Family Business to Family Business: How Sports Etc. Found the Right Insurance Partner
Running a niche retail business in the era of e-commerce and big-box competition takes a specific kind of courage. Paul Stanton has it. Sports Etc. has survived — and carved out a loyal customer base — by doing what large operations simply can’t: knowing their customers personally and showing up for them in ways that matter.
When it came time to find an insurance partner for his family-owned hockey store, Paul needed someone who understood small specialty retail from the inside. He found that in Cleary Insurance.
“Hockey is a niche sport. Add to that the rise of online shopping and giant super stores and you’d have to be nuts to own a local, mid-sized hockey store. But that’s a risk my family is willing to take. And Cleary Insurance gets it. Like us, they’re family owned and pride themselves on doing business with a personal touch. Whether we need help filing a claim, or advice on understanding our liability — like when we installed our new skate sharpening machines — Cleary always makes themselves available. They give us a sense of security. And they’ve been a great teammate. No pun intended.”
The Challenge: Specialty Retail Risk in a Competitive Market
Small specialty retailers carry a longer list of insurance considerations than most people realize. Commercial general liability, product liability, equipment coverage, workers’ compensation, property — each coverage area has nuances specific to a retail environment. And when something happens, the speed and quality of your broker’s response is what separates a manageable situation from a serious one.
When Sports Etc. installed new skate sharpening machines, they had questions about their liability exposure. Cleary was there to work through it. That kind of accessibility on real, operational questions is what a long-term insurance relationship should look like.
Why Sports Etc. Works with Cleary Insurance
Family-owned businesses tend to find natural alignment with Cleary — because Cleary is one too. The same values that make Sports Etc. worth visiting in person are the values Cleary brings to every client relationship: personal accountability, genuine availability, and a commitment to doing business with a personal touch.