Sports Chalet Taken to its Limit

LA CAÑADA FLINTRIDGE, CA- Sport Chalet is closing all its stores and shutting down its online sales, the La Cañada Flintridge sporting goods company announced Saturday.

The decision affects more than 40 stores in California. Competition with online retailers such as Amazon is believed to be the company's deathnell. Sports Authority, a competitor, is also closing.

A statement on the company's website said the stores will remain open until at least April 29 to accommodate gift cards and rewards certificates.

The company was founded in 1959 by Norbert J. Olberz, with its first store in La Cañada Flintridge, where it remained headquartered for the next several decades.

What began as one specialty sporting goods location expanded into a string of full-service sporting goods stores across the Southland, and eventually expanded to Northern California, Arizona and Nevada as well.

Sport Chalet went public in 1992.

The company operates 13 stores in Los Angeles County, seven stores in Orange County, four in San Diego County, three in Sacramento County, three in Riverside County, three in San Bernardino County, three in Ventura County, one in San Clara County and one in Kern County.

Sporting-goods retailer Sports Authority Inc. has pushed back the date for a planned bankruptcy auction amid “substantial” interest from several potential bidders, a company lawyer said Thursday.

Robert Klyman, one of the lawyers for the company, told Judge Mary Walrath of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. that the retailer hopes for a vigorous bidding contest for the stores and inventory.

Judge Walrath on Thursday authorized rules for the auction process.

A high level of interest doesn’t necessarily mean that all or most of Sports Authority’s business will survive bankruptcy. Liquidation firms can bid on distressed retail operations, and they sometimes best rivals that promise to keep stores open.

When it filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, Sports Authority agreed with senior lenders to close a sale by the end of April. The new auction date is in May, and there will be two auctions. Leases for 109 stores being closed go on the auction block May 4 while the sale of pretty much everything else Sports Authority owns is slated for May 16.

--City News Service,