10°c A few clouds
19°c Variable cloudiness
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
All Sport Mart stores to close doors
Winnipeg's last Sport Mart, at the Unicity mall, is slated to close March 17. (RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS) Photo Store
THE Sport Mart banner is about to disappear from the Winnipeg scene forever.
The poorer sister to Sport Chek -- they're both owned by Calgary-based FGL Sports -- will shut its 60 stores across the country by the end of March. In Winnipeg, that means its last location on west Portage Avenue will be having some significant blowout sales before closing on March 17, according to Brendon Arnold, public relations specialist with FGL.
"This is all about growing our best-positioned and most strategic banners," he said. "It was a decision due to performance and demand."
The company is going to put all its eggs in the baskets of its higher-margin retailers -- Sport Chek and Atmosphere, a store focused on camping and outdoor recreation.
(Atmosphere doesn't have any locations in Manitoba, but it has a presence in B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia and Quebec.)
Sport Mart focuses on price-conscious consumers while Sport Chek tends to have a greater variety of products and a wider range of prices.
"We're going to be adding more than 100 Sport Chek and Atmosphere stores across the country over the next five years and opening more than two million square feet of real estate," he said.
Arnold said it was too early to tell what steps will be taken in Winnipeg or Manitoba.
The shutdown of Sport Mart won't come as a surprise to regular shoppers. FGL closed its Pembina Highway location near the University of Manitoba and another across from the Polo Park shopping centre a little more than two years ago. At the time, the company said its two remaining stores were profitable.
Then last year, its store at the Kildonan Place shopping centre was mothballed.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition February 14, 2013 A17
More Business
- Back to Top
- Return to Business
More Business
(1 of 50 articles for this week)
Japan's top leaders defend 'Abenomics' economic strategies as roiled markets settle
05/23/2013 11:23 PM 0TOKYO - Japan's top leaders are defending the economic strategies championed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, though the central bank ...
Poll
Most Popular Business
- New owner for lumber stores
- Skyline-altering project will happen: developer
- Ottawa threatens 'retaliatory measures' over new U.S. meat labelling regulations
- New downtown tower could be 42 storeys tall: developers
- She's got entrepreneurial spirit
- The Galapagos to be just a click away: Google photographs famous islands for Street View
- Hobby Lobby appeal tests limits of federal birth-control coverage mandate
- Wealth survey indicates average person has $6.6K
- Creative industries can fuel a city's economic engine
- Target exceeds sales goal at Canadian stores
- New owner for lumber stores
- Mounties say crooks passing fake polymer bank notes in British Columbia
- 2 men arrested in killing of Las Vegas teen who refused to give up his iPad
- New downtown tower could be 42 storeys tall: developers
- Creative industries can fuel a city's economic engine
- Microsoft reveals Xbox One as all-in-1 entertainment console, last of 3 major systems unveiled
- Skyline-altering project will happen: developer
- Housing slowdown to worsen, cost 150,000 jobs, says mortgage group
- Bridging the gap
- Ottawa threatens 'retaliatory measures' over new U.S. meat labelling regulations
- Target opens its first Manitoba stores Tuesday
- New structure to be king of downtown?
- Transcona transformation
- Target opens Manitoba stores
- New owner for lumber stores
- Mounties say crooks passing fake polymer bank notes in British Columbia
- City to get a touch of glass
- Canad Inns property has personal meaning for owner
- Holiday pump jump debated
- Local boy leads Great-West
- New owner for lumber stores
- Skyline-altering project will happen: developer
- She's got entrepreneurial spirit
- US new home sales rise 2.3 per cent in April while median home prices hit record high
- Bell invests in 'TV everywhere'
- Bridgwater site to resemble Osborne Village
- Transcona transformation
- PotashCorp cites confidence in cash flow, increases quarterly dividend 25%
- Bridging the gap
- Young entrepreneurs pitch ideas to investor Warren Buffett, win prizes for their businesses
- New owner for lumber stores
- Ex-'Pegger seeks to grow local businesses
- Bridging the gap
- Developers to unveil plans for bold downtown tower
- Skyline-altering project will happen: developer
- There are lots of I's in 'team'
- More than a new boss
- New downtown tower could be 42 storeys tall: developers
- Viterra plans $20 million capacity upgrade at four Saskatchewan grain terminals
- Creative industries can fuel a city's economic engine
- New owner for lumber stores
- Transcona transformation
- New structure to be king of downtown?
- CEO, execs terminated at TCIG
- Target opens its first Manitoba stores Tuesday
- Canad Inns property has personal meaning for owner
- Winnipeg's got the REIT stuff
- Older and jobless? Resource on hand
- Local boy leads Great-West
- Ex-'Pegger seeks to grow local businesses
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.