Coming through in the clutch: by aggressively pursuing major league licenses, Drew Pearson Companies has become the nation's largest black sporting goods concern - Drew Pearson Enterprises Inc - Black Enterprise 100s: Company of the Year - Cover Story

Black Enterprise, June, 1994 by Carolyn M. Brown

IT'S 10:20 A.M. ON A SUNNY, HOT Tuesday in March, when an imposing white Texas businessman, wearing an alarmingly red suit with white cowboy boots, steps through the doors of a one-story brick building set in a suburban business hub just outside of Dallas. He doesn't have an appointment (the reporter waiting in the lobby does) and the receptionist already has three calls on hold, but it doesn't matter. Drew Pearson has made a promise to him--and he'll wait until it's kept.

Ten minutes later, the formerly anxious Texan leaves smiling. What did he want? Satisfaction for a missed shipment? A stronger position on a distribution deal? Heck no--this good ol' boy's got him a football autographed by the one and only "Mr. Clutch!"

People respect Pearson, 43, as an adroit businessman, but they still revere him as Mr. Clutch, the former All-Pro and all-time leading wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys. With a record of 489 receptions for 7,822 yards, Pearson was known for outstepping any defense the National Football League (NFL) deployed.

Now he's running a deep pattern down the corporate playing field as CEO of Drew Pearson Companies (DPC). And Addison, Texas-based DPC is scoring some serious points in the sporting goods arena.

The world's largest black-owned, licensed sports and character apparel manufacturer is making a name for itself--generating gross revenues of $77.5 million in 1993--by turning out some nouveau styles in baseball caps. Last year, DPC saw sales jet 115%, from $36 million in 1992. It is the second consecutive year that sales have more than doubled. That leap also moved DPC up to No. 15 on the BE INDUSTRIAL/SERVICE 100, after debuting at No. 74 on the 1990 list with $10 million in sales. DPC is one of only six companies with licenses with the NFL, the National Basketball Association (NBA), Major League Baseball (MLB) and the National Hockey League. Thanks to its impressive gains in the $30 billion sporting goods industry, where black representation is less than 3%, Drew Pearson Cos. has earned its place as the 1994 BE Company of the Year.

LEADING THE INDUSTRY, WITH STYLE

These days, everybody from New York to Los Angeles is wearing something or someone on their heads: from the Dallas Cowboys and the Chicago Bulls to Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny. Don't look now, but the one the teenager in your life is wearing is probably a DPC cap. In fact, DPC caps can be found worldwide, in such countries as Japan and China and in Europe. DPC's sales growth has catapulted it to the top spot among licensed headwear companies in the U.S. The nine-year-old champs even ousted Starter Sportswear Inc., a $356 million company that reported $56 million in headwear sales in 1993.

Pearson owns DPC along with the firm's president, Kenneth W. Shead, 47; executive vice president of marketing, Mike Russell, 33; and CFO David Briskie, 33. Pearson and Shead each own 26%. Russell and Briskie each own 22%, while outside investors share 4%.

DPC has captured about 15% of the market in headwear, which accounts for 98% of its sales. In general, sales for sports apparel featuring embroidered team logos and cartoon characters was $7.49 billion in 1992, up 18% from $6.34 billion in 1991, according to the National Sporting Goods Association (NSGA). While T-shirts had the greatest sales ($2.59 billion), cap sales showed the greatest gain, jumping from $135 million to $497 million.

So far, DPC has more than 36 agreements with the major sports leagues, entertainment properties (including The Walt Disney Co. and Warner Bros. Inc.), the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), 27 of the 117 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUS) and the Negro Baseball League.

Last year, DPC shipped 24 million caps to 6,000 retailers nationwide, including Marshall Field's, J.C. Penney, Wal-Mart and Footaction. This year's hot ticket item is DPC's "Jagged Edge' cap. The graphic embroidering on this designer hat features an asymmetric, zigzag pattern with a striking contrast in colors, threads and the logos of pro sports teams.

"It's the flair and style that goes into every cap that makes DPC popular among the hotly contested preteen and teen market," says Carmine Lengua, a buyer for a Foot Locker sporting goods store in New York City. "DPC caps are real fashionable. Customers will come in and ask for Sports Specialties or Starter caps, but many of them, especially teenagers, generally gravitate towards new and exciting things. They want to be trendsetters."

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM TO THE BOARDROOM

The handsome and charismatic Pearson is a consummate example of the ex-athlete who made a seamless transition from the fame and glory of professional sports to success in business. A gray, double-breasted suit fits just as well on his trim frame as did the blue and white jersey--stamped with the No. 88--that he wore during his 11-year career with the Dallas Cowboys. He proudly adorns his right hand with his Super Bowl XII championship ring, one of two he earned during his career.