Modell’s Sporting Goods Inc. filed for bankruptcy on Wednesday and said it plans to shutter all its stores, a stark outcome even considering the challenges facing today’s bricks-and-mortar retailers, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The chapter 11 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, N.J., comes despite an unusually public campaign by Mitchell Modell, the company’s chief executive and the fourth-generation scion of its founding family, to enlist the support of vendors and landlords in a turnaround. In television interviews, he talked openly about discussions with landlords and possible buyers that are typically kept secret. Modell said yesterday he believed that a liquidation “provides the greatest recovery for our creditors.” “This is certainly not the outcome I wanted,” he said. Modell’s said it would continue discussions with financial creditors about a potential recapitalization of the business through asset sales or an equity investment. The company has 153 stores located mainly in the Northeast.
