The Great Outdoors Trading Co. plans to close its store in Rutland, VT. Its three remaining Great Outdoors stores in Killington, Okemo and Mount Snow will remain open.
Liquidation sales for the store, which had been open for 16 years, have started and will continue through May 23.
In an interview with the Rutland Herald, store manager Ron Fox said a critical reason in the decision to close was the inability to secure bank financing under suitable terms to replenish the store's inventory. Business had eroded within the downturn but was starting to bounce back.
“We started to see something of a rebound but the economy was a big hit,” Fox said. Finally, he said the store lost some business as consumers began buying more skis online and a nearby Dick's Sporting Goods had some impact.
Fox said the Killington, Okemo and Mount Snow stores are remaining open because those stores are seasonal and less expensive to operate.
Chuck and Esther Wagenheim started the company in Newport in 1972. They opened their Rutland store in 1985 at 41 Center St. Nine years later, the Wagenheims built a multistore complex at 219 Woodstock Ave. at the site of the former Ray Reilly tire store.
