When Sports Authority failed to find a buyer for any of its stores that wasn’t a liquidator, the company began its going-out-of-business sales at all of its stores. Back then, the company predicted that the sale would past roughly all summer, meaning that remaining retail employees would have jobs for about that long. Now, the chain reportedly hopes to wrap things up at the end of July.

That means you can expect even more deep discounts on hockey skates and ski pants, which may be something that you’re into. It’s unfortunate for employees, though, who expected to have a job through Labor Day weekend.

While Sports Authority isn’t confirming or denying that it’s closing early, the Wall Street Journal talked to store employees and managers across the country, who said that they were told that most of the stores would close at the end of July instead of at the end of August as planned. Presumably, merchandise left in already-closed stores would be transported to a few stores that stay open, creating even bigger piles of ski pants, leggings, and college sports-themed holiday sweaters to get rid of.

“I have a good store, one of the better performers, and I had hopes right up to the end that someone would buy us,” a store manager in New England told the WSJ. Instead, only a few leases in choice locations were scooped up by competing sports megachain Dick’s, and liquidators scooped up the stores’ fixtures and contents.

Sports Authority Accelerates Store Closings Amid Bankruptcy [Wall Street Journal]

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