City Sports is an American

sporting goods Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...

retailer Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...

that re-launched in the spring of 2017 after being purchased during bankruptcy liquidation in December 2015. Founded in 1983 by Mike Kennedy and Eric Martin, two

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

locals, the company grew across state borders and operated 27 stores in eight states. Post-bankruptcy the company now operates an e-commerce site with plans for future brick and mortar locations.

History

In November 1983, high school friends and tennis partners Mike Kennedy and Eric Martin were living and working in

and were frequently unable to find quality branded sporting goods merchandise in a single downtown location to satisfy their year-round athletic interests. Frustrated with their lack of success in finding the appropriate gear, they opened the first City Sports location on Massachusetts Avenue and began selling quality sporting goods merchandise with an emphasis on running and racquet sports. Over the next thirty years, City Sports grew into an award winning specialty sports retailer in metropolitan locations along the east coast. At its peak, the company operated 27 stores across seven states (

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, New York,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area and the seventh-least populous, with slightly fewer than 1.1 million residents as of 2020, but it ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, and

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

and

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Acquisition by Highland Consumer Fund

On March 11, 2008, the company announced that it had been acquired by the Highland Consumer Fund, a subsidiary of

Highland Capital Partners Highland Capital Partners is a global venture capital firm with offices in Boston, Silicon Valley, and San Francisco. Highland has raised over $4 billion in committed capital and invested in more than 280 companies, with 47 IPOs and 134 Acqui ...

, an investment firm. Highland purchased an 80% stake in the company, and planned to nearly triple the number of stores within the next five years. Ultimately, Highland estimated that the business had the potential to grow to around 300 stores across the United States. Both parties declined to release financial details of the deal.

Bankruptcy and relaunch

City Sports Inc. filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

on October 5, 2015, with assets and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million. The filing, made in the United States Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware, listed the sporting retailer's biggest creditors as

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

(which is owed $1.27 million),

Under Armour Under Armour, Inc. is an American sports equipment company that manufactures footwear, sports and casual apparel. Under Armour's global headquarters are located in Baltimore, Maryland, with additional offices located in Amsterdam (European head ...

($1.03 million), Asics ($1.03 million), and

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and g ...

($1.01 million). On November 5, it was announced that all 27 City Sports stores would close; liquidation sales at all of the stores began the following day. In January 2016, the brand assets were purchased by new owners with plans to re-launch City Sports and eventually open new storefronts in urban markets. In April 2017, City Sports announced the relaunch of the e-commerce site and citysports.com. In July 2017, the company announced they would be opening a

pop-up store Pop-up retail, also known as pop-up store (pop-up shop in the UK, Australia and Ireland) or flash retailing, is a trend of opening short-term sales spaces that last for days to weeks before closing down, often to catch onto a fad or scheduled e ...

and sponsoring the Boston Triathlon with logos on the race bags and swim caps. City Sports is currently focused on fitness-oriented customers through multiple e-commerce platforms. The iconic City Sports T-shirts are the most popular item on the web store.

References

{{reflist Companies based in Boston Economy of the Northeastern United States Online retailers of the United States Sporting goods retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 1983 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2015