History
Sport Chalet was founded on April 1, 1959 by Norbert Olberz and his wife Irene, who bought a ski and tennis shop in La Cañada Flintridge, California. To initially stock the store with ski gear, the couple took out a $5,000 loan and borrowed money from a relative and some employees.
Early on, Sport Chalet stocked products that few other stores sold, such as scuba and mountain-climbing gear. When surfing became popular in the early 1960s, the store began carrying longboards and wetsuits.
Sport Chalet grew piecemeal in La Cañada along Foothill Boulevard. Olberz converted a former grocery store into a full-line sporting goods store and an old furniture store became the ski shop. He also converted a gas station into a ski rental shop and opened a golf store down the street. Sport Chalet's location is about one block southeast of the intersection with Angeles Crest Highway, a major route into the San Gabriel Mountains.
The company opened its second store in 1981 in Huntington Beach, CA. By the mid-1980s, the company had expanded to have stores throughout Southern California. Sport Chalet has been publicly traded on the NASDAQ exchange since 1992.
Norbert Olberz died in La Cañada Flintridge on 15 July 2011.
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