BUSINESS & PROFESSIONAL
ntrepreneur
SLOPING UPWARD
from page A27
Steve Kopitz has skied since
age 6.
downtown Birmingham,
spending $250,000 to reno-
vate an existing building.
"I spent 2006 researching
a move to be closer to the
store's core customer base,
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FASHION WHISPERS
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which is Birmingham," he said.
The store's showroom has
7,000 square feet, with a large
Staff photo by Angie Bean
Kopitz's wife agreed; and he
opened his first sporting goods fran-
chise, Play It Again Sports, featuring
used sports equipment and clothes,
the display area. A free parking lot
next door allows customers to eas-
ily bring in skis and snowboards for
in Keego Harbor in 1990. "After
tuning, grinding and waxing.
spending eight years as an executive
of a national firm, I found myself driv-
Kopitz points out "the renovation
was carried out in an environmen-
ing around to garage sales — with
a bagged lunch in my car — to buy
used goods for the store."
tally friendly manner to help combat
the threat of global warming, which,
With the aid of his wife and a cous-
in, the store had a profitable first year,
and Kopitz opened seven other area
sites. But the later ventures conflicted
als, including concrete, glass, wood,
with some national franchise rules,
and he broke away to open stores
under the Summit name.
paints, cloth, carpeting and bamboo
for some of the flooring.
These now include shops in
Farmington Hills, Rochester Hills,
Brighton and Lansing, plus new
help reduce energy consumption by
about 80 percent," said Kopitz. "We
hockey equipment shops, called
Hockey Deals, located in hockey
rinks in Brighton, Novi and Chelsea.
There's a total of 150 employees,
with a manager in each store.
"I personally buy all the ski equip-
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March 12 • 2009
also have sensors inside the store
that turn off lights when an area is
not being used, and there's energy-
efficient metal halide lighting in other
areas."
Kids' Clubs
Don Thomas Sporthaus and Kopitz's
Summit stores are popular with sev-
eral ski groups, including the Winter
match jackets and pants or anything
else," Kopitz said. "So this is done
by a soft goods buyer with impec-
Walden Ski Club, which has about
400 members, mostly Jewish young-
sters ranging from 6 to 16, who pay
cable fashion sense [Brigett Liedke
of Lake Orion]."
to belong and hit the state's slopes
throughout the winter. Paul Unatin of
West Bloomfield has been the club's
In 2005, Kopitz added what has
OF FASHION'S
"Our special LED exterior signs
which interferes with my ability to
Growth Mode
HOTTEST LABELS
snow that skiers see on the slopes
each year."
The renovation was done mostly
with recycled or renewable materi-
Andy Schepper of Keego Harbor
buys all of the highly popular snow-
boards.
EXCLUSIVE RETAILER
of course, would eventually have a
negative impact on the amount of
stores and also launched a wholesale
division and the first of eight Web
ment for my company, but not cloth-
ing because I'm partially color blind,
LIVE FASHION FORWARD
variety of skis, snowboards
and winter sports clothes,
and a large selection of goods in
become the flagship of his skiing
equipment empire: Don Thomas
Sporthaus. Thomas, a veteran
director for 14 years and a skier for
40.
"Our members find everything
they need at the Sporthaus and the
Summit stores," he said. "They get
Detroit-area businessman, had oper-
proper equipment and clothing, and
good attention and service from the
staffs, especially Hans Erni at the
Birmingham store.
ated the business for more than 50
years and retired. Kopitz bought his
"Their parents also have become
good customers there. In today's
most recent location in Bloomfield
Township.
economy, more people are sticking
close to home for skiing trips instead
of traveling around the country on
those expensive trips."
In 2007, Kopitz moved the opera-
tion to Old Woodward Avenue in