SportsClub, Battling Bankruptcy, Closes Its Store in Fountain Valley

All American SportsClub, a discount sporting goods chain, has closed its Fountain Valley store as the company struggles to pull itself out of bankruptcy.

SportsClub has been operating under Chapter 11 proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles since last March, and it has closed a few of its stores along the way.

Stores in Fountain Valley and Woodland Hills were closed on Sunday. The Burbank and Culver City stores were closed earlier. Stores in Sacramento and San Bernardino remain open, company employees said.

The Long Beach-based company has filed a reorganization plan, but a court hearing has not yet been scheduled, said Sandra S. Kass, a SportsClub attorney. Creditors have discussed the plan, and the company will add some information and clarify existing points in the plan, she said.

SportsClub was founded by Robert J. McNulty in 1986, shortly after he sold his interest in HomeClub, the Fullerton chain of discount home improvement stores that he co-founded.

When he started SportsClub, McNulty said his concept was to apply to sporting goods the same no-frills sales techniques that proved so popular in selling paint and faucets. His plan was to undercut the prices of his competition by 25% to 30% by selling directly out of high-ceiling, cement-floor warehouses with large volumes of inventory.

A spokeswoman for SportsClub said McNulty was out of town and unavailable for comment Tuesday.