Another Sporting Goods Retail Chain Files For Bankruptcy

The sports retail industry’s transition to online selling has claimed another victim with the bankruptcy filing of Midwest chain MC Sports. The retailer, known legally as Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors, said it plans to immediately begin liquidation sales at all of its 68 stores. The company left open the possibility that it could remain open in some form through a “going-concern sale,” which would require an outside entity to strike a deal to prop up the brand. The Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company, founded in 1946, employs more than 1,300 workers. The chain reported a net loss of $5.4 million on sales of $174.6 million in its most recent fiscal year, according to a court filing. MC Sports CEO Bruce Ullery, who owns 86% of the company, said in a court filing that “the rapid migration of sales from traditional brick-and-mortar retailers to online resellers,” competing distributors, specialty retailers and “changing consumer preferences” contributed to the company’s demise. Read more at USA Today.