TL1 Corpus Christi Hooks

Hooked at the Door

Published on July 7, 2014 under Texas League (TL1)
Corpus Christi Hooks News Release


Daniel Sanchez is manager of Hook, Line & Sinker, official retail store of the Corpus Christi Hooks. The 26-year-old Corpus Christi native recently took time out of his busy schedule to discuss the behind-the-scenes operation of the store with cchooks.com.

Can you describe a day in the life of a retail store manager during baseball season?

The checklist begins with gathering reports - our detailed sales summaries, credit card reports, revenue - gathering all that stuff together and taking them to (Hooks finance director) Kim Harris. The next thing I like to do is go through the store. You've got to constantly stay on top of your year-round merchandise. You have to make sure quantities are good. Answering e-mails, authorizing invoices, keeping our account updated with various vendors. Now that's before 5 p.m.

Game time is just another animal, so to say. Constantly keeping the floor neat, restocked, presentable. It has to stay fresh-looking. Personally, I am a detailed, neat person, so that reflects in my management skills and in the store, at least I hope. It's a constant battle.

What kind of tasks must you handle in the offseason when the store doesn't receive the rush of game-day customer traffic?

That's the time we're basically reordering and choosing styles for the next season. We don't reorder from every single vendor every year, but staying in a good relationship with your reps and vendors is important. Most of the offseason consists of evaluating artwork, approving artwork, reordering, ordering new stuff.

How did you first become interested in a retail career?

I have been blessed to have found my calling. Originally it didn't really process as something I'd be good at or something I'd enjoy doing. Then, my previous boss was about to leave. I wanted to throw my name in the hat. I knew it was something that I was interested. When I was a kid, I didn't think "I want to be a retail manager, that'd be cool." It just kind of happened, and I have been blessed for things to turn out the way they did.

What did you learn from Brooke Milam, the original manager of Hook, Line & Sinker, while working as a retail associate?

She and I are very similar in how detailed the store is, and keeping stuff neat and restocked and sized and cleaned, and customer service. Customer service is probably our number one, not far above keeping the store in tip-top shape. That is a good thing she taught me as well as keeping your staff motivated. You can get the midseason blues. Midseason time comes around it can get a little tiring.

What is the most difficult part of operating a retail store?

The hours. It can get tiring. That's probably the most difficult part. I can get everything else easily managed, but when you have to be here until 11 or 12 at night, that's probably the most difficult part.

How do design shirts that are appealing to the fans and will fly off the shelves?

Minor League Baseball is just a different ballgame - no pun intended - than the big leagues, so we have those liberties to be a little eccentric with our designing and choosing colors. Having like green shirts or highlighter yellow shirts and that kind of stuff, it's just sort of the fun, laidback nature of Minor League Baseball. That's certainly been part of the retail operations for the past 10 years, keeping stuff fun and eccentric.

What is your favorite section of the store?

My favorite section of the store is our "t-shirt wall." The various designs and styles and colors that are always, for me, fun to look at. Just seeing your ideas in real life there on an actual large space, that's my favorite part of the store.

Is there an item in the store that is selling better than you anticipated?

Our Tuf Glove koozie. It's like a giant, goliath-sized hand. I'm surprised that sells as well as it does because it's kind of scary-looking.

What is the busiest sales day of the year?

The busiest sales day is absolutely Opening Day. It's absolutely crazy. Christmas doesn't really get as busy as most people would probably think. Actually, most people don't even know that we're open during the offseason, that we stay open year-round.

How rewarding was it to see the Hooks make MiLB's list of the Top 25 teams in licensed merchandise sales for the ninth consecutive year?

I'm super proud of my organization and to be a part of this organization, and to have a little part in that. Ultimately, it's our fans and customers who put us on that list, but it does take a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Keeping the store in tip-top shape and everything stocked and sized, and of course customer service. We want to make every customer feel important and welcome. It goes hand-in-hand.

MiLB has reported a 27% increase in online merchandise sales over the last year. Have you seen a similar increase in online sales for Hook, Line & Sinker?

Absolutely. Our online sales have definitely increased in the past couple of years.

What do you look for in your retail associates when going through the hiring process?

First and foremost, someone approachable, someone with a good outlook on life. Obviously they are going to be dealing with the customers 70-plus times a year. We want to make sure we have people who are approachable and nice.

You are pursuing a degree in Business Administration at Del Mar College. How difficult is it to balance work and school?

It's not nearly as challenging in the offseason as it is during the season. This is just a crazy, hectic time of the year. I don't want to say it's impossible, but it's almost impossible to juggle school, work, and my church obligations. This job is demanding.

I hear you're a talented musician. Can you tell us about your new band?

That just started about two months ago. We had been practicing for about a year and getting a set together, over 40 cover songs. That's really fun. We get to play at cool local hotspots like the Executive Surf Club and this new, little, classy bar that opened up called Vino Mio - it's also an Italian restaurant and I highly recommend the pizza. We're unnamed right now. We play anywhere from four to 10 times a month. I play the keyboard, that's my first love as far as music.

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