Aurora Sportsmens Warehouse to close

Sorry if a repost, I didn't see it anywhere I looked:

Sportsman’s Warehouse Closing 23 Stores

Aurora, Pocatello and Nampa stores on chopping block; other Idaho and all Montana stores to remain open; UFA to own 15 stores.

By Bill Schneider, 3-10-09



The pending purchase of Sportsman’s Warehouse by UFA Co-operative United (UFA) of Calgary, Alberta has partially unraveled. (Click here for NewWest.Net’s breaking story on the acquisition.)
In a teleconference with all Sportsman’s Warehouse employees yesterday afternoon CEO Stu Upgaard announced that 23 of the company’s 67 stores would be closing in the next few months, including two stores in Idaho (Pocatello and Nampa) and one in Colorado (Aurora). Other Idaho stores and all Montana stores would remain open.
In a phone interview with NewWest.Net, Upgaard explained that the company ran in to major cash crunch. “UFA did not close the transaction,” he explained. “They missed four closing dates. Now, we have no liquidity.”
And the banks are putting extreme pressure on the company to reduce debt, he said. “They have all the money. They (the banks) are trying to force us into bankruptcy, and we’re trying to avoid it.”
“We’re closing 23 stores to reduce our bank debt,” he explained, “and we’re selling 15 stores to UFA for the same reason. We are now a 29- store chain.”
In the teleconference, Upgaard said UFA will have the rights to use the Sportsman’s Warehouse brand on the 15 stores for up to two years, but will likely start the process of re-branding the stores as Warehouse Sports, a similar Canadian sports store chain UFA already owns.
These 23 stores are being liquidated: 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 and Woodbury, MN
These 15 stores are being sold to UFA: 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, and Vancouver, WA
NewWest.Net has calls into the corporate offices of UFA for comment and will update this story if more details come in.


http://www.newwest.net/city/article/...res/C426/L426/

wonder when they will raise prices and advertise it as a "liquidation" sale... LOL

Hmmm, didn't see the one down here in Co Spgs on the block...........yet.

Interesting... doesn't look good for the chain if the sale with UAW doesn't go through.

Just what UFA might have had in mind to begin with!

Honestly I cant remember the last time I bought something there...before the election, when they had ammo, it always was marked up a bit...I think the last thing I bought there was the soft case for my old Hi Point in November 07......

Stopped by today...they have a shit-ton of Lancer L5 and DPMS mags, but for $30 a pop!!

Oh well, picked up some survival gear, another Surefire G2 and some Surefire EarPro's Ive been wanting for a while...

Frankly, I don't care, the place sucked anyway.

I was just there 20 min ago.


sale started today (10-30% off)

no returns

no more .mil discount

employees found out monday


almost no more handguns left, only a small selection of mags

somewhat ok supply of wood stocked rifles and shotguns.

I'm sure it's not easy to be in that business, but maybe if they could keep some items in stock, that would help the bottom line. I'm not even talking about EBR's and ammo that are beyond their control lately, but regular items like cleaning supplies that get people in the door and likely to pick up something else on the same trip.

Camo and hunting clothes are obviously a seasonal purchase for most folks, but they stock huge piles of it year-round. Maybe they should re-balance the clothing selection, try and pick up some of the "outdoor lifestyle" shoppers.

They shouldn't have trouble getting under REI on price for camping gear, but there is probably a penalty because of the self-imposed "image" that some higher-spending REI customers have (same issue with clothing).

Fishing isn't one of my hobbies, not sure how that part of the store compares.

I found out about this last week (industry insider info and all). There were several possibilities on what was going to happen to the chain. One of the possibilities was that ALL but 15 stores were going to close. I didn't know for sure about the Colo Spr store until today. Darrin, the Mgr of the Colo Spr. store must have found out on Friday or Saturday - he was in a very bad mood Sat.

I really like the store but have been sick of their lack of stock. Colorado Springs really NEEDS a store like this as we don't have the same options that the Denver area has for firearms/outdoor sporting goods retailers.

Their lack of stock has been because the existing owners were short on funds and didn't want to shell out any more $ into the chain if they were going to sell it. The Canadian buyer (UFA) was supposed to buy all of the stores - lock, stock, and barrel. They've been working to get the financing to purchase it all but 2 weeks ago the $ fell through, leaving them far short of making the total purchase. Apparently, the current owners are in such tight finances themselves that they figured that selling 15 stores (all that UFA can afford) was better than nothing.

There is still a lot of uncertainty with the remaining stores, even after the decision to close the 23 stores identified. IF the existing owners can get the $ to restock the stores being left open, they might have a chance. If not, these stores will surely be closing within the year.

Colo Spr has been laying off many of it's employees (stop by Specialty Sports and say hi to Matt who was let go on Feb 13th by Sportsmans - he's friendly and knowledgable about firearms and reloading). The Springs could still lose this store but I pray we don't. With the very real possibility that Shootin Den will be closing it's doors this month, if Sportsman's closes the Springs will really only have one place to go for firearm/accessory purchases and that's never good for the consumer. [NOTE: Of course, we have folks like our Industry Partners from this site who operate out of the Springs, but I don't know of any other store-front businesses.]

We stopped at Bass Pro Wed. mid day, the place was packed, lots of people filling out forms and buying guns. and we were surprised to see Alot of ammo. 223 308 and they had an end isle with 45acp.

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Originally Posted by Mtn.man

We stopped at Bass Pro Wed. mid day, the place was packed, lots of people filling out forms and buying guns. and we were surprised to see Alot of ammo. 223 308 and they had an end isle with 45acp.

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Do you recall ... was the 45acp in 50 rnd boxes and/or who the manuf. is?

sorry did'nt just looked at the poster board above it. ( I have quite alot)
Maybe give em a call?

Just got back from the Parker/Chambers WalMart...bought out all their Federal .22 550 packs :D

here in Colorado Springs..ALL THE SHELVES ARE BARE... NOTHING LEFT TO BUY IN THE GUN DEPT...FOR 3 WEEKS NOW...

was here again today.. lots of people

ammo: except for some oddball stuff, everything is gone (centerfire and rimfire wise) still plenty of shotgun shells from what I gather (wasn't interested and didn't take a close look)

bullets for reloading: all the common weights and diameters are gone, almost baren here too.



guns and ammo (whats left) are the only things not on sale at the moment.

most stuff is 10% off.
dog stuff is 30%, IIRC ;)

I'm going to cos today, does anyone know if the cos sportsmans whouse still bare?

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Originally Posted by car-15

I'm going to cos today, does anyone know if the cos sportsmans whouse still bare?

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I wouldn't waste your time. I live a few blocks away from there and they have not had anything for months.

thanks that is what i figured, but I thought i'd check.

was in the aurora one yesterday... place is picked clean on all the 'good' stuff... 2 handguns and not much left for rifles.. didn't see any ammo.

if you're into fishing stuff there was a bit of that left, but that's going fast as well as camping/clothing.

Been away for a while. Saw the sign at the store in Pocatello, ID while on the road. Almost stopped to see if they had any ammo. The sign said that the discounts excluded firearms and ammo, so I kept on driving.

Too bad to see the store close in Aurora. The Wadsworth location doesn't sell ARs due to being in Denver county.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Gman

Been away for a while. Saw the sign at the store in Pocatello, ID while on the road. Almost stopped to see if they had any ammo. The sign said that the discounts excluded firearms and ammo, so I kept on driving.

Too bad to see the store close in Aurora. The Wadsworth location doesn't sell ARs due to being in Denver county.

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LOL Just found that out the other day, they are a small annexed section of denver because denver thought that is where Southwest plaza mall was going to be!