A third-generation, family-owned sporting goods retailer plans to close after nearly a century in the Baltimore area as the owners retire amid challenges in retail.

Princeton Sports, which specializes in skiing, biking, tennis and swimming, will close its nearly 50-year-old Falls Road shop in Baltimore County, owners and brothers and Alan Davis and Paul Davis said Monday. A closing sale will start Saturday.

The business has struggled to overcome competition from online retailers and suppliers, many of whom now sell directly to consumers at lower prices and cut out traditional stores, Alan Davis said.

Consumers have shifted to online shopping for convenience and speed and are less likely to seek personalized service, which has been a key differentiator for the retailer.

But it’s also a good time to retire, said Davis, who is 66 and whose brother is 64.

“Retail has gotten harder, customer shopping habits are different,” Alan Davis said. “We’ve been working nonstop our entire lives, and that’s the big part.”

The owners have put the building on the market and plan to offer all inventory, fixtures and equipment through a closing sale expected to wind down by mid-April. The store now has 25 employees.

The business got its start when Samuel and Lucille Davis began renting bicycles for 5 cents a day in 1936 on Park Circle in Baltimore.

Their son, Sonny Davis, joined the business in 1963 when it sold mainly bicycles and toys. He added skiing gear to the product lineup, then nearly 50 years ago, moved from a location on Park Heights Avenue to a newly built Falls Road site. In 1981, he opened a second location in Columbia, which operated until 2018.

Paul Davis said in a statement that the closing ends “an extraordinary chapter in our family’s history.”

The store’s employees were known for expertise that brought families back year after year and through generations to buy children’s first bikes or equip skiers and snowboarders. The retailer was often recognized as the “best bicycle shop” and the “best ski shop.”

“For nearly 90 years, our family has been able to sell fun to the Baltimore community,” Paul Davis said in Monday’s announcement. “However, the retail landscape has changed dramatically over the years, peoples’ buying habits have changed, making it difficult to operate in the way we once loved.”

Alan Davis said it’s difficult to say goodbye, “but we are proud of what we’ve accomplished and the legacy we leave behind.”

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