The Forzani Group Ltd. plans to consolidate its two outdoor and lifestyle banners under a single name by next spring, the national sporting goods retailer announced Tuesday.
The consolidation, expected to be completed by next spring, will see the Coast Mountain Sports and Atmosphere lines combined under the Atmosphere name in a move Forzani said “is expected to require minimal capital.”
Currently, the Atmosphere name is best known in Quebec, where 32 of the company’s 33 outlets are located. The other is in Ottawa.
The 23 Coast Mountain locations are concentrated in British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario, with one store in Nova Scotia, according to the Forzani website.
The company’s other retail banners include Sport Chek, Sport Mart, Athletes World, National Sports, Sports Experts, Intersport, Econosports, Tech Shop, Pegasus, Nevada Bob’s Golf, Hockey Experts, The Fitness Source, S3 and RnR.
Forzani announced back in April that it planned to streamline its banner count to improve efficiencies, and reduce overlap and competition between its own outlets.
All existing Atmosphere stores will remain franchised, while the converted Coast Mountain Sports locations will remain corporate.
“By the targeted conversion date of spring 2010, the company expects to be operating 63 locations under the Atmosphere name,” making it the largest outdoor lifestyle chain in Canada, the company said in a statement.
In addition to simplifying the business, Forzani said it expects efficiencies from a single national advertising program as well as higher sales per square foot.
