After 18 months of business, Eastern Mountain Sports, 216 W. College Ave., is officially closing its doors tomorrow.

The company told Industrial Commercial Realty Company, which manages the property, that it would not be renewing its lease.

Eastern Mountain Sports opened in State College in October 2003 on a temporary lease.

"They told us they didn't market the property properly and didn't make their numbers," said Gordon Hanczar of Industrial Realty.

The real estate committee for Eastern Mountain Sports decided not to renew the lease for an extended five-year period a few months ago, said Bob Downey, the company's vice president of realty.

"We've been looking at State College for several years as a location, but the sales didn't materialize," Downey said.

Vice President Pete Gilmore said he attributes the closing to a number of reasons.

"We opened with a temporary lease, but the space didn't represent the brand image," Gilmore said.

The store never opened with their full visual set, and limited parking downtown was also an issue, Gilmore said.

As for the space left behind at 216 W. College Ave., the realtor is in negotiations with different retail companies to fill the 10,000 square foot space, Hanczar said.

"We're trying to get a national tenant," Hanczar added.

Sales for Eastern Mountain Sports had been high in apparel such as North Face fleeces.

However, the company does not want to compete with other clothing chains that may sell similar apparel, Gilmore said.

"You become less authentic for mountain and sports gear," he said.

"We want to get back to our roots," he added.

Downey added that the company was shifting toward becoming more accommodating to the outdoor athlete.

Some students involved in outdoor sports said they think of Eastern Mountain Sports as more of a chain store that sells clothing, rather than an outdoors outfitter.

"I come more for the apparel than the gear," Emily Faber (sophomore-communication sciences and disorders) said.

"They tend to carry more of their own brand than other well known brands," she added.

Faber said that if the company got more involved with the students by sponsoring activities, it might have been more successful in downtown State College.

"Eastern Mountain Sports is a reasonable store, but they're not connected enough to the community," said Matt Rogers, vice president of the Penn State Outing Club.

Despite lack in sales, there is a market for outdoor gear and apparel in State College.

For example, the Outing Club has a membership close to 1,000 students, Rogers said.

Although it didn't offer discounts to student groups, Eastern Mountain Sports provided free clinics to the community, such as teaching outdoor sports techniques and important survival skills, Downey said.

Despite low sales in State College, Eastern Mountain Sports will continue to pursue the college-aged demographic.

"We'd love to do business in State College in the future," Gilmore said.