Sporting Gun Stores Aim for Steady Growth with Little Contraction

CoStar Group ^ | March 20, 2013 | Mark Heschmeyer

[2ndDivisionVet]

A handful of specialized retailers that cater to highly selective outdoor and gun enthusiasts have defied the general retail downturn by posting strong sales over the past several years.

While recent media coverage and interest in guns has driven sales of guns and ammunition higher, these specialty retailers had reported strong sales long before the tragic and senseless events brought added attention to the sector. So much so that these sporting gun stores report sales are stronger now than ever.

From a commercial real estate perspective, the popular sporting gun retailers are attracting interest from owners of empty so-called big box stores. Although the retailers themselves are aiming for more selective store growth.

While Walmart and Kmart may sell more guns, specialty retailers such as Cabela’s, Big 5 Sporting Goods and Gander Mountain devote more square footage in their stores to firearm sales. Notably also, in some cases they have become a natural fit for some of the nation’s vacant big box space.

“The whole exercise for (the past) four years has been to position ourselves so that we could digest and manage profitable growth. There are mornings that I wake up and I think, it is unbelievable that we have a brand that is known everywhere I travel all over the world, and we only have 40 stores,” Thomas L. Millner, CEO and president Cabela's Inc., said at the company’s annual conference. Millner boasts of throwing the second best annual conference in the company’s headquarters state of Nebraska - just behind Warren Buffett’s.

The company has plans to open seven new stores this year: Columbus, OH; Louisville, KY; Grand Rapids, MI; Green Bay, WI, and two in Denver. Those openings don’t take into account, Cabela’s other store brand, Outpost Sports, which does not sell guns.....

[2ndDivisionVet]

Ya think?

[SJSAMPLE]

The Indianapolis Gander Mountain has doubled quadrupled-down and expanded their gun counter the full length of the store, about 4x the size of what it was last month. Very nice.

[Celtic Conservative]

Gander mountain is a bunch of gutless pu$$ies and will never get my business again. I went in to order some spare mags from their firearms dept. and was told that " due the gun control controversy corporate headquarters isn't allowing stores to order ANY handgun OR long gun magazines under any circumstances" that plus a few other irritating experiences(including excessively bloated prices) will keep me from their doors in perpetuity.

/rant>

CC

[bunkerhill7]

Up here in the mountains we got thousands of hunters but WALMART don`t sell no guns here and hardly any ammo and no hunting arrows nor hiunting bows neither-for 9 years now—They are anti-second amendment

[familyop]

Agreed. Very true.

[Celtic Conservative]

BTW, google "gander mountain sucks" = 125,000+ entries LOL!

CC

[PAR35]

Perhaps you all live in the wrong part of town. They sell them here in the one across from the trailer park, but not in the stores in the rich neighborhoods.

[familyop]

"Perhaps you all live in the wrong part of town. They sell them here in the one across from the trailer park, but not in the stores in the rich neighborhoods."

We were talking about "up here in the mountains," where tourists spend lots of money and are officially enticed to get high (easy money for socialism).

[TigersEye]

65.4 Million Guns Bought Since Obama Took Office, 91% More Than Bush's First-Term Total

And in the last two months... (Dec. 2012 and Jan. 2013)

Americans Buy Enough Guns in Last Two Months to Outfit the Entire Chinese and Indian Armies

[Kevmo]

popular sporting gun retailers are attracting interest from owners of empty so-called big box stores.
***I was in the biggest of big box stores ( WalMart ) yesterday, at Mountain View, CA in the middle of Silicon Valley. Guns are no longer for sale.

[ExpatGator]

What state do you live in? I have a gun shop and there are states that I will not ship to, not do business n due to their laws. Walmart sells a crapload of guns all over the place in the state of Missouri where I currently live and in many other states.