Consumer >> CEO Interviews >> September 25, 2001
MICHAEL NEWSOME is President and Chief Executive Officer of Hibbett
Sporting Goods, Inc. Mr. Newsome started in sporting goods in 1958 with
Dixie Sporting Goods of Birmingham, Alabama, from 1958-1962. Two years
later, he went to work with Hibbett Sporting Goods, which was in the
process of opening its second store in Huntsville, Alabama, as its
outside salesman in the same territory. Mr. Newsome was an outside
salesman for Hibbett for two years and then the company opened its third
store in Birmingham. He moved to Birmingham to be the store manager. The
company began slowly opening retail stores during the late 1960s and
1970s. Mr. Newsome became the Area Manager for Birmingham and south
Alabama in the mid 1970s. In 1980 he became the President of Hibbett
Sporting Goods, Inc. and the company continued to open additional stores
in the 1980s. By 1980 it had 13 stores and at the end of this past year
it had 282 stores. Mr. Newsome was on the NSGA Board of Directors for
seven years and he was the Chairman last year. He is the Chairman of the
NSGA Hall of Fame Committee. He is a member of the Birmingham Downtown
Kiwanis Club, which is the largest Kiwanis Club in the world. Profile
how you see the company today?
Mr. Newsome: We operate in small markets such as; Hazard, Kentucky,
Waycross, Georgia,
