Wholesale Sports to shutdown operations across western Canada

Wholesale Sports is becoming the latest casualty in the retail sector.

Its parent company announced that all 12 locations in Western Canada will be shut down.

Wholesale Sports is a wholly-owned subsidiary of United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative Ltd.

The company cited an increasing competitive retail environment combined with a shift to online purchases and less consumer spending as reasons for going out of business.

"There were numerous external factors that led to this decision including an increasingly competitive environment, the continued shift to on-line purchases and an overall slowing of consumer discretionary spending as a whole, including the outdoor industry. The orderly wind down of Wholesale Sports will allow UFA to focus on its core business of agriculture and petroleum," said Carol Kitchen, UFA President and Chief Executive Officer, in a news release issued Thursday.

Wholesale Sports has 12 locations in four Western Canadian provinces, including one in Saskatoon. There is one in Winnipeg, five in Alberta and five in British Columbia.

The stores were closed on Thursday, but will reopen on Friday as liquidation begins. All stores will be officially closed by Dec. 28.