- Jun 12, 2015
- 3,848
- 83
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.
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?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.
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.
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
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....