Since 2016, we have undergone a well-documented upheaval in the sporting goods retail sector, the result of private equity companies buying retailers with the intention of flipping them in a few years for a profit. That strategy entailed maximizing EBITDA which is another way of minimizing investment in stores, systems and e-commerce platforms. Predictably, Sports Atrocity, Vestis, Gander Mountain and others quickly folded in the face of some strong retail headwinds, but one company’s failure is another company’s opportunity and that is what happened in sporting goods retail. Decathlon, the world’s largest sporting goods retailer by far, opened a test ... Log in to view full article.