Sportsman's Warehouse closing 23 stores

[beanflip]

Sportsman's Warehouse closing 23 stores!

http://www.sportsmanswarehouse.com/company.cfm

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

[mike in co]

damn thats my store in aurora......there is a gun shop/shooting range across the freeway, it will be good news for them.

mike in co

[Jbar4Ranch]

I work in the Helena store and the UFA buyout of the 15 stores north and west of Fargo was the best thing that could have happened to us. As of about noon March 10, we are now owned by UFA. There were lots of folks in the next day to use their Christmas or birthday SW gift cards "before it was too late", but it was already too late. For the moment anyway, the cards are not being honored in the new UFA stores.

Most folks's opinion is that SW won't last the year...

[S.R.Custom]

They're closing and/or selling just about every store within a radius of 400 miles of me. Not surprising, really. While it certainly had that "ultimate toy store" appeal, they share the same problem that killed Circuit City; they grew too fast (too much debt) and they couldn't manage the supply of inventory worth a damn.

Even before the economy tanked, you just got the feeling from walking through the store that this was an operation just barely holding its head above water. For as long as my local store has been open, inventory was little more than "one to show, one to go," even for the most popular of items. They were always out of Hornady .44 caliber XTPs. And who the hell has use for a whole store full of "Mossy Oak" camouflage clothing when there isn't an Oak tree to be found within a thousand miles of here? If that's the way things roll in the best of times, there's no way in Hades you're going to survive the inevitable cyclical economic downturns.

[Tom Herman]

But since they haven't had diddly in ages, it probably won't have any affect on me.
I wish them the best. If they will stock product, I'll buy it.
Going in week after week to see a measly collection of odd primers, wierd brass, and no powder gets very old. And they don't stock my buffalo jerky anymore, either!
Bah! Humbug!

Happy Shootin'! -Tom

[NVcurmudgeon]

Glad to see that "my" SW in Reno dodged the bullet. I am personally saddened to see that the Nampa, ID store is on the liquidated list because I was hoping to make it there to see the Elmer Keith museum. My condolences to all of you who will be losing "your" SW stores.

[S.R.Custom]

I am personally saddened to see that the Nampa, ID store is on the liquidated list because I was hoping to make it there to see the Elmer Keith museum...

I thought that was at Cabela's?

[Recluse]

Not sure about all of the SW stores, but the ones I've seen and visited were all located in extraordinarily high-rent shopping centers. That never helps your overhead. As a shooter, I'm kind of suspicious of any "shooting" or "hunting" place that is located in a big glitzy shopping center. I automatically grab hold of my wallet a little tighter

:coffee:

[hornsurgeon]

ours in depere is closing. i went in on tuesday and it was quite busy. i always got my speer .366 bullets there, and gunsmithing supplies like bedding compound, truoil, etc. they were fairly competitive on prices as well. our gandermountain is atleast 30% or more higher on reloading stuff. the local mom and pop store is just as cheap as sw, and will order almost anything, so i'll go there now.

[TDC]

They opened a brand new store in Medford, Oregon last year. It's a beautiful store with the largest inventory of gun/hunting related items for 300 miles in any direction now. It didn't make either of the lists so I guess we're OK for a while.

The gun department had about twenty customers milling around in it two days ago. They're selling guns and components as quickly as they get them in. I bought 1k each of large pistol and mag large pistol primers last week...... They've brought a lot of needed competition to this area and we're glad to have them....

TC

[Bert2368]

All 3 Mpls./St. Paul area stores in MN are closing. I went to the Woodbury store on Saturday, it was a mad house with ammo and component shelves that looked like the locusts had been through and taken everything.

I got a decent pair of boots for 20% off, and 3 boxes of ammo. A box of 50 Remington 35 gr. .22 Hornet cartridges was $17.00. Gander Mountain 3 blocks away wants $50.00 for the same box- Just sorry I didn't go there earlier...

[FN in MT]

The SW in Helena has everything a guy could want....EXCEPT anything resembliing a BARGAIN. NO used guns...NO gunsmith. And these companies wonder why people tend to buy onliine.

Jbar4 ....NOT an indictment on YOU personally. You don't make the rules. You simply work for them. Maybe the new owners will allow a few bargains from time to time??

FN in MT

[onceabull]

Supermag pegs it( at Cabela's, Boise) The Sportsmans Warehouse in Boise suburbs(Meridian) ..stays open(for a while at least), and did not sell to the Canucks.. Note also that Joe's(nee G.I.Joe's)is now operating in bankruptcy. one of their newest stores is less than 2 miles from the Meridian Sportsmans. Been around the N'west for more than 40 years....

[Hunter 24095]

I used the one in Roanoke V.A. and now that it is closing all we have left is a Gander Mtn and there stuff is way to expensive to buy if you don't have a coupon of some kind. This really sucks !!!

[atr]

Not a loss as far as I am concerned.....SW did not impress me........

[MT Gianni]

From a fishing stand point they are great, lots of stuff and lots of stock. I noticed a big difference when the owners decided to sell videos and dvd'd of the family hunting trips. IMO these write-off's should not be the reason to own a hunting store. I hope that the Canadians can stock the shelves as they used to but Capital Sorts under cut SW on bullets this year by 20-25%.

[3rptr]

As Supermag said, either they took on too much debt to grow,
or the corporation has insight that the stores won't be needed in the near future ???

change

[AZ-Stew]

The Mesa store is remaining open. I'm hoping now that the number of stores is less that the amount of components available per store will increase. I was able to buy a can of 2400 at the Mesa store Friday. There were other powders, as well, but nothing I need right away. They only had 209 primers, of which I have plenty. One of the salespersons told me they got their shipment Thursday and one guy essentially cleaned them out of rifle and pistol primers the minute they hit the shelf. He said it would be 4-6 weeks before things normalize.

Those who live close to a store that's closing should be watching for "going out of business" bargains.

Regards,

Stew

[FN in MT]

From a fishing stand point they are great, lots of stuff and lots of stock. I noticed a big difference when the owners decided to sell videos and dvd'd of the family hunting trips. IMO these write-off's should not be the reason to own a hunting store. I hope that the Canadians can stock the shelves as they used to but Capital Sports under cut SW on bullets this year by 20-25%.

Ever try MT Outdoor Sports on the Gulch?? His prices are pretty good and he tends to have surplus ammo, brass , bullets and other items that none of the others carry.

FN in MT

[Gun-adian]

The UFA Co-Op looks like a Canadian company out of Alberta. These guys also own Wholesale Sports up here.

I pulled this off their website:



UFA has acquired 15 Sportsman’s Warehouse locations across the US Northwest


Calgary, March 11 — UFA Co-operative Limited has successfully acquired 15 Sportsman’s Warehouse locations across the US Northwest.

Sportsman's Warehouse is a US retailer with more than 60 locations. In November UFA announced its intention to acquire a majority interest in Sportsman's Warehouse. The announcement was followed by a comprehensive due diligence process, which has concluded. Based on the outcome of that process and the continuing deterioration of the North American economy, UFA has decided not to pursue the acquisition under the original terms. Instead, and in exchange for its original secured loan, UFA will take possession of 15 Sportsman's Warehouse locations.

“UFA is advancing a deliberate and controlled diversification strategy," says Dallas Thorsteinson, UFA president and CEO. "The specific Sportsman's Warehouse locations we have acquired fit perfectly with our outdoor-adventure marketing and long-term financial strategies."

In 2008, UFA acquired Wholesale Sports, one of Canada's leading outdoor outfitters. Wholesale Sports has seven locations from Winnipeg to Kamloops. The newly acquired Sportsman's Warehouse locations will operate as part of UFA's outdoor adventure division.

The locations are:


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

“We cannot predict the future for Sportsman's Warehouse," says Thorsteinson, "but we are certain the acquisition of these specific locations is good news for the growth and sustainability of UFA."

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 $2 billion in annual revenues and 120,000 active members, UFA is one of Canada’s most successful co-operatives.

[Bullfrog]

damn thats my store in aurora......there is a gun shop/shooting range across the freeway, it will be good news for them.

mike in co

Ya that is mine too. Rumor has it that Bass Pro is not doing well either.
I bet Gander Mountain over on Abilene is grinning like madmen!

Sportsmens always has better prices that Gander or Bass Pro

[jdowney]

I stop in at the Las Cruces NM store all the time... Too bad, I buy jeans there - back to mail order I guess.

I got some primers there in January, some powder too. They've been real spotty on the ammo and reloading front, but who hasn't.

On the other hand, I kind of like seeing huge mega stores drop when little outfits still survive. Last time I stopped at the gun shop in Deming he was well stocked in powder.