2 Bob's Stores Locations Appear Doomed For Now In Connecticut; Others May Survive

It appears that just two Connecticut locations will be closing immediately in the corporate shuffling related to the sale of a Connecticut retail legend — Bob's Stores. And that would be on opposite ends of the Interstate-84 corridor in Danbury and Manchester.

Is that believable? It has to be for the time being, considering no one in the home office would address it on Tuesday, and the Bob's Stores website, where those curious about what is staying open and what is closing are being directed by customer service representatives, indicates that just the Manchester store is immediately doomed.

That is a sharp contrast to the number announced in bankruptcy documentation and published reports related to the sale of the chain to a British firm, Sports Direct International plc.

In April there were numerous reports that nine Bob's Stores were closing in the near future in Connecticut, including locations in Danbury, Fairfield, Hamden, Middletown, Milford, and in Fairfield, the Eastern Mountain Sports store, which is also part of the company, was also reported to close. Other locations cited for closure included Enfield, Simsbury, Manchester and Waterford. EMS Buckland Hills in Manchester was also reported to close. Bob's Stores in Norwalk and Ansonia were expected to remain open, according to reports in April.

Sports Direct has agreed to acquire Eastern Mountain Sports and Bob’s Stores. Sports Direct is saying the $101 million deal is expected to close this month, according to the announcement.

The current parent company for the stores, Meriden-based Eastern Outfitters LLC, had filed for federal bankruptcy protection in Delaware earlier this month and announced plans to close half its stores. As of Jan. 27, the businesses had posted operating losses totaling $26 million and carried assets of $126 million, Sports Direct said.

But that does not seem the case. A call to the Bob's Stores corporate office resulted in a transfer to a person who refused to give her name and a receptionist's terse refusal to transfer a media call to the executive suite.

A polite customer service representative said the website store locator is the accurate account du jour.

So that means stores including Danbury, Enfield, Waterbury, Avon, Fairfield, Milford, Ansonia, Hamden, Middletown, Newington and New London should stay open.

Some state business sources had the number of Bob's locations closing at 21, but others are saying that was a negotiating tactic with landlords as part of the transaction. No Bob's executives were available to discuss the theory, according to a receptionist at the home office.

According to a company profile, Sports Direct was founded in 1982 and is the U.K.’s largest sporting goods retailer. The company will acquire about 50 Bob's and EMS stores, according to the announcement. Eastern Outfitters had announced plans to close 48 of its 86 stores, according to bankruptcy records.

More than 1,400 of the chain’s 2,600 employees would be laid off, according to bankruptcy records, and liquidation sales at the doomed stores would begin as soon as the court grants its approval and continue for about 10 weeks, the company says.

Bob's roots can be traced back to Bob Lapidus, who started the chain in 1954 as Bob’s Surplus with a single no-frills store in the center of Middletown, according to a company profile. The first expansion was in Enfield in 1975. EMS was founded in Massachusetts in 1967.

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