Eastern Mountain Sports could be on verge of bankruptcy
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Eastern Mountain Sports’ parent company may be filing for bankruptcy as soon as next week, according to Bloomberg.
Vestis Retail Group owns Eastern Mountain Sports, Sport Chalet and Bob’s Stores, and is based in Delaware. Bloomberg cited an anonymous source familiar with the matter who said Vestis is preparing a bankruptcy filing and could file within a matter of days.
“Vestis continually looks for opportunities to position its stores for long-term growth and success and, as such, is evaluating a number of strategies to strengthen the business,” Vestis said in a statement a spokesman emailed to SNEWS Friday. “We will share additional updates as and when decisions are made. Meanwhile, we continue to focus on executing our long-term strategic plan, and all our stores … continue to operate as usual.”
A spokesman for Versa Capital said the company has declined to comment.
Vestis is owned by private equity firm Versa Capital Management, which also owns Polartec. Versa and Polartec announced in December that they would be closing its famous Polartec factory in Massachusetts. The announcement came nearly 20 years to the day after a fire destroyed the Lawrence, Mass., facility and Aaron Feuerstein, then CEO, famously chose to continue paying workers while the factory was rebuilt.
In December, a public relations firm handling media requests about the factory closure declined to comment on whether Polartec may eventually move all manufacturing overseas.
