Possible closing of the Sports Authority chain

[grcsftbll]

They must be closing the one by me. I went there today looking for undershirts for this weekend and it was half empty. Almost no baseball/softball stuff at all.

 

[Momo'sDad]

Call me old fashioned, but I like going into a brick and mortar store, and be able to touch and feel (and try on) what I am buying.....especially when it comes to gloves, bats, apparel.

In my opinion, this is pretty bad news and is one major arena in which the online retailers have a grossly unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar shops. In the case of sporting goods, customers will test products in a local shop, then make the actual purchases online and often from a store-less competitor (e.g. Amazon), not from the store where they tested a particular bat or glove. When it comes to tax breaks, why isn't this unfair competition factored in?

Scheel's offers an incredible shopping experience. The one in Reno is DD's favorite store (of any kind) on the planet. My favorite was always Sport Chalet, but they were acquired by Vestis back in 2014 and within a year, they'd declined to become something almost unrecognizable.

For softball gear, we've got Bases Loaded in Sacramento, which seems to have a thriving online business as well as keeping a busy retail shop.

 

[Eric F]

My favorite was always Sport Chalet, but they were acquired by Vestis back in 2014 and within a year, they'd declined to become something almost unrecognizable.

Sport Chalet was founded as a small ski shop near where I live. As a kid, it was always a really fun place to go. Even when they opened a larger store across the street and expanded their focus, they remained a cut above the other large sporting good stores in the area (Big 5 and Oshmans's). Today - with the exception of the flagship store attached to the corporate offices - Sport Chalet is pretty much the same experience, pricing, and products as Dick's. Well...not quite. My local Dick's has a particular employee who regularly hands out mediocre-to-bad "guidance" to newbie parents in the softball section. It's rare to find an employee anywhere near the baseball/softball area in Sport Chalet.

 

[Rocketech1]

Sport Chalet was founded as a small ski shop near where I live. As a kid, it was always a really fun place to go. Even when they opened a larger store across the street and expanded their focus, they remained a cut above the other large sporting good stores in the area (Big 5 and Oshmans's). Today - with the exception of the flagship store attached to the corporate offices - Sport Chalet is pretty much the same experience, pricing, and products as Dick's. Well...not quite. My local Dick's has a particular employee who regularly hands out mediocre-to-bad "guidance" to newbie parents in the softball section. It's rare to find an employee anywhere near the baseball/softball area in Sport Chalet.

The Sports Chalet is our area is pretty good, even has a dive pool / scuba diving classes. We always rent ski equipment from them. A few years ago the Dick's Sporting Goods store closed and now Sports Authority too. It's a shame.

 

[OregonDuck]

There was a place in Portland, Oregon area that I checked out one time called "G.I. Joe's" It was so bad rear. I could get my fishing/hunting stuff there and while I shop I could get an oil change too. Total guy store. I heard Dicks took over and bought them out.

Bummer

I loved G.I. Joes. They had a pretty good selection of baseball/softball gear too. They went out of business and Dick's bought up most of their empty stores. At least that's the story I heard.

 

[Proudmumof2]

We went tp the one by us that is closing last Saturday. I had received $38.17 in loyalty cash so we figured we would put it to a teammate's birthday present. Ended up walking out with two UnderArmor hoodies, two sodas, and some new cleats for just $5.78

 

[BobInMadison]

DD 3 went back to the MC Sports near us. Discounts are 30% now, so she got a new softball bag. By this time she has replaced all the gear she inherited from DD 1. DD 1 is a fantastic young lady but never knew how to buy good softball gear.

 

[bleacher coach]

snag a good deal yesterday, got an 80 dollar mizuno glove for 30 bucks. One of the great things of being a lefty is plenty of lefty stuff left but most of the baseball/softball nets and training aids and balls are all gone. Not really a good deal on there bats they had in stock i guess give it a couple more weeks

 

[junkball]

In my opinion, this is pretty bad news and is one major arena in which the online retailers have a grossly unfair advantage over brick-and-mortar shops. In the case of sporting goods, customers will test products in a local shop, then make the actual purchases online and often from a store-less competitor (e.g. Amazon), not from the store where they tested a particular bat or glove....

You get it. Although I wouldn't apply this statement directly to Sports Authority being a national chain who does have the greatest products or staff, but this is why local businesses that provide great customer service struggle. People come into your store, act all interested, touch and feel your products, try them on, then tell you they'll think about. And then they get in the car, open the Amazon app and buy a $200 item for $185 to save some money. And then eventually you go out of business and they no longer have a dressing room for their Amazon.com purchases.


Personally, I do not mind spending 10% more to keep things local so I can go touch, feel, try a product. Never understood the people that think that the local shops are a dressing room for all the online stores.