Mar. 6—The retail arm for a major Colorado resort corporation plans to close 19 sporting goods and apparel stores in three mountain ski towns, according to a series of letters to the state's Department of Labor and Employment.

SSI Venture Inc., a subsidiary of Broomfield-based Vail Resorts, informed the state of the closures late last month in accordance with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires large corporations to give advance notice of planned closings and layoffs. The letters are dated Feb. 27.

Shuttering the stores, which are based in Aspen, Telluride and Snowmass Village, will eliminate more than 140 jobs, according to the letters.

Glenn Stahlman, SSI's vice president and chief operating officer, stated in the letters that company officials decided not to renew their leasing agreements with the three towns.

"We decided to (close the stores) in order to focus on some other strategic business priorities," said spokeswoman Laura Bonfiglio.

Stahlman, who did not respond to a request for comment, said in the letters that the closures will be permanent and that employees were informed about them in November. He further stated that the company was "proactively working with each employee to support them through the transition."

Greg LeBlanc, assistant town manager of Snowmass Village, said the town will miss the SSI stores but officials hope to attract other businesses to the soon-to-be-vacated properties.

"While saddened to see these Vail Resorts-owned franchises leave Snowmass Village, the Town is looking forward to the opportunity for more local businesses to occupy the vacated storefronts," LeBlanc said in a statement. "These locations on the Snowmass Mall have wonderful visibility from the thousands of pedestrians that visit annually during the ski and summer seasons and special events."

SSI Venture Inc. was previously owned in part by Ken and Tom Gart, the Denver-based founders of the Gart Bros. Sporting Goods stores. That chain merged with the now-closed Sports Authority in 2003. Vail Resorts, which had owned 70% of SSI, purchased the remaining 30% in 2010, for $31 million.

The company is closing six Telluride Sports, seven Aspen Sports, one Neve Sports, one Burton, two Patagonia and two The North Face stores, according to the letters.

The first round of layoffs is expected to take place on or about May 1. Employees will have an opportunity to apply for other jobs within the company, Bonfiglio said.

"We're working with impacted team members to find new employment opportunities within our network," she said.