Sporting goods industry hit or miss during pandemic

Sporting goods industry hit or miss during pandemic

SeattlePI.com

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GILBERT, Ariz. (AP) — Brian Morris faced a difficult scenario when the coronavirus pandemic started leading to shutdowns across the nation.

If Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey opted to include bike shops among the businesses deemed nonessential, Freeride Bike Company, which he owns with his wife Ashleigh, would have to shutter its doors for who knows how long.

When Ducey deemed bike shops essential, it turned out to be huge boon for their business as cooped-up Americans sought ways to go outside and get moving.

“We’ve seen a huge spike in sales across the board, from beach cruisers all the way up to high-end mountain bikes, road bikes,” Brian Morris said. “A lot of tubes, tires tools as a lot of people are learning to do home repairs with a lot of shops being overloaded in service. We have seen a major spike and had a hard time keeping up with the demand at times.”

The pandemic has had a devastating impact on retail as businesses across the country were forced to close their doors for weeks at a time.

In the sporting goods industry, the impact has depended on the focus of the business.

Stores that rely on in-store sales have taken a big hit.

Dick's Sporting Goods, one of the largest national sporting goods chains, was forced to close all its stores on March 19 and furloughed a significant number of its 40,000 employees in early April. The company started reopening some stores in recent weeks.

Modell's Sporting Goods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early March, but a judge approved an emergency request to mothball the case once the pandemic hit.

Stores selling uniforms and equipment for team sports also saw massive revenue declines as sports leagues across the U.S. went dark during the pandemic. Stores connected to sports facilities, like pro shops at hockey...

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