Billiard Congress of America Releases Results of Annual Membership Study

Findings Focus on Issues Specific to Billiard Retailers and Pool Room Operators

The BCA, in partnership with Ellison Research, of Phoenix, Arizona, conducted the annual membership study in January of 2008. The main goals of the study were to understand the overall state of the BCA, in addition to providing retailers and room operators with specific information about their respective parts of the industry. A total of 300 interviews were completed during the course of the study, including 153 billiard retailers and 61 room operators. Information gathered from the participating retailer and room operator BCA members was used to compile the two reports.

During the course of conducting interviews, billiard retailers and room operators were asked a series of questions that were unique to their specific businesses. The information gathered provides insight into how other billiard retailers and room operators run their businesses, the priorities they place on various issues and their thoughts on specific issues facing their businesses.

Each report is broken into several parts, including:
• Various baseline indicators used to assess key similarities and differences between billiard retailers or room operators;
• The financial implications of owning a retail establishment or a billiard hall;
• General challenges billiard retailers or room operators are facing;
• The role of the Internet in owning a retail establishment or a billiard hall; and
• Subsequent overview of the main findings throughout each specific report.

“As the trade organization for the billiards industry, the BCA is committed to helping our members grow their businesses. By gathering and compiling data on market trends and making it available to our membership, we have created an informational tool that our members can use to better understand the complexities of the marketplace,” states BCA President Ivan Lee. “The results of this study present a snapshot of the unique issues facing our retail and room operator members, but I believe that the billiards community at large and not just these specific segments of our membership can benefit from this information.”

Both reports are available on the BCA Web site at bca-pool.com. Current BCA members can access the reports free of charge using their BCA username and password credentials. The reports are also available to non-BCA members for $250 per report. The order form is also available on the BCA Web site.

About Billiard Congress of America
Founded in 1948, the Billiard Congress of America is a non-profit trade organization dedicated to growing a united, prosperous and highly regarded billiard industry through BCA leadership. The BCA seeks to enhance the success of its members and promote the game of billiards though educational, marketing and promotional efforts, annual industry trade shows, tournaments and other programs designed to encourage billiards as a lifestyle and make pool everybody’s game. For more information, visit bca-pool.com or call 866.852.0999.