It’s not a revelation to say from now through Christmas is generally the most profitable time for businesses and retail establishments. Meadowbrook Mall is certainly not the exception.

 

With that in mind, the timing was probably right for the Bridgeport retail hub’s newest business to open their doors recently. Earlier this week, Bridgeport and the mall officially saw the opening of nationally known retailer Hibbett Sports.

 

“They opened this past Saturday,” said Meadowbrook Mall Property Manager Marcello Lalama. “The good news for them is that they exceeded their goals they had set for their grand opening. In fact, they did well above that. They seem to be doing quite well during these early days.”

 

Lalama said the timing of the business’s opening was likely beneficial.

 

“They opened at the right time of the year to capture the holiday traffic. We hope they continue to see success through the holidays and well into the future,” Lalama said.

 

Hibbett Sports is occupying 5,040 square feet in the mall. There arrival fills out the remaining space that was left when Gap departed. The rest of the space has been occupied by Maurice’s. Justice is located on the other side of Hibbett Sports.

 

“It’s great anytime we bring in a new tenant and add to the mix of businesses we have,” said Lalama. “Their addition limits the amount of vacant storefronts. There are just a few vacancies right now, which is also good news.”

 

The biggest of those vacancies is the former Sears location. There is nothing new to report on a new anchor store or multiple businesses filling that space.

 

According to information provided by Joe Bell, the director of corporate communications for the Ohio-based Cafaro Corporation that owns the Meadowbook Mall, Hibbett offers a broad assortment of quality branded athletic footwear, apparel and equipment; along with superior customer service.  The sporting-goods retailer was founded in Birmingham, Alabama in 1945. Today, it has grown to a chain of more than 1,000 stores in 33 states.

 

With the shell of the building in place, Hibbett Sports didn't have to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to get the space ready. Community Development Director Randy Spellman said the building permit for the business was $90,000.

 

A store search on their Web site shows two of those 1,000 stores are located in West Virginia. The company has a location in Buckhannon and also Summersville.