With thousands of cheerleaders in town for the Athletic Championships Cheer and Dance Nationals, conventional wisdom dictates that hair bows and glitter should be in short supply.
But stagnant local sales haven’t cheered area retailers. Cheerleaders typically order uniforms, makeup and accessories in bulk from online stores like EventMakers Cosmetics, Razzle Dazzle Cosmetics and JCaroline Creative, according to competition officials and cheer coaches.
“I haven’t noticed anything; I mean it’s slow,” said Mishae Lindsey, an employee at Party City.
Tony Woodlee, manager at Hobby Lobby, and Michelle Reeve at Claire’s agreed Friday that it was business as usual.
Meagin Harrison, manager of We’ve Got Spirit, explained how the cheerleading accessory business operates.
“What you’ve got is gyms who buy in bulk for all of their kids, usually the same thing or around the same thing, so when teams come from out of town, there isn’t a real spike in sales because they already have all their stuff bought,” said Mrs. Harrison.
Sales always jump for Mrs. Harrison during cheer season, which runs October through March.
“Anything zebra (stripes) goes like crazy, from bloomers to bows to socks, zebra is really big,” Mrs. Harrison said. “Also, anything hot pink and black is going pretty fast.”
Cheer season usually means high-flying sales for Mrs. Harrison, who travels to competitions across the country to sell directly to attendees.
“We can make $18,000 in a weekend,” said Mrs. Harrison, who does not work at the Chattanooga competition due to space constraints.
Terri Tucker, the cheerleading coach for Girls Preparatory School, said she has to look online to get bows for her girls.
“You’re not gonnna walk in a store unless you’re making your own,” said Mrs. Tucker. “Online, there are ribbon and bow companies, and it’s gotten to be where that’s a better source because they have more selection — more availability.”
Flight Academy instructor Richard Porter, who has been coaching all-star cheerleading for seven years, confirmed that most sales of cheerleading gear happen inside the competition hall, where approved vendors are allowed to set up tables for thousands of captive customers.
“As for local businesses, the biggest impact on our locals is going to be the downtown restaurants and the local hotels,” said Mr. Porter.