Maurice Sporting Goods Expands While Closing Warehouse in Northbrook

NORTHBROOK, IL - Nearly 50 employees of the Maurice Sporting Goods warehouse in Northbrook will be laid off this fall, but it's part of the company's planned national expansion.

“We are shuttering the warehouse we’ve operated in Northbrook since 1983 as part of our multi-year initiative to rationalize our United States distribution,” said Michael Olshansky, an owner of the sporting goods retailer that will retain its headquarters in Northbrook.

The closing of the Northbrook warehouse is part of the company’s plan to move from a three-site distribution operation to a two-site operation. While the Northbrook facility at 1825 Shermer Road closes, the company will expand operations at their other warehouses in Atlanta and Reno, Nev.

“We just invested in a state-of-the-art facility in Atlanta, where we’ve been distributing for 30 years and adding to our Reno location as well,” said Olshansky, the grandson of company founder Maurice Olshansky, who started the business with "very humble beginnings" on Maxwell Street in Chicago in 1923.

In Atlanta, Olshansky said Maurice will have the ability to “process customer orders in a more rapid fashion” thanks to new technology.

The Illinois Department of Commerce confirmed as part of its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification program that 49 employees at Northbrook’s Shermer Road location will be laid off between Oct. 21 and Nov. 3. A number of the employees affected are temporary, Olshansky said.

“It’s a tough thing to go through for business owners and a challenging situation in business,” Olshansky said. “But we had to do what’s in the best interest of our customers and the 900 other employees we have.”

He described Maurice’s current business state as “vibrant.” The company has made "several" acquisitions in recent years and its client base includes Dick's Sporting Goods, Wal-Mart and others.

The company's headquarters will remain in Northbrook, where more than 200 employees will continue to work out of three buildings Maurice will continue to own.

Maurice has been seeking to sell the warehouse building in Northbrook for years, and made the decision to eventually close it permanently 14 months ago "in conjunction the decision to undergo the supply chain rationalization process," Olshansky said.

According to its website, Maurice is in its 93rd year and leads the industry in “supplying sporting goods to retailers around the world.”