It is almost four decades since Pro Shop opened its doors, and the city centre sports outlet is still going strong, buoyed by customer loyalty and an ever-changing selection of sporting gear, which includes the latest replica football team shirts from Europe.

Frank Brewster Jr looks after the business, following in the footsteps of his father Frankie Brewster Sr, the late Bermuda international footballer who ran the shop for many years.

Mr Brewster is 39 years old, exactly matching the number of years the shop has been open.

He started helping out at the store when he was 14 and became a full-time member of staff at 19. He hasn’t looked back.

“I enjoy sports and when I was younger my friends used to come in for things. As we’ve all become older they now bring their kids along to buy sports gear,” he said.

The shop’s central location on Reid Street, at the corner with Washington Lane, has ensured plenty of foot traffic from shoppers.

However, like many Hamilton businesses it has suffered from the tougher economic climate of the past six or seven years.

Mr Brewster said he was thankful for customer loyalty during the lean times, and said he had also adjusted his stock-buying strategy accordingly.

The shop covers a wide range of activities, with sports shoes for tennis, keep-fit, running and football on prominent display. Women’s workout gear sells well, but the shop’s best-selling section continues to be football gear, particularly replica football team shirts.

One wall in the shop is filled with shirts of leading British and European clubs.

Mr Brewster shows his team loyalty by wearing a Nottingham Forest jersey, but Forest gear is not the top seller. So who is leading the best-seller pack this season?

“Arsenal,” he declares, admitting it had come as a surprise. “I thought it would be Manchester United, Chelsea or Barcelona.

“I think United will be on top next year as they are changing their sponsor to adidas.”

Keeping the football shirts up to date is a tricker proposition since teams started redesigning their kits every year, as opposed to once every two years.

When the current football season starts to draw to a close, Pro Shop reduces the price of the shirts in anticipation for having to order in new style tops for the season to follow.

Mr Brewster said selling official replica shirts was also a battle against those who brought fake shirts to the Island, but he said a buyer who purchased the genuine replica shirts could be assured of a higher-quality product.

The busiest times of year for the shop are Christmas and also the months of July, August and September when youngsters are getting kitted out for the new school year, and when the latest replica shirts arrive.

While the size of the shop has not changed over the years, it now carries more stock and a wider range.

Mr Brewster said: “Nowadays it’s a shop for so many sports.”

He and his team continue to enjoy running the store and they are looking forward to celebrating 40 years of the Pro Shop in 2016.