Skip to content. Sports Authority was an American sports retailer founded by a group of venture capitalists and founding executives in Increasingly burdened by debt, the company filed for bankruptcy in Sports Authority experienced intense competition from big-box retailers and eCommerce giants. Its tired stores and high prices could not compete with online shopping. Sports Authority also could not identify and then capitalize on trends.
This was due to a combination of poor corporate leadership and insufficient investment capital. Contents Background Competition and brand differentiation eCommerce presence Failure to recognize trends Lack of innovative thinking Debt Related Resources. Related Resources. What happened to Lehman Brothers? The Lehman… What happened to Forever 21?
He was replaced by David Campisi. Sports Authority decided to diversify its approach in , creating the S. Elite high-end store brand to "meet the needs of the elite sporting goods consumer while providing a unique and compelling shopping experience.
The S. Elite stores were much smaller than typical Sports Authority stores at 12, to 15, square feet and offered premier brands, the company said at the time. Elite store in Boulder was the first Colorado store to close in the wake of the company's financial trouble that would ultimately spell its doom in the first part of Sports Authority's aggressive growth plan continued in , when it opened six stores in one day , bringing the total to stores in 45 states.
Later that year, Jeff Schumacher, the company's chief marketer and the driving force behind the stadium naming deal, resigned from Sports Authority. Also in , Sports Authority entered Puerto Rico , hiring about 70 people and planning for two more locations there. In a candid interview with the DBJ in , Foss conceded that Sports Authority had not kept up with its competitors, and he outlined a variety of steps he planned to take to boost the company's performance.
We have not grown with the industry. He said sales and profit growth had been "erratic," and cited insufficient employee engagement, "poor" inventory management practices and "spotty" customer service. Elite" when he arrived in mid He said he would focus on putting a good leadership team into place as well as "great [employee] engagement and then the maniacal focus on customer satisfaction making your customers raving fans. But Foss's attempts at getting the company back on track would be in vain.
Sports Authority continued to rack up debt while struggling to attract customers and facing increased competition from online shopping and other retailers. But no amount of financial wrangling could keep Chapter 11 at bay, and the once-great retailer filed for reorganization in March. Please Sign In and use this article's on page print button to print this article. Our strategy to achieve this goal is offer our customers: an extensive selection of quality brand name merchandise; powerfully merchandised megastores that provide ease of shopping; competitive prices that create value; premium customer service and product knowledge; and convenient locations throughout our markets.
The Sports Authority, Inc. From its stores, which are located in 26 states and in Canada, the company sells sporting goods in over 1, merchandise categories. Its large format stores, virtually all of which exceed 40, square feet, carry more than brand names, including Adidas, Asics, Coleman, K2, Nike , Prince, and Starter.
The idea behind the company that would grow to become the nation's largest sporting goods chain in just five years came from Jack Smith, a former CEO of Herman's World of Sports, who opened the first Sports Authority store in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in While at Herman's, Smith tried unsuccessfully to bring the same comprehensive megastore concept that had fueled the tremendous growth of Toys "R" Us and Home Depot to the sporting goods industry. With the backing of a group of venture capitalists, he got another chance and set out to build his own sporting goods giant.
By he was running eight megastores, mainly in Florida, and while his company had yet to turn a profit, the then year-old fitness enthusiast was convinced he could make the idea work if he could obtain the capital to fund full-scale expansion.
With the financial backing of the multi-billion-dollar retail giant, Smith now had the resources he needed to implement his plans fully and begin an expansion program that would see The Sports Authority grow to stores four years later. In , the company more than doubled its size to 19 stores. While such rapid growth was accompanied by proportional gains in total revenue, it did not yet translate well onto the balance sheet.
Although the company was unable to realize a profit during these developmental years, it succeeded in building the technological infrastructure needed to support more important long-term growth. At the expense of short-term profits, the experienced sporting goods executive had the foresight to invest heavily in state-of-the-art computer systems that closely monitored inventory. Not only would this give Sports Authority an early technological edge on the competition; it would enable the company to keep its shelves stocked without the use of a distribution facility.
The accuracy and availability of information housed in the company's extensive computer system would allow vendors to ship directly to individual stores. Post Valuation. Last Financing Details. The company offers products for team sports, golf, tennis, ou. Englewood, CO. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu. New York, NY. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deseru. Indianapolis, IN. Add Comparison. Sports Authority Competitors Sports Authority Patents.
Sports Authority Recent Patent Activity. Sports Authority Executive Team 24 Update this profile. Sports Authority Board Members 6.
Sports Authority Signals. Growth Rate 0. Weekly Growth 0.
0コメント