After 30 years in business in western Canada, Wholesale Sports is closing all 12 stores in four provinces including Winnipeg’s St. James location. The Calgary-based sport, hunting and fishing store says 545 workers will lose their jobs. It is a tough business and only recently Cabela’s was swallowed up by Bass Pro Shops.
The Winnipeg location down the street has a property developer in Winnipeg who was planning some enhancements to the site but now they will have a major vacancy with the closure. Still, now with St. James Street roadwork nearing an end, the site could prove lucrative for another business.
Wholesale Sports has been around since the 1970s but the Winnipeg location is a more recent arrival. Online sales from companies like Amazon continue to change the market for bricks and mortar stores. Some stores have thrived while others have shown significant weakness in the last years. Department stores and big box stores have proved to be vulnerable.
It is sad to see a Canadian retailer fail and lose jobs. Winnipeggers have till December to shop as the store liquidates stock.
