Patrick Kennedy of Minnesota’s Star Tribune reported today that the sales revenue for Epoch Lacrosse, now Epoch Sports, is at an all-time high.
Roseville-based Epoch Lacrosse, with a new ownership structure, continues its fast growth as it continues to make inroads against bigger sporting-goods manufacturers.
The growth — 70% from 2016 to 2017 and 52% from 2017 to 2018 — is expected to produce $15 million in annual revenue within the next three years, said CEO and founder James Miceli.
It also forced a decision on how Miceli and his team wanted to structure the company.
Miceli has changed up the ownership of the company, which was previously partly owned by PowerPlay, a retail group in Minnesota. This all comes to fruition after Epoch put together its own manufacturing center to boost sales revenue and maximize tax savings.
Establishing the manufacturing operation freed the company to develop, test and produce products much quicker by eliminating the six weeks or longer turnaround time it had when its products were produced in Asia, Miceli said. Today that decision also offers relief from trade tariffs on its sticks, though it still faces tariffs for components of its protective equipment.
Prior to this sales revenue milestone, Miceli had the chance to sell Epoch Lacrosse. Instead, he doubled down by finding a new investor in the company while retaining 75% of the shares.
In Epoch’s case, the owner decided growth can be better maintained by keeping the company.
