Retailer Modell’s Sporting Goods is planning to trial small concept stores across New York, in line with a growing trend in retailers seeking to reduce their real estate costs amid slowing revenues.
The new plan comes after the 130-year-old sports retailer hired a restructuring adviser to guide it through a turnaround of its business in March.
“The days of the 15,000 square foot store in the boroughs, are just not there,” Mitchell Modell, the company’s fourth-generation chief executive, told The Real Deal. “We want to test it out and see if it works.”
Modell said the plan is to open 10 locations spanning 5,000 and 8,000 square feet across Manhattan and the outer boroughs.
He said he expected to sign the first concept store lease on a retail shopfront in Manhattan next week, but did not disclose its location.
The retailer has tapped Compass’s Brett Weinblatt and Ralph Hanan to secure the locations. Weinblatt, joined Compass from Solil Managment in January.
The company has experienced a drop in sales as the rise of online sellers and larger retailers have pushed further into its market share. It currently has more than 150 locations in 10 states across the North East region. In January, Modell’s listed its 300,000-square-foot Bronx warehouse for $100 million.