Sports training facilities are wildly popular, especially with young people dreaming of a career in their chosen sport. They offer instruction from professionals, practice facilities, and pro shops stocked with the best equipment available. D-Bat offers all of this and more for its clients seeking to improve their baseball or softball game.
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D-Bat’s Beginnings
Founders Cade and Kyle Griffis first thought of the idea when Cade was traveling the country, providing private baseball lessons. They knew they had a unique opportunity to reach more people by creating a facility that would draw people in, rather than going to them, one at a time. When D-Bat opened its first location in Northern Dallas in 1998, they only had six employees. They focused on providing optimal baseball instruction and helping players at all levels reach their goals. After ten years of finding success, they began selling franchise licenses in 2008 to help spread their brand and their services across the country. By 2010, they had sold five franchise licenses. Over the next seven years, that number would grow to 40. They now boast over 70 locations around the United States, with most of those locations being owned by franchisees.
Starting A D-Bat Location
A baseball enthusiast with a mind for business is a good candidate to open a D-Bat location. When selecting their franchisees, D-Bat places a large focus on the applicant’s love of the game and desire to foster that love in other people. A strong business background is helpful, but is not the end all, be all when it comes to D-Bat. They want people who are as passionate about the game as they are.
Aside from a love of the sport, they also need people with financial strength. They sell their franchise licenses for $40,000 and do not offer any financing help. The applicant must be able to produce the liquid funds to cover the cost of the license.
The franchisee will also have to be able to produce funds to acquire, build out, stock, and staff the new location. The estimated cost for this is between $397,000 and $700,000. The practice facilities and pro-shop section of the location will be the areas requiring most of that cost.
The franchisee will also be responsible for paying ongoing fees to D-Bat. D-Bat charges an 8 percent royalty fee and a 2.5 percent advertising fee. Both of these rates based on the franchised location’s revenue from sales, and they are higher than what the national average for what franchisors usually charge.
As a company targeting a niche market, D-Bat has to be careful with their marketing and advertising. They must aim their efforts at the right people, and remain relevant in that crowd in order to sustain business levels. Baseball and softball facilities can be considered a luxury item for families with larger amounts of disposable income. While talent and aspirations can be found in members of all socio-economic classes, not all can afford to pay for extra lessons, camps, or use of practice facilities, regardless of how much advertising is aimed at them.
Support for Your Location
D-Bat is not only passionate about baseball and softball, they are also passionate about growing their business. To do that, they make sure to support their franchisees at every step of the game, to give each location the best possible chance of being successful.
They provide both classroom and on-the-job training for their franchisees to ensure that each location is providing the same optimal level of service and training. They also provide software to each location that assists with nearly every aspect of running the business.
D-Bat drives to produce champions and they are well-aware that it takes a high level of service and commitment to their customers to achieve that. Not only do they want their customers to succeed in their sport, they want their franchisees to succeed in their business. Both of those successes result in increased prosperity for the D-Bat name.
D-Bat’s Standings in the Franchise Game
Even though D-Bat offers a service that is relevant and attainable for a very small niche population, they are doing extremely well for themselves. Since they first began selling franchise licenses, they have continued to grow at a steady rate.
D-Bat’s current franchise growth rate comes in at 35. This is below the national average rate of 97, but when considering the size of their market, is fairly impressive. With over 70 locations spread out across the country, they have made themselves a sizeable presence in the sports facility world.
Their growth rate is impressive for their market, but it would would probably be even better if they had a better turnover rate. The turnover rate measures the percentage of locations that are reacquired, terminated, transferred, or simply not renewed. D-Bat has a turnover rate of 7.56, which is unfortunately high. Because the turnover rate is a percentage, the high rate is most likely due to the fact that D-Bat has a smaller number of total locations than a lot of franchises in the United States. A smaller total number means the percentage is affected more drastically by each location that is “turned over”.
When dealing with a franchise model that appeals to such a small market, the data must be interpreted differently than it would be for a business with mass appeal, such as a popular chain restaurant. Growth rates that are smaller than the average may not necessarily point to an unhealthy system. When it is a very specific demographic that the brand appeals to, any growth is positive. To determine the health of a smaller franchise system, scaling expectations and ignoring national averages is imperative.
The Many Revenue Streams of D-Bat
Unlike many franchises who focus on one revenue stream, usually food or merchandise, D-Bat has several throughout each location. Each revenue stream serves as a structural support for the others. If sales in one department are low, the revenue generated elsewhere helps to keep the location afloat long enough for the other areas to rebound. Relying on one source of income in a niche market can be a dangerous game.
Baseball and softball lessons are what D-Bat founded itself on. Hiring instructors who have extensive experience in their sport offers their customers the best in instruction. With players of all skill levels looking to take their game to new heights, you’ll see customers come back again and again for repeat lessons until they have perfected their craft.
Camps and clinics are a step above regular lessons. These bring multiple players together for an all-day, or even sometimes a multi-day, event to sharpen their skills and improve their playing. Players looking to improve themselves and work with others will flock to these camps. D-Bat currently offers over 50 camps and clinics per year, giving you plenty of opportunity to bring in revenue with eager campers.
Batting cages bring in people for all kinds of reasons, whether they want or need the batting practice, or are just looking to have a little fun. Either way, tokens and credits for the batting cages will be a steady stream of income for your location. Especially during the winter months, when players are less likely to have access to outdoor facilities, your batting cages will become the go-to spot for players looking to hit a few balls.
Batting cages can also be rented without the use of credits or tokens for the pitching machines. Whether the players are pitching to each other or using tees, they can rent these cages by the half hour. Regardless of the use of the cage, they are consistently bringing in sales to your location.
Pro shops will also be a huge source of income for your D-Bat franchise. Stocked with the latest bats, gloves, and other equipment, as well as the hottest in baseball and softball apparel, these stores are guaranteed to bring in the money. Because D-Bat produces a lot of the equipment that they sell, they are able to sell it to their franchisee at a much lower cost than going with a third party. This allows the franchisee to have lower inventory costs and higher profit margins on their product sales.
For the avid user of a D-Bat location, there are membership sales available. These memberships, depending on the level purchased, offer discounts and perks to help make the D-Bat experience more affordable than purchasing each experience a la carte. For example, Platinum Membership customers get unlimited credits to use in the batting cages, as well as free cage rental. Having customers on a continuous membership guarantees revenue from them and makes them more inclined to come in and use your facility.
Many D-Bat locations receive additional revenue from things like birthday party packages and snack and drink sales. The diversification of revenue streams inside of D-Bat locations gives them a balance and advantage to boost their overall sales.
Choosing the D-Bat Brand
There are many reasons to consider joining the D-Bat family. Being an avid baseball enthusiast, as well as an enthusiastic entrepreneur are the key attributes of an ideal franchise candidate. Combining those two interests makes for a powerful force that can help take the location, and the entire brand, to new heights and bring these facilities to players all over America.
With numerous former clients going on to play in the Major League, it is of no question the impact a D-Bat location can have on a community. Choosing to bring this opportunity to your neighborhood could mean fostering a love for the game, as well as invaluable skills, into the youth of the surrounding area. It is entirely possible that your location could produce a future MLB star or Olympian.
Whether your goal for investing in D-Bat is to grow the love of baseball in your community, be a part of a winning team and owner of a successful business, or a combination of both, you have a great chance at achieving either. D-Bat is showing signs of strength and financial growth in their industry, all while helping players of all ages and skill levels compete in the game they love.