Iconic outdoor retailer closes stores, no bankruptcy filing yet
According to The Street, The outdoor gear, apparel, and sporting goods retail sector has experienced significant consolidation over the past decade, marked by bankruptcies, store closures, and acquisitions by competitors.
Disappearing Retail Giants
Several well-known brands in the sports and outdoor gear retail industry have vanished from the market, including Sports Authority, Sports Chalet, Modell’s, and Golfsmith.
Sports Authority, once operating 463 stores nationwide, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016. The chain was liquidated and sold to Dick’s Sporting Goods. In the same year, Dick’s also acquired Golfsmith, another prominent brand that went bankrupt.
Sport Chalet, a sporting goods retail chain with 47 locations across California, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016 as well. The company subsequently closed all its stores and liquidated its assets.
Another notable regional player, Modell’s, which operated 153 stores in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, sought Chapter 11 protection on March 11, 2020, coinciding with the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although Modell’s began store-closing sales on March 13, the pandemic forced them to halt operations. The chain ultimately resumed liquidation sales in late June 2020.
Recent Bankruptcies and Acquisitions
In September 2022, Olympia Sports, a Maine-based sporting goods retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and shut down all 35 of its locations in the Eastern U.S.
Mountain Sports, operating approximately 50 stores under the Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s Stores brands, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on June 18, seeking to restructure its debt after defaulting on a loan agreement with PNC Bank. Subsequently, on July 2, the company announced the closure and liquidation of all Bob’s Stores.
In a notable acquisition, Mountain Warehouse, a U.K.-based outdoor gear and apparel company, purchased the key assets of Eastern Mountain Sports on September 2 for $5 million, which included the brand name, website, and seven profitable stores. This acquisition helped save over 100 jobs, with Mountain Warehouse planning to stabilize and grow the brand while maintaining Eastern Mountain Sports as a standalone entity.
Changes at Orvis
Finally, Orvis, the outdoor gear and apparel retailer based in Manchester, Vermont, announced on October 4 that it would close an undisclosed number of its more than 80 retail locations in the U.S. The company will lay off 112 employees and discontinue its historic retail catalog as part of a strategy to create a “smaller and more agile business,” according to VTDigger.
Despite these changes, Orvis did not indicate any plans to file for bankruptcy. Founded in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis, the company boasts the oldest mail-order catalog in the U.S., having begun catalog distribution before the Civil War, well ahead of the launch of the Sears Roebuck catalog.
Orvis specializes in selling fishing and hunting gear, men’s and women’s outdoor apparel, dog accessories, packs, bags, luggage, and home goods.
