Sportsmens Warehouse

[1SOW]

Is Sportsman's Warehouse going bankrupt?

Has anyone heard any rumors about Sportman's Warehouse ( based in Salt Lake City) going bankrupt?
My brother-in-law in Salt Lake mentioned it when I told him about all the empty shelves in the store in Texas. He said they are virtually out of everything in Salt lake.
How do they go broke in the hottest firearm market ever???

 

[Otto]

They've been bought out by a Canadian firm.

 

[desert gator]

I was in there the other day, they are being bought out buy a canadian company who wants them to spend as little as possible to replenish stock until the purchase is completed in march

 

[Blacksmoke]

That is a relief. I was worried where to do my Christmas shopping.

 

[1SOW]

Primers and powder---primers and powder-----March?
It IS March! ------ maybe soon.

 

[Sitting Duck]

It was nice to be able to physically touch or at least look close up at the things you were considering buying. It seems they (the Tucson Store) have plenty of other non-firearm related junk filling their shelves. I don't think holding off until March is the issue or we wouldn't be reading all the posts about everyone being out of everything related to reloading.

It might be a warehouse but a warehouse of what? We already have Sports Authority, Big Five Sports, Dick's and a gazillion golf stores selling clothes and camping stuff. I worry that I'll walk in the door and get ambushed by an overzealous clerk whose goal in life is to measure my inseam for a designer jogging outfit.

Maybe it's time we headed back to the Mom & Pop gun shops. At least they're in the business of selling guns and accessories. And probably are USA owned. They have good stories to tell, also. That, in itself, has to be worth something.

 

[armoredman]

Sports Authority and Big Five don't carry reloading supplies at all, last time I looked. I like the Marana SW, nice place, guarenteed liberal free for 100 yards. The shortages are all over, not just them. I need to go back soon and see what they do have...

 

[earlthegoat2]

Maybe it's time we headed back to the Mom & Pop gun shops. At least they're in the business of selling guns and accessories. And probably are USA owned. They have good stories to tell, also. That, in itself, has to be worth something.

If your just now figuring this out you have obviously not been in the game too long. Chain stores are an awful way to buy new guns. The only reason they are good for buying new guns is they always employ incompetent people who dont know how much some guns are worth making it easy for someone like me to take advantage. This is the exception, not the rule, but as far as I am concerned it is the only place these monstrosities fit in the gun world.

 

[dave from mesa]

Not sure if it is true or not.
Just read on another forum that the Canadian deal fell thru.

 

[TIMC]

I know if they would stock more reloading stuff I would do my best to help them make money!

Most of the time when I'm there they don't have half the stuff in stock I'm looking for.

 

[Lonestar.45]

The one near me, when it opened up a few years ago, was completely awesome. It was a shooter's paradise. Tons of reloading stuff, tons of ammo of all types, the best prices in town. A really big gun selection. For a year or two there I bought a ton of ammo, several guns, and other essentials from them.

Within the last year or so it went down hill. I am certain it has to do with their buyout, and problems with paying their distributors and ordering stock.
If they ever get it turned around I'll sure be happy. As it is now I don't go anymore because they have basically zero ammo and the shelves are bare of a lot of shooting items.

 

[CoRoMo]

...reading all the posts about everyone being out of everything related to reloading.

I'll make a post to the contrary.

The store nearest me has an isle full of reloading components with the only exception of certain brass. I've had no trouble stocking up on primers, powder, bullets, and additional dies & shell holders.

This store actually is seeing more ammo recently as well. I've seen a lot of pistol ammo, 5.56/.223, buckshot, slugs, .22lr, tons of sporting ammo like various birdshot and all hunting rifle cartridges. They have a good many M16 mags and a lot of pistol mags, although, the XD45 13rd mags have alluded me since fall.

Their pistol wall is still bare and no AR15s at all either. I did see some wanna-be black rifle in their rack the last time I was in there. Almost no small pistol type safes.

 

[MaterDei]

I don't have one of these near me and by the looks of things I might never...

http://www.kpvi.com/Global/story.asp?S=9974818

Sportsman's Warehouse to Close 23 Stores

Newschannel 6 has learned this evening that Sportsman's Warehouse may be closing its Pocatello store, along with 22 other stores nationwide in the near future. Sources close to the retail chain say there have been several meetings Monday with the corporate office that have laid out the details of the possible closures.

We have also learned the retail chain is hoping to attract one or more investors in the next 48 hours that could contribute sufficient funds to keep 11 stores up and running, including the one in Pocatello; however, we do not have any idea how big that investment would have to be.

We have also learned that the Pocatello store would be one of five that would re-open in the future if possible.

To recap, according to sources close to Sportsman's Warehouse, there have been several meetings with the corporate office Monday discussing the potential closure.

Idaho Falls and Twin Falls stores will remain open.

Sources have also confirmed for us that 29 stores will remain open under the Sportsman's Warehouse name while 15 other stores will be purchased by a Canadian company called UFA. Those store will continue to operate but under a new name.

Obviously, there is still a lot of information we don't know yet. We will continue to look into this and report any changes as we get them

 

[rscalzo]

Cabelas is doing the same thing. They announced that they will open only one of the planned stores in 2009. they will delay the opening of the store in NJ for a year.

 

[Zundfolge]

The Sportsman's Warehouse here in The Springs is packed to the gills with everything except ammo ... those shelves are almost completely empty (a handful of boxes of odd calibers like .50S&W, .25acp, etc).

 

[ArmedBear]

The store nearest me has an isle full of reloading components with the only exception of certain brass. I've had no trouble stocking up on primers, powder, bullets, and additional dies & shell holders.

This suggests that SW's management is quite poor.

Our store's component shelves are almost completely bare.

They have the inventory, they have people buying it like it's going out of style, but they don't get it to the right stores.

Not good.

 

[MaterDei]

Cabelas is doing the same thing. They announced that they will open only one of the planned stores in 2009. they will delay the opening of the store in NJ for a year.

With all due respect, this is NOT the same thing. Many companies, mine included, have scaled back their capital budgets this year due to the current restrictions on getting credit and the overall fiscal uncertainty that exists. A very healthy company might find this to be a good time to do what Cabela's is doing.

With that said, I have no idea how fiscally healthy Cabela's is. I just don't think that deciding on opening fewer stores as they have done is necessarily a sign of the same types of trouble that the Sportsman's Warehouse is obviously undergoing.

 

[Sitting Duck]

Armoredman: My point was that we have enough quasi sporting goods stores and we don't need another. That's where SW is heading, IMHO.

 

[longdayjake]

I have it on pretty good authority that they are very very close to going under. The employees have been told for 2 months that they were going to get bought out by that "Canadian company" but every deadline comes and goes without an agreement. The reason they have nothing on the shelves is because they were not paying their bills on time to the manufacturers and now they are on cash only when making purchases. They can't get any credit and the more and more it looks like they are going under the less and less anyone is willing to give them credit. They are going to have to close a ton of their stores if not go completely under. Good luck Sportsmans!

 

[CoRoMo]

Sportsman's Warehouse to Close 23 Stores

Hopefully not the one near me because I like this store and they offer $10 coupons that you can print off a website everyday. That has made for a ton of deals for me. Otherwise, I'll be ready for the clearance sale if it is one that closes.

 

[MMCSRET]

News report on tv station KIDK, CBS, Idaho Falls Idaho. Sportsmans Warehouse in Pocatello closing. Opened in late 2007, several more stores also closing but they did not list which ones.

 

[Corey]

Quote:
Cabelas is doing the same thing. They announced that they will open only one of the planned stores in 2009. they will delay the opening of the store in NJ for a year.

With all due respect, this is NOT the same thing. Many companies, mine included, have scaled back their capital budgets this year due to the current restrictions on getting credit and the overall fiscal uncertainty that exists. A very healthy company might find this to be a good time to do what Cabela's is doing.

With that said, I have no idea how fiscally healthy Cabela's is. I just don't think that deciding on opening fewer stores as they have done is necessarily a sign of the same types of trouble that the Sportsman's Warehouse is obviously undergoing.

Cabelas seems to be on solid ground. Here is the 4th quarter 2008 report released on 19 Feb: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=177739&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1258334&highlight=

On 20 Feb, Cabelas stock went up 35%

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

My guess is that the stores where shelves are EMPTY are the ones that will stay open - high demand leads to empty shelves, and when the capital is flowing again, they will be re-stocked.

If your stores' shelves are FULL, then you guys are the ones who will probably be the 'victim' of a store closure. That includes me.

Hopefully not the one near me because I like this store and they offer $10 coupons that you can print off a website everyday. That has made for a ton of deals for me. Otherwise, I'll be ready for the clearance sale if it is one that closes.

Yeah, and that could have something to do with why they're in trouble - bad management allowed practices which facilitated people getting deals they weren't really supposed to get, under their business plan. I know *I* for one used a lot of those $10-off-any-purchase-of-$50-or-more coupons, AND I was allowed to combine them with any other sale price they had going, also. Now I feel kind of guilty for doing this. I *really* hate to see this, because I *really* like SW. Sure wish it was Bass Pro going, not S.W. But BassPro got a sweetheart deal with the city here for building their giant shop, and essentially got a $17 million free gift from us taxpayers for them agreeing to come here. I seriously doubt the S.W. got any such deal.

This suggests that SW's management is quite poor.

Our store's component shelves are almost completely bare.

They have the inventory, they have people buying it like it's going out of style, but they don't get it to the right stores.

Not good.

Yup.

Jiminy crickets, closing 23 stores? How many do they HAVE, anyway? Thought they only had about 25 or 30 to start with!?

 

[X-Rap]

The stores around the home in Utah will stay open unless they have big competition from other big stores. I'm betting that the ones in the SE MW and NE will be the ones shutting down. The ones being taken by the canadian store will probably be in norhern states.
The economy will take its toll on more Sporting Goods than Just SW before its done. Joes in the NW is going out.
Smart cuts to help the co. survive I hope, the one in my area does a lot of good work in the community.

 

[Mainsail]

From their website:

News
March 10, 2009

Stuart Utgaard, the Chairman and CEO of Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings, today announced that the company is taking two major actions to improve liquidity.


1. 23 stores are being liquidated to reduce bank debt. .
• Aurora, CO
• Coon Rapids, MN
• DePere, WI
• Henderson, NV
• Lafayette, IN
• Las Cruces, NM
• Las Vegas, NV
• Legacy, TX
• Memphis, TN
• Nampa, ID
• New Berlin, WI
• Oklahoma City, OK
• Pittsburgh, PA
• Pocatello, ID
• Roanoke, VA
• Rogers, AR
• Round Rock, TX
• St. Cloud, MN
• Sioux Falls, SD
• Southaven, MS
• Visalia, CA
• Wichita, KS
• Woodbury, MN

2. 15 stores are being sold to UFA Co-op.
• Bend, OR
• Bozeman, MT
• Burlington, WA
• Coeur d’Alene, ID
• Fargo, ND
• Federal Way, WA
• Helena, MT
• Kennewick, WA
• Lacey, WA
• Missoula, MT
• Portland, OR
• Salem, OR
• Silverdale, WA
• Spokane, WA
• Vancouver, WA

It is hoped that these actions will enable the firm to go forward as a viable entity with approximately 2,300 employees. Sportsman's Warehouse is a leading outdoor retailer of sporting goods headquartered in Midvale, Utah.

About Sportsmans' Warehouse

Our simple mission is to live up to our reputation as the "Great Indoors for those who love the Great Outdoors™". Sportsman’s Warehouse was founded under the idea of serving the outdoor enthusiast exclusively. That’s why you’ll find everything you’re looking for right here under one roof. Whether it’s for fishing, hunting, camping or any other outdoor pursuit, we’ve got it all.

But more than just top name brand products, Sportsman’s Warehouse is known for our expert and knowledgeable staff. We are an organization of hunters, fishermen, and outdoor enthusiasts—a proud part of America’s outdoor traditions. Our employees not only have a passion for the great outdoors but they also offer intimate knowledge of products and the local know-how to help make your outdoor pursuits more successful and enjoyable.

Stu Utgaard

About UFA Co-operative Limited

UFA Co-operative Limited is one of Alberta's most dynamic enterprises. Canada's largest re-seller of diesel products serves rural communities throughout Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan with a construction division and an unmatched network of retail stores and petroleum outlets. With more than $1.8 billion in annual revenues and 120,000 active members, UFA is one of Canada's most successful co-operatives.