Sportsmanswarehouse going out of business?

[AZBowana1]

23 stores are gone, no more, 15 stores are going to UFA. The remaining 29 stores will remain in Stu's hands. I heard the employees found out yesterday and nobody knows if the are going to get merchandise. I hope for the last 29 remain open, 2300 peoples lives depend on it. As much as everyone grumbles people depend on that job. Good luck Sportsmans Warehouse.

[Red Rabbit]

Dick posted this over on Bowsite:

 

from "The Outdoor Wire" Thursday March 12th.

 

UFA Modifies Sportsman's Warehouse Deal, SW Closing 26 Stores

 

In November, we reported on the planned acquisition of financially-strained Sportsman's Warehouse company by Canada's UFA Cooperative, a multi-billion dollar, agricultural based cooperative with a wealth of varied business holdings and more than 110,000 members.

 

Yesterday afternoon, word from UFA spokesperson Natalie Dawes that the acquisition has changed - significantly- from the Sporsman's Warehouse acquisition originally announced.

 

Based on the outcome of UFA's due diligence and "the continuing deterioration of the North American economy", terms of the deal had changed from a total acquisition to UFA's taking possession of fifteen Sportsman's Warehouse locations in the Northwestern United States.

 

The ownership of those stores would be accepted as payment of a 2008 loan to Sportsman's Warehouse by UFA. As we reported at that time, that cash infusion kept the cash-strapped chain operating.

 

UFA says the modification will ensure the long-term financial health of the cooperative, with the fifteen stores aligning well with its Western Canadian geography and distribution routes.

 

Those fifteen stores are located in Oregon, Montana, Washington, Idaho, and North Dakota.

 

Sportsman's Warehouse Chairman and CEO Stuart Utgaard has announced the liquidation of twenty-three stores to "reduce bank debt". A statement on their compay website says it is hoped the steps will allow the firm to go forward as a viable entity with 2,300 employees.

 

These Sportsman's Warehouse stores are being liquidated:

 

Aurora, Colorado, Coon Rapids, Minnesota, DePere, Wisconsin, Henderson, Nevada, Lafayette, Indiana, Las Cruces, New Mexico, Las Vegas, Nevada, Legacy, Texas, Memphis, Tennessee, Nampa, Idaho, New Berlin, Wisconsin, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pocatella, Idaho, Roanoke, Virginia, Rogers, Arkansas, Round Rock, Texas, St. Cloud, Minnesota, Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Southaven, Mississippi, Visalia, California, Wichita, Kansas, and Woodbury, Minnesota.

 

Between the sale to UFA and the liquidation of stores, Sportsman's Warehouse is trimming its store count from its previous high of more than sixty stores.

 

"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."

 

"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."

 

The acquisition gives the cooperative twenty-two locations. Earlier in 2008, UFA acquired Canadian outdoor outfitter, Wholesale Sports. The newly acquired Sportsman's Warehouse locations will operate as part of UFA's outdoor adventure division.

 

Over the past several days, industry insiders had been whispering that the deal - if not dead - was facing significant modifications. Seems they were on target on this one.

 

[sjvcon]

I spoke to a guy at the Mesa Store the other day. Nice guy ... worked the gun counter. Basically, as fast as they get anything in, it is gone. Everyone is freaked about the new Presidential Administration's stance on guns. They can only keep long guns on the shelves, and even those are down ... they even pulled a few high end guns out to keep the shelves full.

 

Notice that this is NOT isolated. Bass Pro is out of most everything, and one of the guys there said they had over $500,000 worth of inventory on backorder through suppliers ... mostly ammunition and firearms. I went to Cabelas today, and they are low on stock for ammunition (though not the reloading stuff). Guys were putting out a new shipment and people were grabbing it right as they put it on the shelf. I would have been doing the same, but they didn't have what I wanted. What the guy at Sportsman's told me is that smaller shops are actually at an advatage right now, because they can go to any vendor they want. Sportsman's is not being allowed to go outside of their regular vendor list. It is killing them. They are probably all tired of getting asked what the heck is going on. It has been about 6 months now that they've had inventory issues ... ever since this country made the mistake of voting Obama in.

 

It'll settle down if the scare goes away. Problem is that it looks like they are going to try to get a bunch of laws passed that violate the Second Amendment. I don't see how they can after the Supreme Court Ruling that made it legal to own a handgun again in DC ... but with the current rash of shootings, who knows. Half of me thinks that these recent shootings might have been orchestrated by the left to support their push for a total gun ban ... but that would be too much of a Conspiracy Theory ... wouldn't it???

[hawkeye]

don't believe everything the people at Sportmans say. They have been putting that crap out for about 5 months now. I haven't had any trouble locating reloading supplies at any other places. They may run out but the get more in. I talked to some venders and a lot of them wont send anything to Sportsmans and they also said they are not recieving orders of any quantity. I was in Cabelas, Bass Pro, and Dicks last week and all had full shelves of guns. Go into Sportsmans and all you see is nothing.

[az4life]

Personally I think Sportsmans is too far gone financially to make a go of it even with the smaller store count.

Their numbers look pretty dismal. Maybe they should have signed up for some stimulus money!

I read about another smaller chain today in the northwest that is gone as well.

Joes? Maybe GI Joes? I think I was in one a few years back but can't say it was memorable.

 

No matter what supply is, demand is really hot because of the Obamessiah.

Wish I had stock in Reminton, Ruger, Winchester and any other ammunition / firearm producer right now.

 

 

[briant_az]

I am sure that a lot of the people that have replied to this post have found this out but I thought I would tell you what I know about the situation. Yes 23 stores are closing and another 15 were sold to UFA. The biggest problem now is that they filled bankruptcy about two and a half weeks ago. They have been having financial problems for some time now; I think that the consumers have just started to notice since the end of the year. The bankruptcy could be good or bad for the company but only time will tell.

 

I will however say that I am sorry for the poor treatment that anyone may have received in the last couple of months. I know that I am probably guilty of this but it is a difficult situation. On a daily basis I have to explain this situation to at least a hundred people, more than half of them pissed off because we do not have the products that they want. This takes its toll on the employees and I think we take that out on the customers, which is not right. We also have no control over the situation and this makes it hard on us as well. There is not a person in Arizona or in each of the Arizona stores that orders for our stores. This is all done in Utah. People get so pissed at me because I don't know what people need. I may know but that doesn't mean that I can get that product in our store. This is were the smaller stores have an advantage, the know what they are out of and they can call their vendors and get the product they need/want.

 

The other problem is the Obama situation. People have been freaking out about what is going to happen to firearms now that we have a Democratic president. When we used to get shipments of ammo in we would bring the pallet out to the sales floor. We only did this after the election because people were waiting for the product to come in. Everyone was so scared, at least that is my opinion, that they were not going to be able to get the stuff. We couldn't put it away fast enough, so we wheeled it out and let the customer go through it and get what they want.

 

The bare shelves are because of a multitude of things but they are supposed to be getting better. We are slowly starting to get stock again but the stuff that we get that is any good is gone as soon as we get it. Don't get me wrong we are not getting all the stuff that we need but it will come in time. I have heard that or reloading supplies will not get any better for a while because the product is hard to find now.

 

I hope this helps everyone understand the situation that is going on with Sportsman's and I hope that our customers will eventually come back. I am also very discouraged about the whole thing but I hope that there are brighter days ahead.