking for instead of selling merchandise.” Jimenez said Hibbett offers discounts on shoes, apparel or equipment for adult and youth teams. “From a church league basketball team to a high school sports team to a semiprofessional team, we can meet their needs,” he said. Hibbett Sports is at 1239 N. Bright Leaf Blvd. Hours are 10 a.m. till 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 till 6 p.m. Sundays. For more information, call 934-2654 or go to www.hibbett.com. Herald Staff Reporter Sarah McNeil can be reached at 934-2176, Ext. 133, or by e-mail at smcneil@nando.com
There was a Hibbett's store in the town where I used to live. They had eveything you could want when it came to field / court sports. No hunting or fishing euipment. The store was in a mall and had much less floor space than Dick's. I thought they were a little pricey on most of their items but they did have some decent sale prices on shoes and some other small items. The quality of their merchandise seemed pretty good; name brands like Nike, etc. Snuff
Never heard of Hibbett's but will be interesting to see how well it does, espcially if they don't carry hunting, fishing, and that type of stuff. Craig
I can't see a Hibbett's doing well in S'field. No hunting. No fishing? I'm not impressed with Diick's as it is.
Smithfield has needed something since Sportsman's World closed.....but I don't know how well it will go since SW was local (out of Goldsboro) and Hibbetts isn't. At least Hibbetts will have somebody to help you. With large chains like Dicks' it is hard to get qualified help that knows anything.
