LaGRANGE – Exceptional sporting goods stores that provide a mixture of different services are hard to come across at times, however Edelson’s Army & Sporting Goods Store doesn’t have that problem. They stand out in LaGrange because of the many variety of items they supply.

Edelson’s Army & Sporting Goods Store at 111 Lafayette Parkway has been a fixture in LaGrange since 1956 and the family-owned business celebrated its 60th anniversary last year. Edelson’s Army Store sells sporting goods, work clothes, hunting apparel, Army apparel, and do embroidery and screen-printing.

“Over the years, our store has evolved to selling work boots, work shoes, footwear apparel, outdoor apparel and work clothing,” said owner Stephen Edelson, whose father Marvin Edelson and uncle Milton Edelson opened the store up in 1956. “There are most popular items. We sell sporting goods, we do customization of screen-printing and embroidery on shirts. We’re a print shop, a work and outdoor store, and a sporting goods store. Those are our three main departments.”

When you walk into Edelson’s, there’s a ton of attire representing LaGrange, Callaway and Troup High Schools, as well as hats, license plates, wrist bands and sweatshirts from Southern-based colleges like Georgia, Georgia Tech, Florida, South Carolina, Florida State available for purchase.

“We do custom-made jerseys for teams like travel ball teams, sport teams and police officers,” said Edelson. “For the high schools, we do a lot of their school spirit stuff.”

Edelson says the most challenging aspect of his job is trying to compete with the big-box stores like Walmart, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Office Depot, Staples, Bass Pro Shops and Best Buy.

“The constant competition from big-box stores and people purchasing stuff on the internet can be difficult at times, but we’re competitive against prices on the internet and we provide local services and the ability to try, touch and feel items,” said Edelson.

Overall, part of what makes Edelson’s Army & Sporting Goods Store such a well-known and dependable business in LaGrange is the customer service they provide.

“It’s a good family atmosphere here,” said Edelson. “It’s laid-back. We specialize in good customer service and were focused on the customers and giving them the attention they deserve. I enjoy seeing the customers come in and giving them what they need and taking care of them.”

 

Reach James Simpson II at 706-884-7311, ext. 2155, or by email at james.simpson@lagrangenews.com