Downtown Los Angeles will gain another retailer in its continuing effort to revamp itself, as Sport Chalet Inc. has agreed to take an anchor spot at the Fig at 7th shopping center, which is being refurbished.
The announcement last week isn’t only a milestone for downtown, but for the La Canada-Flintridge sporting goods chain: This will be Sport Chalet’s first new store since 2008.
“Overall, we’re extremely excited about the opportunity,” said Craig Levra, the company’s chief executive.
Levra said the decision to open a downtown store has been in the works for a while, as the chain is very careful about opening a store.
The transformation of industrial buildings downtown into condo complexes played a role in the location decision. With about 48,000 residents now in the area, the population has grown enough to sustain a sporting goods store, Levra said. Also, the chain could draw customers from the nearly half-million commuters who work downtown.
Downtown hasn’t had a sporting goods chain retailer since the mid-1990s, when an Oshman’s store closed.
The ball did not bounce Sport Chalet’s way during the recession. It had to shutter one store on La Cienega Boulevard in 2008 – its only closure in the past 15 years. Recently, the chain was hit with a winter that brought little snow to Southern California and limited sales of seasonal gear.
The company last week reported a fourth quarter net loss of $3.8 million, compared with net income of about $300,000 million the same quarter the previous year. Revenue fell 17 percent.
Center renewal
Fig at 7th is undergoing a $40 million makeover that will turn a rundown site into 330,000 square feet of retail. About 25,000 square feet of that will be dining space.
Downtown has struggled to find retailers to populate Seventh Street in the past, but national retailers are showing more interest in taking some vacant space. The new Sport Chalet is scheduled to open in May. A City Target, an urbanized version of Minneapolis-based Target Corp.’s stores, will open in October.
Ed Hogan, spokesman for Fig at 7th property owner Brookfield Office Properties Inc., said that Brookfield thinks Sport Chalet is a great fit for downtown and that the chain is popular with Southern California consumers.
The shopping center has focused on drawing several local brands, including Alhambra’s Lamill Coffee Inc. and Loteria Grill Restaurant Group LLC in Hollywood, which have agreed to leases.
Hogan said that Sport Chalet was one of the first retailers that Toronto-based Brookfield began talking to more than a year ago.
The store’s 27,000-square-foot space at Fig at 7th is much smaller than its traditional 45,000-square-foot models, which are usually located in suburban areas.
The demand for sporting goods among young buyers downtown is a motivation for expanding there, Levra said. Gold’s Gym International Inc., the Irving, Texas, fitness chain, has a location at Fig at 7th and Sport Chalet will be near the gym on the same level. The retailer could draw customers shopping for shoes or exercise apparel for the gym. The store will also emphasize running and cycling downtown to appeal to those who prefer to take their activity to the streets.
The downtown location also will allow customers to reserve products for pickup at a store closer to home. For example, a downtown commuter could buy a kayak or a treadmill at the new store, then pick it up at a Sport Chalet in the suburbs.
The downtown location also will be close to the city’s largest Metro train station, the Seventh Street/Metro Center Station at South Flower Street, and has parking spaces available. That means customers can come to the shopping center on foot, via car or by mass transit.
