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Sport Chalet is a retailer of sporting equipment, apparel, shoes, and accessories in the western United States.

It operates 52 company owned stores in Southern & Northern California, Arizona, Nevada, and most recently Utah (with its store at Jordan Landing). Most stores are over 35,000 square feet (3,300 m²) in size, with many including dive pools and offering SCUBA classes. Sport Chalet stores usually feature large apparel and footwear departments complemented by an array of specialized departments and sections.

History

The company was founded on April 1, 1959 by Norbert Olberz and his wife Marge, who bought a ski and tennis shop in La Cañada, California for $4,000. To stock the store with ski gear, the couple took out a $5,000 loan and borrowed money from a relative and some employees. The couple slept in roll away beds in the repair shop at the rear of the store.^[1]

Early on, Sport Chalet stocked products that few other stores were selling, such as scuba and mountain-climbing gear. As surfing became popular in the early 1960s, the stores carried longboards and wetsuits.^[1]

Sport Chalet grew piecemeal in La Cañada along Foothill Boulevard. Olberz converted a former grocery store into a full-line sporting goods store and an old furniture store became the ski shop. He turned a gas station into a ski rental shop and opened a golf store down the street.^[1]

The company opened its second store in 1981 in Huntington Beach, CA. By the mid-1980s, the company had expanded to have stores throughout Southern California.^[1] Sport Chalet has been publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange since 1992.

Corporate Environment

Sport Chalet prides itself by employing well trained and knowledgeable employees who have extensive knowledge and/or experience in their respective departments, leading to one of the companies slogans 'The Experts'. Sport Chalet is one of the few major sporting goods retailers to focus on a broad array of more specialized sports, including kayaking, SCUBA diving, mountain climbing, canyoneering, and other extreme sports. Sport Chalet additionally uses the slogan "We'll Take You to The Limit".

In 1998, Olberz gave $1.5 million in stock to 109 employees who had been with the company for at least 10 years.^[1]

The company is the title sponsor of the upcoming "U.S.B.A. California Regional Tour." The tour is a collection of three events that are sanctioned by the United States Bodyboarding Association, that take place at different Southern California beaches. The events run between June 7, 2008 and November 9, 2008.

References