Sports Chalet Reports Big Sales Gains Since Black Thanksgiving

The California-based retailers, which recently hired an investment bank to look for potential investors needed to accelerate its strategic growth plans, reported comparable stores sales for the Black Friday weekend were up 17.1 percent compared to 2012, and Cyber Monday comparable sales were higher by 34.8 percent.

“Over Black Friday weekend, our customers told us they would rather be gift giving, and as always, we helped provide them with the best gear, apparel and Expert advice they needed for their favorite sports,” said Craig Levra, Chairman and CEO of Sport Chalet. “To the delight of many customers, we resisted the trend of opening on Thanksgiving Day. On Black Friday, with 6:00 a.m. store openings, and throughout the weekend, our customers responded positively to our promotions, while many others shopped online and on their mobile devices, giving us a solid start to the holiday selling season.”

Online shopping also surged at sportchalet.com, where orders for Cyber Monday grew 91.6 percent over 2012, with more than 36 percent of sales originating outside of Sport Chalet's core states of Arizona, California, Nevada and Utah. Sport Chalet operates 52 stores in those states.

“Since Cyber Monday, our comparable sales through Sunday are higher by 19.9 percent over the same week in 2012, and we are optimistic about the 2013 holiday season's potential,” noted Levra. “Our customers are engaging with our Experts across all of our channels, consumer confidence has risen to its highest level in five months, and the weather is doing its part by giving our local ski areas a good snow base. While recognizing that the most significant selling weeks are ahead of us, we are hopeful this early sales momentum will continue and drive healthy sales growth over 2012 levels.”