Mitchell Modell, the fourth-generation scion of the Modell family, has quietly flipped the lights back on with a new online shop and a very New York promise: he wants the storied sporting-goods name back in the city with a flagship store. The site went live just as Knicks championship fever sent demand for title gear surging across the five boroughs, giving the relaunch a ready-made sales rush and a built-in nostalgia check on whether the brand still has local pull.
As first reported by the New York Post, Mitchell Modell rolled out a revamped storefront at mitchellmodells.com after moving back to New York from Florida. He told the Post the plan is to reopen a flagship in the heart of Manhattan and then build out more brick-and-mortar locations by 2030. According to the Post, Modell cast the relaunch as a chance to "use the technology that helped destroy the company" to rebuild it.
The new shop is already leaning into Knicks mania with themed items, including a jokey "Knodells" pigeon T-shirt priced at $20, with $5 from every purchase going to prostate-cancer charities, per the storefront at mitchellmodells.com. The product page shows the initial run moving fast, listing roughly 90 percent of stock sold. For now, Modell appears to be using low-price, high-volume gear as a stress test before committing to full-scale store openings.
Modell's Sporting Goods traces its roots to 1889 and eventually grew into a regional chain with more than 150 stores across the tri-state area before shutting down physical operations in 2020, per Wikipedia. The brand's bankruptcy and subsequent ownership changes mean any comeback arrives with both instant name recognition and plenty of baggage, a history that has been laid out in public records and past company statements.
What Modell Says
Mitchell Modell has told reporters that the company’s setbacks were partly technological, and that those same tools can now be repurposed to rebuild the business. He is even weighing the legal oddity of adding an "s" to his own surname to avoid potential trademark fights over the Modell's mark, according to reporting in the New York Post. It is a slightly surreal prospect: the man changing his own name to keep the family name on the storefront.
Championship Momentum
Retailers say Knicks championship merchandise has been flying, which could give a grassroots relaunch some commercial lift. SGB Media Online reported record orders per minute and brisk sales across championship product lines. Modell has been talking up the city's "feeding frenzy" around the team in business interviews earlier this month, according to coverage carried by MarketScreener.
Reviving a retail footprint in New York is a costly gamble. Manhattan rents, licensing and the brand's bankruptcy-era baggage are all very real hurdles. For now, Modell is keeping the bet relatively small, testing demand with low-priced tees and a public pledge to try for a Manhattan flagship by 2030. The company’s own "rise, fall and legacy" account spells out just how steep that climb could be.
.jpg){kind=link}