Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Outdoors retailer will close store in Roanoke
Sportsman's Warehouse is shuttering 23 stores nationwide, including its only one in Virginia.
The latest from The Ticker blog
An outdoors retailer is taking a hike less than two years after bringing a megastore to Roanoke.
Utah-based Sportsman's Warehouse said Tuesday that it will shutter 23 stores nationwide, including its Roanoke location on Ferncliff Avenue.
The retailer opened in November 2007, packed with hunting, fishing and camping gear, apparel and other outdoors supplies.
The Roanoke store is the chain's first and only step into Virginia. The majority of its stores are in Western states, such as Colorado, Washington and Montana.
The reasons for the store closings that span the Western part of the country are unclear. Stores will be liquidated to reduce bank debt, states a news release on the company's Web site. The privately held Sportsman's Warehouse has 64 stores total, its Web site says.
Neither Sportsman's Warehouse spokesman Mike Van Orden, nor its chief executive officer, Stu Utgaard, returned calls for comment Tuesday.
It's unclear when liquidation sales will begin and when the stores will close for good.
The fate of the outdoor retailer's Roanoke property also is unclear. Sportsman's Warehouse purchased its 5-acre parcel from Schewel Furniture Co., a Lynchburg retailer with a store nearby.
Sportsman's Warehouse's land and its building are assessed at $4.5 million, said Brian Townsend, Roanoke's assistant city manager.
The store closings aren't the only steps the retail chain is taking to improve financially.
United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative Ltd. will acquire 15 Sportsman's Warehouse stores. The UFA is a Canadian co-op that operates farm and ranch supply stores, fuel stations and a construction business.
In November, UFA announced plans to acquire a majority interest in Sportsman's Warehouse, a move that would boost the co-op's annual revenue by $800 million and expand its lifestyle business, according to a news release that appeared on both UFA's and Sportsman's Warehouse's Web sites. In January, Sportsman's Warehouse shareholders approved the deal, according to a news release from UFA.
A Tuesday statement on the retailer's Web site in response to the store liquidations and the UFA acquisition indicates that it plans to continue some of its operations.
