Dive Brief:

• Vestis Retail Group, which is owned by Philadelphia-owned private equity firm Versa Capital Management, has bought Sport Chalet, a small sporting goods chain with stores in California, Utah, Nevada, and Arizona.

• With its acquisition of Sport Chalet, Vestis Retail Group, which also owns Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, becomes one of the nation’s largest sporting goods retailers.

• Sport Chalet first opened in 1959 in Southern California as a tennis-in-the-summer, ski-gear-in-the-winter shop and is now a classic fixture in the states where its stores operate.

Dive Insight:

Both the recession and the increased competition in sporting goods have been a challenge for Sport Chalet. Vestis Retail Group says it will retain the retailer’s iconic storefronts with their familiar red sun logo, but will combine sales lines and e-commerce with its other sporting goods business.