Eight Olympia Sports stores will close in Maine in the aftermath of the Westbrook-based retailer’s sale to a California company.

Stores in Bangor, Belfast, Biddeford, Farmington, Freeport, Sanford, South Paris and Wells will close, according to a news release from SB360 Capital Partners, the company handling the liquidation of inventory.

Olympia Sports, which was founded in 1975 as one of the first retailers in the then-new Maine Mall, sold the franchise in early October to JackRabbit, an active lifestyle retailer operated by CriticalPoint Capital, a California private investment firm. At the time, a spokeswoman for Olympia Sports said about half of the 150 sporting goods stores the company operates from Maine through Virginia would close as a result of the deal.

The eight stores in Maine were listed among the 76 Olympia Sports stores closing nationally. Stores in Waterville, Ellsworth, South Portland, Rockland, Auburn, Falmouth, Windham and Presque Isle were not included in the list. They are expected to transition to the JackRabbit brand.

Liquidation sales at the stores pegged to close were to begin Nov. 1, according to the release. SB360 Capital Partners said it would liquidate $44 million in inventory through heavy discounting.

Maine Department of Labor spokeswoman Jessica Picard said Olympia Sports filed notice with the state, notifying it of 62 impending layoffs, expected by the end of January. Layoffs, which include workers at the company’s Westbrook headquarters, were to be phased in as stores close, said a company spokeswoman.

Picard said the state has offered its Rapid Response services to the affected employees, which offers information about health insurance options and re-employment assistance, in addition to answering questions about unemployment benefits.

Related Headlines


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.