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,”