Modell’s Sporting Goods is preparing to file for chapter 11 soon, the New York Post reported. The 131-year-old athletic gear retailer has stopped shopping for a white-knight investor to help renegotiate its 140 leases across nine US states and the District of Columbia, and is likewise giving up on getting better terms from its vendors, Chief Executive Mitch Modell confirmed on Friday. In an interview last month, Modell had blamed his company’s woes on “lousy” local sports teams that have depressed jersey sales, as well as a shorter holiday selling season and the warm winter, which hit jacket, boot and glove sales. At the time Modell’s, which has 2,900 employees, had sent a letter to 19 building and mall owners, asking them to “dig deeper” and lower rents or at least defer them to help the retailer avoid a bankruptcy. On Friday, the CEO said that landlords and vendors alike have balked as Modell’s faces increased competition with Amazon and a slew of big-box retailers.
