Modell's Sporting Goods
Modell's Sporting Goods is an American online sporting goods retailer that had locations in the Northeastern United States. Modell's carries both sporting goods and related apparel. Modell's had more than 150 retail locations in ten states and the District of Columbia in 2018. The company reported revenue of approximately $765 million in 2015. Sales in 2019 were $538 million, 96%/4% split between retail/online. Its slogan was "Gotta Go To Mo's." Modell’s filed for bankruptcy protection in 2020 and the company eventually resorted to liquidating its remaining 134  store locations. In August 2020, Modell’s was relaunched as an online retailer by a company called Retail Ecommerce Ventures, which bought the rights to several other retail brands that were recently disestablished. History. The chain was founded as a single store by Morris A. Modell in 1889 in Manhattan, making it possibly the third oldest sporting goods store in North America (after James F. Brine's in Massachusetts and Milwaukee's Burghardt Sporting Goods). Modell, a Jewish immigrant from Hungary, opened the first location on Cortlandt Street in Lower Manhattan. (The Modell pawn shop chain in Manhattan and Brooklyn  was founded by Morris's brother George in 1893 as a spinoff. The two companies operate separately.) Through the years, it has remained a family-owned business, passing through four generations of the Modell family. While best known as a sporting goods retailer, Modell's also operated a chain of "full-line" discount retailers in the New York-metro area known as "Modell's Shopper's World" (and for a short time as "White-Modells") from the mid-1950s up until 1989, when the company decided to focus on its sporting goods operations partly due to increased competition in the discount  retail market. William Modell, who became chairman in 1985, also founded the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation along with his wife, Shelby Modell. Modell's operated 152 stores at its peak mainly in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. In recent years, the chain expanded to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia as well as Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. Their flagship store was at 234 West 42nd Street near Times Square. CEO Mitchell Modell was featured on an episode of "Undercover Boss" that aired on November 2, 2012. In 2014, a lawsuit by rival Dick's Sporting Goods  accused Modell's CEO of going undercover in their stores to gain access to their retail secrets. In the early 21st century, Modell's faced declining sales which Mitchell Modell has blamed on increased competition, poor performance by professional sports teams, and increased temperatures caused by climate change. In May 2019, Modell lent the company $6.7 million to avoid bankruptcy; in February 2020 the company announced that it intended to close 24 stores. However, in March 2020, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and announced that it would liquidate its 134 remaining stores, with Tiger Capital being appointed  as the liquidator. The liquidation began on March 13, 2020. All their stores were closed by the end of August 2020. Hilco Streambank announced that on August 4, 2020, it would auction Modell's intellectual property, including customer data and the marketing jingle. Hilco Streambank also placed the stalking horse bid at $1.965 million. Modell's was acquired by Retail Ecommerce Ventures (REV), a holding company founded by Alex Mehr and Tai Lopez, for $3.64 million. The acquisition, finalized on August 14, 2020, includes the brand name, trademarks, domain name, and the "Gotta Go To Mo's