Golfsmith International, the retailer of golf clothing and equipment, is considering filing for bankruptcy as it looks for a new owner, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. Golfsmith hired the investment bank Jefferies LLC to solicit buyers for the roughly 150-store chain, without success so far. The company also hired Alvarez & Marsal to help it restructure, according to sources, who said that a sale could come as part of a chapter 11 filing. The Austin, Texas-based chain is the latest casualty of a struggling golf industry, which hasn’t recovered from a downturn in U.S. participation over the past decade. Nike Inc. announced on Wednesday that it would no longer sell equipment for the sport, and Adidas AG is trying to offload most of its golf brands.
