The parent company of Sport Chalet, Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today.
The filing comes after the news this weekend that Sport Chalet is closing all of its doors. Vestis cited the competitive pressures facing Sport Chalet for the decision to close down the chain.
Vestis Retail Group, which owns the three banners, plans to keep Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s operating during the bankruptcy process and after. It plans to close eight unprofitable Eastern Mountain Sports stores and one Bob’s store.
The company will use the bankruptcy process to shed debt and then sell most of its assets to funds advised by Versa Capital Management, a private equity firm, which is related to Vestis. A bankruptcy court must approve any plan.
Vestis said it has obtained debtor in possession financing of $125 million from Wells Fargo Capital Finance.
The closing of Sport Chalet and the bankruptcy of Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s is another blow to industry brands already dealing with the bankruptcy of Sports Authority and PacSun. Sport Chalet is a big account for industry surf, snow and skate brands, and Eastern Mountain Sports is a big snow account.
We’ll have more to come on this story.
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