Sporting goods giants Bass Pro Shops, Cabella's and Scheels All Sports, all expected to open massive super-stores in Reno and Sparks within the next few years, are likely to squeeze margins for the area's smaller retailers.
The increased competition, in fact, already has forced owners of many independent stores to re-think their strategies.
Reno-Sparks hosts numerous sporting goods chains, including Big Five Sporting Goods with two stores in Reno-Sparks plus one in Carson City, Sports Authority with two locations, Sportsman's Warehouse and outdoors retailer REI.
Additionally, a host of Longs, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and other big retailers sell camping, fishing, hunting and other outdoor gear. Hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail space already are devoted to sporting goods, yet Cabella's is expected to add 150,000 square feet, and Scheels will 248,000 square feet of retail space staffed by nearly 300 employees. Bass Pro Shops typically run from 130,000 to 160,000 square feet with 250-300 employees.
But big names have been bad for small business.
Longtime Reno retailer The Sportsman, open 69 years at 401 Vine, last month scuttled the retail side of its business. President Steve Humphreys has been at The Sportsman since 1971, and he's not happy about the changes.
"Politicians have just destroyed all the small business by not standing up to the big corporations," he says. "America is no longer 'We the People' it's 'We the Corporation.' All my friends are out of business. There just isn't anybody left."
The arrival of big outfitters also brought rethinking among the area's outfitters and specialty stores as they search for niche markets.
Reno Mountain Sports on Moana Lane formerly offered top-of-the-line products synonymous with its name, but the business scaled back its product lines and now focuses on high-end kayaking equipment.
"When REI came into town we definitely felt it, but we felt it even more when Sports-man's (Warehouse) came in right down the road," says Stan Mroczkowski, manager of RMS since 2000. "That's what really made us reconsider the whole backpacking side of things. That and the Internet. We are just going to concentrate on water sports, recreational and river."
Mroczkowski says Reno Mountain Sports will no longer carry sleeping bags, tents, backpacks or footwear and will focus on the spring/summer niche it created in paddle sports partly through increased exposure and easy access to kayaking at the Truckee River Whitewater Park.
"It has been leaning that way for a few years now. We definitely will lean more specialty-oriented as far as our kayaks," he says.
A long player in the outdoors retailing scene has been Mark-Fore and Strike on Kietzke Lane. Owner Marty Piccinini has been at the location for 41 years, and he figures to be there a while longer yet despite the new competition.
The Gilly fishing store on Rock Boulevard. has been open for 14 years. Owners Andy and Jeannette Scholz bought the business in February of 2005. Andy Scholz says his first-hand knowledge of the area's fisheries and the best baits to use sets his business apart.
"You have to take a look at your inventory and take a look at the direction you want to go," he says. "At the Gilly we cater to both fly fishing and bass fisherman's needs. We deal with a very small, distinctive fishery. You have some fisheries here that key on particular baits, patterns and colors. Big-box stores are general merchandise. They are going to have junk for ocean stuff, and stuff for fisheries that aren't conducive to our areas."
Knowing the area and stocking to the needs of customers outweighs shelf after shelf of shiny lures and poles, Scholz says.
"Product knowledge is worth a lot. Say a customer comes in and wants to know how to fish somewhere, or how to tie a fly. Big-box store employees aren't knowledgeable enough. They haven't been fishing and gone through the trials and errors of what works and what doesn't. If I can service you, and you go out and catch a fish, you will come back."
Mroczkowski agrees. "A smaller store like this can offer much better customer service. As long as we are concentrating on customer service, product knowledge, and carrying specialty items no one else has, we will be able to survive."
For larger retailers, such as Sportsman's Warehouse, increased competition from the incoming giants means the organization also must excel in service.
"We are going to have to be a little sharper and a little better and be on our toes," says Brian Nelson, manager of the retail chain's Reno store. "Hopefully we can rise to the occasion and not lose any ground."
