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American Sporting Goods Corp., a maker of basketball and other sports shoes, is the latest Irvine company to face relocation because of plans to build homes in the John Wayne Airport area.
That’s just half the problem. There aren’t many other places for the company to go locally.
The issue comes as American Sporting Goods is looking for a buyer. The company, which counts estimated yearly sales of $300 million, has hired Wachovia Securities to work on a possible sale, Chief Executive Kevin Wulff recently told industry publication Footwear News.
“We anticipate the process and sale will be completed sometime in December,” Wulff said. “Interest has been high. I think that is the right amount of time to do this. Then we can get back to focusing on making shoes.”
Chairman Jerry Turner owns the bulk of American Sporting Goods. Wulff, a former Nike Inc. executive, came on last year and owns a stake in the company.
American Sporting Goods came close to selling to a private equity group last year. A sale likely is aimed at giving Turner, who’s in his 70s, a way to cash out.
Inland Move
On the real estate front, American Sporting Goods is preparing to move a big chunk of its operations to the Inland Empire.
The company just signed a five-year lease in Fontana for a new warehouse. The 320,000-square-foot building is set to replace two others the company has in Orange County.
“We’ve got 50 containers of shoes ready to go,” Turner said. “We’re just waiting for the keys (to the new facility).”
American Sporting Goods plans to keep its headquarters here, according to Turner.
Of course, it’s unclear what would happen to the headquarters under a sale. Things likely would stay the same under a private equity owner. Another shoe and apparel maker could consolidate American Sporting Goods’ offices.
The 250,000-square-foot Irvine building that long has housed American Sporting Goods’ primary operations is slated for nearly 450 condominiums.
Irvine-based homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. plans to build five condo buildings on the 10-acre site at the corner of Main Street and Von Karman Avenue.
The condos, at 2323 Main St., were approved by the city last week, despite objections from Newport Beach officials who question the development’s impact on the area’s traffic, among other concerns.
American Sporting Goods’ lease for a second, 100,000-square-foot warehouse in Anaheim is nearly up. The owner of the building at 300 E. Orangethorpe Ave. wants to bring in a different tenant.
Workers Offered jobs
The Fontana move is set to be made during the next three months or so. About 120 jobs are moving to the Inland Empire. OC workers are being given the chance to make the move, Turner said.
The Fontana lease is valued at $7.7 million. Sares-Regis Group Inc. of Irvine owns the building in the Sierra Business Park.
Scott Read, senior vice president in the Newport Beach-based office of Grubb
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