HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Big box and chain stores have have always dug into the bottom line for small business owners over the years, but probably nowhere worse than in stores that carry athletic equipment and apparel.

In Kansas there are just a few such stores left, and by the end of the year, Hutchinson will lose their privately owned sporting goods business.

Dick Strano of the Sport Shack says he will retire, and close the business on Main Street that he has operated for 38 years. No date was given for when the Sport Shack will close.

Strano says that it was a hard decision, but one that they have been thinking about for some time. The screen printing portion of the business could stay in operation, and those logistics are being worked out.

Small sporting goods store owners have been challenged in the recent years about the lack of support from major shoe companies that only want to deal on a large scale with chain stores.