Modell's Sporting Goods


Modell's Sporting Goods is an American sporting goods retailer with locations in the Northeastern United States. Modell's carries both sporting goods and related apparel. Modell's had more than 150 retail locations in ten states and the District of Columbia in 2018. The company reported revenue of approximately $765 million in 2015. Sales in 2019 were $538 million, 96%/4% split between retail/online. Its slogan is "Gotta Go To Mo's."

History

The chain was founded as a single store by Morris A. Modell in 1889 in Manhattan, making it possibly the third oldest sporting goods store in North America. Modell, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary, opened the first location on Cortlandt Street in Lower Manhattan.
Through the years, it has remained a family-owned business, passing through four generations of the Modell family. While best known as a sporting goods retailer, Modell's also operated a chain of "full-line" discount retailers in the New York-metro area known as "Modell's Shopper's World" from the mid-1950s up until 1989, when the company decided to focus on its sporting goods operations partly due to increased competition in the discount retail market.
William Modell, who became chairman in 1985, also founded the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation along with his wife, Shelby Modell.
Modell's operated 152 stores at its peak mainly in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In recent years, the chain expanded to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia as well as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Their flagship store is at 234 West 42nd Street near Times Square.
CEO Mitchell Modell was featured on an episode of Undercover Boss that aired on November 2, 2012. In 2014, a lawsuit by rival Dick's Sporting Goods accused Modell's CEO of going undercover in their stores to gain access to their retail secrets.
In recent years, Modell's faced declining sales which Mitchell Modell has blamed on increased competition, poor performance by professional sports teams, and increased temperatures caused by climate change. In May 2019, Modell lent the company $6.7 million to avoid bankruptcy; in February 2020 the company announced that it intended to close 24 stores. However, in March 2020, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that it would liquidate its 134 remaining stores, with Tiger Capital being appointed as the liquidator. The liquidation began on March 13, 2020., New York City|alt=|left Hilco Streambank is auctioning Modell's intellecutal property, including customer data and the marketing jingle, on August 4, 2020. Hilco Streambank is also placing the stalking horse bid at $1.965M.

Mission

Modell's approach as "Your Hometown Sporting Goods Store" through local specialized offerings, community relationships, and programs such as Team Weeks, which assists local schools, leagues, and non-profit organizations had made it a very successful company through the years. Modell's #1 mission statement was to "Listen, Respect, and Respond" to the needs of their customers, associates, and vendors. Modell's sponsored many professional sports teams in their east coast market area, including the Baltimore Orioles,Baltimore Ravens,Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Brooklyn Nets, New York Mets, New York Yankees, New York Giants, New York Jets, New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Eagles, Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Washington Nationals, as well as numerous minor league baseball teams.
Some writers attributed at least some of Modell's problems during the 2010s due to the poor performance of New York sports teams in that decade, and the difficulty in selling their merchandise.