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Sports Authority stumbles as shoppers moved online

Fans coveting their

favorite team’s jersey with

the personal touch of their

name on the back are flocking

online, likely not to the

sports store at their local

mall. Consumer habits are

evolving.

That looks to be one of

the developments behind

the financial travails of

retail chains like The

Sports Authority Inc.,

which filed for Chapter 11

bankruptcy protection

Wednesday and plans to

close or sell about a third of

its 463 stores.

The seemingly bottomless

inventory online of

team-branded apparel and

equipment – contrasted

with a limited supply in

stores that have to be

restocked – adds to the

cheaper price advantage of

the Internet, notes Marc

Ganis, president of

Chicago-based consulting

firm SportsCorp. And it can

be easier to get team clothing

personalized online.

Millennials, especially,

are attuned to the pointand-

click of Internet purchasing

and also like to get

personal stuff. And even

heavy exercise equipment

is finding an online audience.

“There’s tremendous

movement to online sales,”

Ganis said. “It has really

impacted the big-box sports

retailers.”

Other companies in that

category are Modell’s and

Dick’s Sporting Goods.

They’re all under pressure

from the Internet, says

Ganis, but regional chains

like Modell’s, as opposed to

national companies, have a

better time of it. They can

more easily put on promotions

of home-team gear, for

example.

Overall, the retail industry

has struggled with the

consumer move to online

shopping, trying to find

ways to lure customers to

brick-and-mortar stores.

Macy’s Inc. has opened

Macy’s Backstage in order

to go head-to-head with discount

retailer T.J. Maxx.

J.C. Penney Co. is using

store-label offerings to fight

against pricing pressures

from online rivals and

recently launched a new

campaign called “Get Your

Penney’s Worth,” which

offers certain store-label

items for pennies.

Sports Authority, which

is privately held and based

in Englewood, Colorado,

said it intends to close or

sell about 140 stores and

two distribution centers, in

Denver and Chicago. The

company has 463 stores in

41 states and Puerto Rico.

The store closings are

expected to take up to three

months.

Sports Authority stores

will remain open and run

on normal schedules during

the Chapter 11 process.

The company’s website will

continue to function, and

the chain plans to honor

warranties on items purchased

at its stores or

online.

“We are taking this

action so that we can continue

to adapt our business

to meet the changing

dynamics in the retail

industry,”

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