Craig Delongy never intended to be a retailer: as a young man, he was obsessed with golf and wanted only to become a professional golfer. After serving as a golf pro at a country club in Missouri, he moved to Florida in 1974, where he became one of the original owners of Champs Sports. “At one point, I was partial owner of 11 stores, one in Wichita, Kansas, which is where I’m from. But we sold out in 1985 and I opened Craig’s Sports. I always had a good eye for merchandising and understood the importance of focusing on the details.”
After playing golf at Pinehurst one day, Craig wandered into a terrific men’s store called Gentleman’s Corner, where he met and then shared a beer with Chris Knott. “I told Chris that several of the big sporting goods chains were moving into town, and I decided to close the sporting goods store and open John Craig. I learned so much from Chris about the men’s retail business. As I did from Fred Derring when I joined DLS. I’d never been to New York City, and Fred drew me a map that showed the exact location of all my appointments, 30 minutes apart. I opened John Craig in March 1996 and business was good. But it wasn’t until 1998, when Martin Bradshaw sold me Canali, that things really took off. Then in 2005, we were listed on Esquire’s Top 100 list, and everyone wanted to sell to us!”
His total store count is now seven, soon to be eight; five are John Craig stores, each with a slightly different focus depending on location and customer base. His vendor list reads like a who’s who of top collections: Kiton, Samuelsohn, Jack Victor, Munro, Canali, DiBianco, Eton, Emanuel Berg, Brax, Waterville, Peter Millar, Greyson, Martin Dingman, and many others. The newest issue of his gorgeous John Craig magazine lists more than 70 impressive brands.
When asked what he’s most proud of, Craig’s immediate response is “my family.” This means Suzanne, his wife and business partner for 46 years; his daughter and John Craig VP, Blair; and his son, Brant, who operates his brokerage business out of Craig’s office and shares a love of golf with his dad. To read the full article click over to Mr. Mag Online.
