The fourth-quarter of 2008, which ended in March 2008, showed the company lost $2.8 million.
“I’m not saying we’re going to be in great shape, the economy is a mess,” Sport Chalet CEO Craig Levra said of the plan, which calls for a $5.4 million profit in earnings before interest tax depreciation during the fiscal 2010 year, in accordance with a loan amendment for Sport Chalet’s existing loan with Bank of America.
“That’s a big swing, but we believe we can do that,” Levra said.
Sport Chalet began in 1959 as a small family-run surf shop on La Cañada’s Foothill Boulevard. The company went public in 1992 and last year opened its 45,000-square-foot facility anchoring La Cañada’s $60 million Town Center.
That new facility was completed at about at about the same time as the nation’s economy took a nose-dive.
Sport Chalet stores showed a loss in sales of $29.8 million in the 2008 fiscal year and a $52.2 million net loss in the 2009 fiscal year.
The drop in sales had some financial experts in the early spring speculating the sporting goods chain was headed for bankruptcy and some negative publicity ensued.
A consultant was brought in during the months of January through March, resulting in the current recovery and turnaround plan, said Howard Kaminsky, Sport Chalet’s chief financial officer.
Kaminsky admits he’s not as optimistic as Levra about the coming months, but still expects the company to rebound.
