Bass Pro buys Sportsman's Warehouse

[Martinjmpr]

Seriously, though, if SW disappeared tomorrow, would anyone miss them? More to the point, would anyone even notice?

When SW first opened in Colorado I believe it was either mid 2000 or 2001. The reason I say that is that I had just moved to Laramie, WY to go to school in August of 2000 and I got one of their mailers/grand opening discount coupons in the mail. The only SW location nearby was the one in Loveland. Up to that time the closest thing to a "big box" sporting goods store that actually sold hunting or shooting gear was Jax (in its original FoCo location.) So SW was a "big new thing" being a big (physically very large) big-box sporting goods store that unlike Gart Bros, actually had a good supply of guns, ammo, shooting stuff, camping gear, etc (Gart was always more "urban sports": Soccer, football, running/bicycling, volleyball, etc.)

The "big thing" about SW back then was their size ("big box" size store) and their large, in-stock selection, and of course their low prices. I'm sure the LGS's hated them and I would imagine that more than a few LGSs went out of business because of them being able to undercut the LGS on both selection and price.

But then....BPS came along in, what, 2006 or so? Maybe 2007? And at the same time, SW expanded to include large stores in the Denver area as well (Northglenn, Aurora and SW Plaza.)

It was also around this time, IIRC, that Gander Mountain opened its two stores in the Denver area, one in Thornton and one in Aurora in the old Home Base off of I-225 and Iliff.

So by the time the big financial crises of 2008 - 2009 hit, shoppers in the Front Range had at least EIGHT "big box" style stores that were exclusively dedicated to sporting goods (4 x SW, 2 x GM, 1 x BPS and by this time Jax had expanded to include a big-box style store in Louisville.)

All of a sudden, SW's one and only gimmick - large selection - was no longer exclusive to them. All they had left was cutting prices and that led them into a major reorg in 2010 - 2011 or so that saw them closing a huge percentage (I think it was over half) of their retail stores nationwide. The Aurora and SW plaza stores closed permanently.

By the time they emerged from their reorg in 2016 or so, not one but TWO Cabelas stores had also popped up in the Metro area.

And yet, they decided to put stores in the SW and SE part of the city again (Sheridan and Parker.)

And what's more, they did this after Gander Mountain had decided that their big box stores weren't making enough $$ to stay open.

You have to wonder why. I haven't been to the Parker store, but the SW in Sheridan at River Point is tiny - probably less than half the floor space of the old SW Plaza store. Selection is not good and prices are no better than the likes of BPS, Cabelas or Jax. Is there anything more useless than a "small" "big box" store? Being "big" is about the only thing they have to offer, and if they can't offer that, what good are they?

I can understand the emotional reaction of those who remember SW when it was literally the only real "big box sporting goods store" in town that dedicated a large portion of its floor space to hunting and fishing (as opposed to more "mainstream" sports stores like Gart/Sports Authority that virtually ignored the hunting/fishing market.)

But IMO, Sportsman's Warehouse's glory days are long behind them and all that's left is a shadow of what they once were. The one thing that made them unique is no longer unique to them, so the real question is, is there even a place for them in the current market?

I would say no, I don't think there is because there's nothing that SW does that other big box sporting goods places don't do as well or better.