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Scott and Kevin Strong, two of the family members that partnered to start Sportsman’s Liquidation, said their goal was to give people the opportunity to buy brand name sporting goods at a discounted price on the northwest side of Grand Rapids. PHOTO: JOE BOOMGAARD

By Joe Boomgaard | MiBiz
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ALPINE TOWNSHIP — Hunting for a sporting goods bargain?

The owners of the newly opened Sportsman’s Liquidation hope your bucks stop at their Alpine Avenue store. Because the store sells brand-name goods at 50-80 percent off retail price, the owners say it will no longer take as much hard-earned cash to get involved in the outdoors.

“The economy’s down, but people still hunt and fish,” said Scott Strong, a partner in the retail venture. “We get people in at a reasonable price so they can still go hunting, fishing and camping.”

Scott, brother Russ and his son Kevin —  partners in the retail store — are no strangers to the hunting industry. Scott and Russ own Muskegon-based ScenTote, which markets scent-blocking gear for hunters. Russ Strong has also been involved in downtown Muskegon development projects.

About a year ago, they started discussing the idea for a discount sporting goods store, with the planning really kicking into gear about six months ago.

“We have a passion for hunting and fishing. We’ve lived and breathed hunting and fishing since we were little kids. It’s a big tradition in our family, for Russ and I,” Scott Strong told MiBiz. “Our focus is to do a really good job with this store and grow it.”

The store name is licensed from a Pennsylvania-based company that offers “turnkey licensee” packages and supplies the product for the retail store, according to the company’s website.

Kevin Strong said the company gets products from manufacturers that have an excess overrun or that have a marketing change and don’t want to flood chain stores with non-current packaging. They get the product at a discount and are able to pass along those savings to customers.

“We’re like a TJ Maxx in the hunting and fishing industry,” Scott Strong told MiBiz, noting the store sells name brands like Nikon, Scent-Lok, Quantum and Shimano, among others. “It’s all top-quality, and we try to be selective.”

The Strongs are quick to point out that Sportsman’s Liquidation is not a one-stop store because they only stock what’s being liquidated, which might not fill every niche of the outdoors market. But they say their merchandise changes regularly, so they encourage customers to return if the particular line of items isn’t available. They also do not carry ammunition or firearms, although they can carry muzzleloaders, bows and crossbows.

“I’ve always been a west-sider, and I’ve always struggled when I go to get sporting goods because there’s nothing on the north side or on Alpine. You had to go all the way out to 28th Street or 44th Street or buy online. There was nothing real close,” Scott Strong said. “(Compared to online), you can at least come in and touch and feel our products, and a lot of people still like that. They can try on the clothes or try out the fishing poles.”

Scott said the partners had first considered a location visible from U.S. 131, but realized they’d probably get better exposure along the well-traveled Alpine Avenue corridor. The location — in an out-lot sandwiched between Menards and Wal-Mart — had been on the market for about a year and half. They said they got a “decent deal” on the property, but said the retail market along the corridor has remained strong.

“We realized the traffic is seven days a week, and it’s just north enough to get out of all the congestion,” Kevin Strong said. “And we’re right in front of Menards and Wal-Mart, (both of them) discount stores. With all the contractors and guys coming to Menards, that sold us on the location.”

Moreover, they wanted to be sure that they created a positive retail environment for customers. Too often, they said small sporting goods stores were uninviting for people who weren’t regulars or family members of the owners.

“We want it to feel more like a retail store and focus on the customer and make sure they feel extremely welcome so they can ask the most basic questions,” Kevin Strong said.

If the model takes off in Grand Rapids, the Strongs say they’d like to take the Sportsman’s Liquidation concept to two or three other locations in Michigan within the next couple of years.

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TAGS:

• alpine
• economic development
• scott strong
• sporting goods