EMS closing down?

[rafe]

Just ran across this link on Facebook.

https://gearjunkie.com/eastern-mount...rJunkie.com%29

[Wise Old Owl]

uh sad - hate to see enthusiasts loose their jobs,

[mattjv89]

Sounds too early to tell the fate of the entire company but hopefully they can at least salvage some stores if it comes to making those decisions. If they do close stores I'll bet Rutland VT will be on the list, I can't imagine that location or any store left in the Diamond Run Mall is making any money.

[rafe]

The EMS near my house (couple of miles away) closed down and got turned into a "Golf Galaxy" several years ago. It was really no loss. I used to go there with cash burning in my pockets and still come home with nothing. The Golf Galaxy seems to be alive, not that I've ever been inside.

OTOH, when I was looking for replacement tips for my old Leki poles last year, I finally found a set at another EMS, a couple of towns over. My local REI didn't have them.

[Lyle]

I have several pieces of EMS gear, particularly a summer weight Primaloft sleeping bag that has served me very well for a number of years - great bag. I used to buy from them, but they closed all their Michigan stores quite a few years ago.

[Miel]

I got my first xv skis at the Commonweath Ave, store, some 30 years ago.

~sigh~ Good times.

[WingedMonkey]

In today's America, brands are bought and sold with little concern of history or customer loyalty.

Like more and more outdoor gear the EMS brand is owned by a private equity firm (Versa Capital Management).

How can a equity firm that owns companies/brands as diverse as Black Angus Steakhouse or whats left of Bell & Howell care about outdoor recreation?




Coleman (yes they actually use to have good stuff) is owned now by Jarden, a company that was a spin off from the old Ball Canning Jar.

Jarden also owns brands from Marmot and Shakespeare Fishing Tackle to Yankee Candle Company and Mr. Coffee and dozens of brands in between.

Newel-Rumermaid the owner of Housewares and Sharpie Markers is now buying Jarden.

[Sarcasm the elf]

In today's America, brands are bought and sold with little concern of history or customer loyalty.

Like more and more outdoor gear the EMS brand is owned by a private equity firm (Versa Capital Management).

How can a equity firm that owns companies/brands as diverse as Black Angus Steakhouse or whats left of Bell & Howell care about outdoor recreation?




Coleman (yes they actually use to have good stuff) is owned now by Jarden, a company that was a spin off from the old Ball Canning Jar.

Jarden also owns brands from Marmot and Shakespeare Fishing Tackle to Yankee Candle Company and Mr. Coffee and dozens of brands in between.

Newel-Rumermaid the owner of Housewares and Sharpie Markers is now buying Jarden.

Wow, is that twice in one week that we've been in agreement about something?

I think comedian Lewis Black sums it up fairly well:

"most kids go to college. They go, I want to be a business major, which is the phoniest major on earth. That's business. No! You can't be a business major. There's all sorts of business.

[tiptoe]

Well, I've been wondering why nearly everything at EMS, even the warm-weather clothing and gear, has been for sale at big discounts lately. (And at Bob's, too.) This news explains it.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Wow, on the related subject of retail woes I just saw this, Pac Sun has just filed for bankruptcy, Quicksilver and American Apparel did so earlier and Aeropostale is headed down the same road. Can't say I'm terribly surprised, I've always wondered how mall retailers managed to make a profit.


http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pa...-idUSKCN0X32OE

[lonehiker]

In today's America, brands are bought and sold with little concern of history or customer loyalty.

Like more and more outdoor gear the EMS brand is owned by a private equity firm (Versa Capital Management).

How can a equity firm that owns companies/brands as diverse as Black Angus Steakhouse or whats left of Bell & Howell care about outdoor recreation?




Coleman (yes they actually use to have good stuff) is owned now by Jarden, a company that was a spin off from the old Ball Canning Jar.

Jarden also owns brands from Marmot and Shakespeare Fishing Tackle to Yankee Candle Company and Mr. Coffee and dozens of brands in between.

Newel-Rumermaid the owner of Housewares and Sharpie Markers is now buying Jarden.

It comes down to, as it should, profitability. I suspect, I didn't read the article, that these companies are feeling the pinch because of e-commerce.

[Traveler]

Its hard to say if EMS is unprofitable or if the holding company is. Liquidation of the holding company (Versa Capital Management) apparently in trouble and ironically not well suited to its name. My hope is in their struggle they divest of EMS and allow it to survive as opposed to dragging it under with them. EMS has been my first line go-to store for many years, some of their private label merchandise has been in my packs for as long as I can remember.

[Offshore]

Hopefully it will just be a reorganization and EMS will survive in some form. I think their private label clothing is among the best, but its a bad sign when its continuously on sale and the stores seem so thinly stocked. When Versa took control of them through their Vestis Retail group, they pushed all of the back end systems from their Bob's Crappy Clothing stores onto EMS. I'm not saying that the old EMS systems were great, but under the most recent owners, inventory management and ordering is a complete mess. The web site got marginally better with a redesign this year, but they seem to have no idea what what they have for sale. I truly feel bad for the EMS customer service people who have to work with customers to sort orders out.

[rafe]

I got my first xv skis at the Commonweath Ave, store, some 30 years ago.

~sigh~ Good times.

Hehe, yes, that was years before I saw my first REI ever. I sure did a lot of biz with EMS over the years but like lots of great little chains (remember Lechmere?) they got taken over by large conglomerates who neither knew nor cared about their core business or unique nice.

Well, hey, as long as we've still got Campmor, all is not lost.

[rafe]

Oh heck that was supposed to be "niche" not "nice."

[Offshore]

It comes down to, as it should, profitability. I suspect, I didn't read the article, that these companies are feeling the pinch because of e-commerce.

I don't think e-commerce has a lot to do with it. I think its just extremely poor corporate managers and the "manage to the next quarter" mentality that are so common when private equity firms enter the picture. What is also common is for the PE firm to charge a management fee to the acquired company and to load them up with debt. It adds more pressure to an already ailing business and speeds the process of selling off the pieces along. (I've seen this from the inside.) It didn't help that the back end retail systems imposed on EMS are awful - poor inventory management, awful e-commerce platform, etc.

Compare EMS to REI. REI has become a juggernaut despite price competition from e-tail. EMS and REI have largely the same inventory (down to the brands and models), similar means of getting 10% back (REI dividend vs. EMS Rewards), e-commerce platforms in place, and a robust portfolio of higher-margin private label gear and clothing (EMS being arguably better than REI), and knowledgeable employees working in the stores. The only difference being management philosophies - REI being more long term and EMS having to make this quarter's numbers.

[nsherry61]

. . . difference being management philosophies - REI being more long term and EMS having to make this quarter's numbers.

I heard last year that REI actually has a 50 year team in place for the sole purpose of planning for and creating a long term future for the co-op.

[tiptoe]

Well, if anybody needs EMS pants, they're all 40-50% off today (that was the deal for shorts yesterday). I have several pairs of their convertible pants and like them a lot. Pockets galore, quick drying, zippers work easily, etc. I'm not affiliated with EMS, just a happy customer.

[Offshore]

I heard last year that REI actually has a 50 year team in place for the sole purpose of planning for and creating a long term future for the co-op.

And REI's management is willing to spend the money to look in some different directions - the Evrgreen line for the urban/casual/new outdoor customers and the Coop line of more moderately priced gear as recent examples. I'm not saying that REI is some type of nostalgic mom and pop and not the outdoors retailing juggernaut it is, it just has a much healthier management philosophy than the managing to the next quarter.

Here in NJ, this philosophy is also evident in the many pharmaceutical companies in the state. Very few of them do any original research (as it would affect the bottom line), they buy other companies to get their new drug pipelines. Once there are no more to buy, they attempt to make the numbers by playing games like Pfizer recently tried with the failed Allergan inversion. In the end, they are shadows of their former selves it they exist at all.

[lonehiker]

I don't think e-commerce has a lot to do with it. I think its just extremely poor corporate managers and the "manage to the next quarter" mentality that are so common when private equity firms enter the picture. What is also common is for the PE firm to charge a management fee to the acquired company and to load them up with debt. It adds more pressure to an already ailing business and speeds the process of selling off the pieces along. (I've seen this from the inside.) It didn't help that the back end retail systems imposed on EMS are awful - poor inventory management, awful e-commerce platform, etc.

Compare EMS to REI. REI has become a juggernaut despite price competition from e-tail. EMS and REI have largely the same inventory (down to the brands and models), similar means of getting 10% back (REI dividend vs. EMS Rewards), e-commerce platforms in place, and a robust portfolio of higher-margin private label gear and clothing (EMS being arguably better than REI), and knowledgeable employees working in the stores. The only difference being management philosophies - REI being more long term and EMS having to make this quarter's numbers.

Actually you are wrong. I went ahead and read the article and that is a primary reason for their problems. And their inability to adapt unlike REI which has.