First Phase of a Comprehensive ECommerce Strategy
Positions Company for ECommerce Leadership in 2009
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 11, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sport Chalet, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPCHA), (Nasdaq:SPCHB) today announced that it will launch a new website on November 22, 2008 as the first phase of an ECommerce strategic plan that will allow it to better connect with customers and expand the market presence of Sport Chalet.
Phase One will showcase winter and holiday merchandise with innovative and market leading web experiences that will build market awareness of the unique offering of specialty sporting goods merchandise available in Sport Chalet stores.
In 2009, the Company plans to launch Phase Two of the transition of the newly designed www.sportchalet.com into a fully integrated online/offline shopping experience for customers. Customers will be able to complete purchases online and have merchandise available for in-store pickup, or shipped directly from Sport Chalet's vendors, its Distribution Center or its stores.
Craig Levra, Chairman and CEO, stated, "This has been in the works for a long time, and we are thrilled that our new ECommerce strategy will present the strength of the Sport Chalet brand and reinforce our position as the leading retailer of specialty sporting goods and services. A comprehensive strategy and a market leading online presence will allow us to take advantage of an opportunity to build awareness of our brand as we introduce Sport Chalet to broader markets. We are very cognizant of how we portray not only our brand but more importantly our core specialty vendor partners online, and that positioning must mirror the experience of shopping in our stores. Therefore, it is imperative that we offer our customers an exciting online experience that is meaningful and complements what we offer in our Sport Chalet stores. We expect our efforts will create stronger customer loyalty and drive traffic to our stores while at the same time increasing sales."
In the development of this new ECommerce strategy, Sport Chalet has leveraged significant investments in its infrastructure and systems during the past four years including SAP, High Jump and Market Max/SAS. These infrastructure enhancements have laid the foundation for the launch of the new ECommerce platform. Sport Chalet has partnered with leading technology providers to maximize the opportunity including:
* MarketLive -- for the ECommerce platform and hosting. This platform
will include Endeca, Omniture and Scene7 services.
* Sapient Interactive -- for site design, build and integration.
* Shopatron -- for order management, payment processing, customer
support, and enabling of in-store pickup.
* Baazarvoice -- for customer ratings and reviews.
* Experian Cheetah Mail -- for email campaign management.
Peter R. Taylor, Director of Business Development, ECommerce, commented, "We recognize we have an untapped opportunity in ECommerce and we believe now is the opportune time to begin upgrading our capabilities. Given that we understand the power and the ever evolving capabilities of the web, we have developed our digital strategy with a well designed methodology. Over the last four years, the Company has installed key systems that collectively serve as the solid foundation for our ECommerce offering. After a thorough vetting and review process, there is no doubt the partners we have selected will provide the best in class technologies. We believe we are taking all of the right steps to better connect with our customers while capturing additional market share and positioning Sport Chalet for long-term growth. Phase One will serve as an important holiday marketing vehicle, while Phase Two will provide a complete online shopping experience, allowing customers from around the nation to shop with us."
After November 22, 2008, the new Phase One site can be accessed at www.sportchalet.com.
About Sport Chalet, Inc.
Sport Chalet, founded in 1959 by Norbert Olberz, is a leading operator of full service specialty sporting goods stores in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah. The Company offers over 50 services for the serious sports enthusiast, including backpacking, canyoneering, and kayaking instruction, custom golf club fitting and repair, snowboard and ski rental and repair, SCUBA training and certification, SCUBA boat charters, team sales, racquet stringing, and bicycle tune-up and repair throughout its 54 locations. The address for Sport Chalet's web site is www.sportchalet.com.