SportSite.com in San Jose, CA, an online sporting goods store that went live last month, said it closed a $5 million financing round with two venture capital firms and its existing
investors.
Investments are coming from venture capital firm J.H. Whitney and Draper
Fisher Jurvetson, which specializes in early stage Internet-based companies. A financial breakdown was not provided.
According to SportSite.com CEO Brett Allsop, the company’s future commitments
for the cash include building the SportSite.com brand identity and rounding
out its team.
“Now that we have successfully launched the online store, we plan to be
aggressive in establishing SportSite.com in the consumer’s mind as ‘the’ place
to go for all sporting goods products and related information,” Allsop said.
Marketing, promotions, advertising and public relations activities will be
aimed at branding the site and establishing its unique “community of
interest.”
Allsop said sporting goods and computer industry veteran Tim Harrington was
recently named president and COO. Harrington came to SportSite.com from
GolfWeb, where he served as general manager.
Online shoppers at SportSite.com can shop by brand, product category or key
word search and select from more than 225 brands–including Nike, Reebok,
Adidas, Airwalk, Rawlings, Mizuno, The North Face and Fila.
The site has also created a community of interest sports center, where
shoppers can hone their athletic skills at week-long online sports clinics,
chat with sports celebrities, query manufacturer representatives about goods
and skim product reviews by coaches, sports experts and other consumers.
