Wholesale Sports Canada Ltd. announced the orderly wind down and eventual closure of its 12 retail locations in the four western Canadian provinces, according to a statement from its parent United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative Ltd. (UFA).
The inventory liquidation sales will begin on Friday, September 15, 2017 and will be managed through Gordon Brothers, an industry-leading inventory asset management specialist.
“This was an all-inclusive business decision that, while difficult, was made in the best interest of UFA on behalf of our members,” said Carol Kitchen, UFA President and Chief Executive Officer.
“There were numerous external factors that led to this decision including an increasingly competitive environment, the continued shift to on-line purchases and an overall slowing of consumer discretionary spending as a whole, including the outdoor industry. The orderly wind down of Wholesale Sports will allow UFA to focus on its core business of agriculture and petroleum,” said Kitchen.
Official sales will begin at each of the 12 retail locations, starting at their regular store hours, on Friday, September 15, and will continue until December 28, 2017. No new online purchases are being processed. as the Wholesale Sports website becomes a static webpage that only offers customers information on the sales event. All current open on-line orders will be fulfilled.
”We thoroughly appreciate the loyalty from both our customers and Wholesale Sports employees and wish to sincerely thank each of them for their support and service over the years,” said Kitchen.
During the orderly wind down process, Wholesale Sports has partnered with Northwest Atlantic (Canada) Inc. for certain retail lease locations in British Columbia.
UFA purchased Wholesale Sports in 2008. The closings are expected to impact 545 jobs, according to reports in the Canadian press.
Established in Alberta in the mid-1970s by brothers Russ and Brad Butler, Wholesale Sports’s12 stores offer 440,000 square feet of retail space across Western Canada (five locations in both B.C. and Alberta, one in both Manitoba and Saskatchewan).
Founded in 1909, UFA Co-operative Limited is an Alberta-based agricultural co-operative with more than 120,000 member-owners. UFA’s network comprises more than 110 bulk fuel and Cardlock Petroleum locations, 35 Farm & Ranch Supply stores and a support office located in Calgary, AB. Independent Petroleum Agents and more than 1,200 UFA employees provide products, services and agricultural solutions to farmers, ranchers, members and commercial customers in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan.
Photo courtesy Wholesale Sports
