Each week, The Columbian offers a brief snapshot of an interesting Clark County business. Send ideas to Mary Ricks: mary.ricks@columbian.com;
fax 360-735-4598;
phone 360-735-4550.
Business name: Athletes Corner.
Owners: Kirk and Rhonda Jabusch and Kirk’s mother, Margaret Jabusch.
Address: Four retail stores: (Fisher’s Landing) 2100 S.E. 164th Ave., Suite 102-B; (Hazel Dell) 8014 N.E. 13th Ave.; Longview and Centralia.
What the business does: Kirk Jabusch said Athletes Corner is a team sports retailer that caters mostly to young athletes and their parents. The store sells athletic footwear, apparel and equipment; nothing for golf or tennis, but most other sports. In addition to the retail side, the company has its own in-house screen print and embroidery shop that decorates the uniforms and team apparel worn by countless youth sports teams in Clark, Cowlitz and Lewis counties. They also supply a variety of local businesses with staff and corporate apparel.
How has the economy affected your business: Like most retailers in the area the economy has hurt sales and has made business significantly tougher than a few years ago, Jabusch said, but he remains optimistic that the economy will improve. His company has tried to take advantage of a more favorable/affordable real estate market to upgrade store locations.
