Retailer

Nostalgic Retail Series #16 - SPORTS AUTHORITY

Sports Authority opened its first store in late 1987 in Southern Florida. In 1990 Kmart (yes...the Kmart) acquired the company and they converted their two Sports Giant stores to Sports Authority locations.

In 1995, having grown to over 135 stores, Kmart spun off the sporting goods chain. In 2003, Gart Sports (which was built through a "mish-mash" of mergers consisting of Gart Brothers' Sportscastle, Hagan's Sports, Stevens Brown of Salt Lake City, Sportsmart and Oshman's) and Sports Authority merged and the combine retail portfolio took on the Sports Authority name in full by 2006.

That same year, "good 'ol private equity" stepped in (Leonard Green & Partners) and purchased the retailer. As is the pattern of much of what private equity touches in the retail world, Sports Authority declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March of 2016.

Despite attempts to avoid liquidation, including talks with Academy Sports + Outdoors and Dick's Sporting Goods, the bankruptcy filing was converted to Chapter 7 in mid-2016 and all locations closed.

Today, if you type in the Sports Authority domain, it takes you to the Dick's Sporting Goods website.

Sales Was Never the Warning Light

I walked into a Nordstrom Rack recently, and a large chunk of the front of the store was sealed off. It wasn't a remodel or a pop-up. It was boxes, stacked and waiting for pickup customers. That space is still in the denominator of the store'

𝐍𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 #60 - 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐘 + 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢'𝘴 𝘕𝘰. 2 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘢, 𝘈𝘭𝘢𝘣𝘢𝘮𝘢. If you grew up in a small Southern town, your video store was probably a Movie Gallery. Empty boxes on the wall, the tapes behind the counter, a bin of Sega and Nintendo games by the register, and a late fee waiting for you on Monday. In 1985,

Nostalgic Retail Series #59: W.T. GRANT

Grants sat somewhere between the five-and-dime and the department store. It had a Bradford House restaurant inside and Bradford brand electronics in the back. Near the end, the clerk at the register was told to hand you a credit application whether you asked for one or not. William

The Household Has a Rent Roll Too

In 2024 the average American household spent $1,993 on vehicle insurance and $1,985 on all apparel and services combined. Shoes, coats, work clothes, school clothes, alterations, dry cleaning, the whole category. Car insurance edged it out by eight dollars. That number comes from the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey,

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Sales Was Never the Warning Light

𝐍𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 #60 - 𝐌𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐄 𝐆𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐑𝐘 + 𝐇𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐘𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝐕𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎

Nostalgic Retail Series #59: W.T. GRANT

The Household Has a Rent Roll Too