By Thomas J. Ryan

The collapse of Sports Authority certainly waylaid the industry, but it was far from the only bankruptcy filing to take place this year.

While many of the year’s bankruptcies ultimately stemmed from taking on too much debt, many of those filing also cited last year’s warm winter and competitive pressures against online sellers.

In all, the industry hasn’t seen this much disruption since the turn of this century when Just for Feet, Jumbo Sports, Sportstown and Sportsmart all were forced to exit the marketplace and Sports Authority first teetered on the verge of bankruptcy, before being merged with Gart Sports.

The bankruptcy action this year also follows on the liquidation of City Sports’ 26 stores at the start of the year.

Here, a roundup of the cases:

  • Sports Authority filed for Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware in March. The third-largest sporting goods retailer, after Dick’s Sporting Goods and Academy Sports & Outdoors, said it was particularly hampered by $1.1 billion in debt, and struggled to compete with online retailers. The company initially planned to close about 140 of its 463 stores, but wound up closing all of them after failing to find a bidder that would keep at least some of its stores in operation. The company was bought by liquidators, Hilco Merchant Resources, Gordon Brothers Retail Partners and Tiger Capital Group LLC, which ran close-out sales until August 31. Dick’s Sporting Goods won the Sports Authority brand name and the right to acquire 31 store leases in a bankruptcy auction in June.
  • In April, Pacific Sunwear landed in bankruptcy court, but was able to emerge by early September after reducing debt, closing some stores and reworking leases. PacSun was acquired by Golden Gate Capital, its senior lender. The teen retailer’s bankruptcy followed the bankruptcies of other youth-oriented stores such as Wet Seal and Quiksilver, which have struggled to compete against fast-fashion stores such as H&M.
  • In mid-April, Vestis Retail Group LLC, the operator of Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s Stores, filed for bankruptcy. The company blamed the increasing popularity of online shopping as well as unseasonably warm weather in the Northeast during 2015. Upon filing, the company moved to shutter the 47-unit Sport Chalet chain while closing eight EMS locations and one Bob’s. In July, the business was sold to funds advised by Versa Capital Management LLC, the Philadelphia-based private equity firm that also owned Vestis.
  • In early July, Total Hockey, the 32-store chain based in Maryland Heights, MO, filed for bankruptcy protection. The warmer weather last winter dampened sales while last year’s sale of Easton Hockey left an excessive amount of inventory in the market. Additionally, a weakened Canadian dollar compared with the U.S. dollar last year prompted fewer Canadian hockey teams to travel to tournaments where Total Hockey has stores, which also cut into sales. In early August, TSG Enterprises, which owns the Pure Hockey and Hockey Giant chains, acquired Total Hockey for $22.5 million.
  • Golfsmith filed for bankruptcy protection in September, impacted by over-aggressive expansion and the slowdown in the golf. Senior lenders took its Canadian stores, which operate as Golf Town. Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc. won a bankruptcy auction for its U.S. stores with a $70 million joint bid with Hilco Global and Tiger Capital Group. Dick’s retained about 30 of Golfsmith’s 109 U.S. locations, with the stores being converted to Golf Galaxy.
  • Backwoods, the outdoor retailer, filed for bankruptcy on November 9, citing  “changing shopping trends and consumer behavior, competitive pressures from both online and big-box retailers and numerous bankruptcies in the outdoor space.” The Austin-based chain has 10 locations across Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, including Neptune Mountaineering in Colorado, and an adventure travel business.
  • On Halloween, Performance Sports Group, the maker of Bauer ice hockey gear and Easton baseball equipment, filed for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. and Canada to facilitate a restructuring and sale of almost all of its assets. The company blamed accounting irregularities, a slump in bat sales and the liquidation of Sports Authority. A number of buyers are reportedly lining up to make a bid for the company. An auction in bankruptcy court is set for January 30.

Photo courtesy Sports Authority