KAILUA-KONA — Sports Authority is shutting down all of its 463 locations nationwide, including two Hawaii Island locations among eight stores across the state, as part of a liquidation process expected to span several months. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — Sports Authority
KAILUA-KONA — Sports Authority is shutting down all of its 463 locations nationwide, including two Hawaii Island locations among eight stores across the state, as part of a liquidation process expected to span several months.
Sports Authority filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this year and reported a $1.1 billion debt. The company’s initial plan was to restructure its debt and close 140 stores, but attorneys for Sports Authority reported earlier this month the company was unable to bring its creditors and lenders on board with that reorganizational plan.
Chris Ellorin, manager for the last three years of the Sports Authority located in the Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo and a 14-year employee of the company, said the liquidation process could start as early as Friday and will almost certainly be underway by next week.
He added that conference calls with the corporate office indicate the company expects the liquidation process will extend through the end of August.
“The liquidation sales hearing confirmation is (Tuesday),” Ellorin said, adding that more concrete information would be disseminated upon the hearing’s conclusion. “We all followed the media and sat on conference calls. We were worried but were all hopeful (the store would remain open).”
Hawaii Island locations won’t shut their doors for good until their inventory is sold off. Ellorin said that a third-party liquidator will determine any mark downs, and while prices are likely to shrink, how much they’ll shrink and what savings consumers can actually expect remains an open question.
“It’s disappointing they’re shutting down,” said Chris James, who visited Sports Authority in the Kona Commons Monday with his family to use a gift card before the doors close for good. “They’re putting people to work. How many more jobs does Kona lose there?”
The answer is just shy of 60, said Alvin Tayo, manager of the Kona Commons location since 2008. Roughly 100 Big Islanders in total will lose their jobs by summer’s end, as Ellorin oversees 42 employees in Hilo.
“When we got official word last week, it was emotional,” said Ellorin, who wants to remain on Hawaii Island but is concerned about the availability of job opportunities in any sector, let alone retail management. “It was heartbreaking.”
Tayo expressed a similar sentiment, adding that ramifications extend beyond unemployment to consumer options for sporting goods.
“The retail out here is nothing like on the mainland,” Tayo said. “There aren’t many options. A lot of kids play sports. My kids play sports. This is a huge hit.”
Whether another company will step in to fill the market void left by Sports Authority on Hawaii Island and across the state is unknown, but it does appear as though opportunity for such a development exists.
Since March, several national news outlets — including CNBC, Fox and CNN — have reported that Dick’s Sporting Goods had interest in acquiring Sports Authority assets and was poised to move on significant portions of the company’s market share.
In the meantime, consumers on Hawaii Island looking for sporting apparel will be forced to engage with the online market, to which Sports Authority and business experts alike attributed many of the struggles leading to the company’s eventual shutdown.
“We were stoked when they opened this store. Where else can you go to try on all these shoes?” asked customer Amy James, who said stores like Walmart and Target lack the inventory to replicate the consumer experience at an actual sporting goods store. “You can order online and then you are back and forth. Online shopping isn’t great for shoes or that kind of thing. And you want (the merchandise) now. You go shopping and you don’t want to wait three days.”
