Dick's Buys Golfsmith at Bankruptcy Auction

[CarlSpackler]

Quote

Dick's Sporting Goods Inc (DKS.N), teamed up with liquidators, won a bankruptcy auction on Friday for the U.S. business of Golfsmith International Holdings Inc [GOFTWG.UL] with a bid of about $70 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

Dick's plans to keep open at least 30 Golfsmith stores and wind down the rest with liquidators from Hilco Global and Tiger Capital Group, the people said. It plans to keep about 500 of the company's employees.

Golfsmith had 109 stores in the United States at the time of its bankruptcy filing last month, and has been closing stores since then.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-golfsmith-m-a-dicks-sporting-exclusiv-idUSKCN12L1X5

[dennyjones]

Wow,  they are closing a lot of stores.     I'm sure they'll close at least two in Michigan.   There are 3 within one hour of my house.

[Hacker James]

I am curious as to what Tom Wishon thinks about this since his departure from Golf Smith and starting his own line.

[CarlSpackler]

I am guessing that the one back in Beavercreek, OH will close since it's right across the street from a Dick's store. 

[gregsandiego]

2 hours ago, dennyjones said:

Wow,  they are closing a lot of stores.     I'm sure they'll close at least two in Michigan.   There are 3 within one hour of my house.

That's 79 out of 109 I guess. I'm hoping my favorite So Cal store stays open, but not sure where to check.  I guess I'll ask the employees. I'd hate to see this place with their massive free practice area leave town.

 

[newtogolf]

I'm surprised the court accepted a bid where only 30 out of 109 stores remain open and allowed DSG to buy it given their reduced interests in golf.  This will have a ripple effect throughout the industry.  

[iacas]

2 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

I'm surprised the court accepted a bid where only 30 out of 109 stores remain open and allowed DSG to buy it given their reduced interests in golf.  This will have a ripple effect throughout the industry.  

Maybe it was the best bid?

[newtogolf]

10 minutes ago, iacas said:

Maybe it was the best bid?

It most likely was but the court had the option to reject the bid or solicit others before final closing if it felt the bid did not properly represent the creditors and employees best interests.  

[WUTiger]

A couple of things...

I wonder if there's any chance of an anti-trust challenge, if the GS + {Dick's / GG} would give Dick's too large a share of the golf retail market. I'm not sure what % of total market share GS + GG would equal.

Golf retailing currently floats in a condition of excess industrial capacity* - more companies producing/selling a product category than the market can absorb. In such conditions, a shakeout usually occurs as weaker firms go bankrupt or voluntarily exit the market. What stronger firms often will do is buy up struggling firms to gain control of their capacity, and then have massive shutdowns of less profitable acquired sites. This is what Dick's is doing with their announced plan to  retain only 30 of 109 Golfsmith stores.

*(Nexit  - Nike exit - and the TM/Adams "for sale" and the second demise of Nickent show similar problems on the manufacturing side).

The Golf Galaxy true superstores are superb, such as the Chesterfield Valley unit in St. Louis area. That said, the average Golfsmith store tends to have more hitting bays than Galaxy. And, a Golfsmith unit sometimes partners with a GolfTec lessons and fitting shop.

As far as alternatives to golf superstores, I came across an article  a couple of weeks ago which says custom club-fitting shops are becoming more popular with golfers. I'll post the link if I can find it.

Note: GolfTec and PGA of America struck a partnership for golf lessons in February.

[Hacker James]

@WUTiger I recently visited a small fitting shop upon recommendation from Tom Wishon.  Very impressive, and gives you the feeling of personal service. The owner was previously head of instruction for fitting at San Diego Golf Academy but went into business for himself.

[newtogolf]

My understanding is the Bankruptcy court hasn't approved the sale, so while DSG has the highest bid, there are still some issues to be sorted out regarding anti-trust.  Dicks has accumulated a large portfolio of golf related patents and that appears to be their primary interest in GolfSmith given the plan to only keep 30 stores open.   

[chilepepper]

On October 23, 2016 at 7:53 PM, newtogolf said:

My understanding is the Bankruptcy court hasn't approved the sale, so while DSG has the highest bid, there are still some issues to be sorted out regarding anti-trust.  Dicks has accumulated a large portfolio of golf related patents and that appears to be their primary interest in GolfSmith given the plan to only keep 30 stores open.   

  Funny how anti trust things are sorted out by the government. Airlines merge, pharmaceutical companies merge etc and all is good. In my area 2 grocery chains merged and they had to divest of X amount of stores. Those stores were picked up by an out of town outfit. They closed shop after a year and now consumers have less choices. 

[newtogolf]

3 hours ago, chilepepper said:

  Funny how anti trust things are sorted out by the government. Airlines merge, pharmaceutical companies merge etc and all is good. In my area 2 grocery chains merged and they had to divest of X amount of stores. Those stores were picked up by an out of town outfit. They closed shop after a year and now consumers have less choices. 

Anti-trust is a secondary issue when it comes to bankruptcy cases.  The courts job is protect the creditors and preferred shareholders (if any) first and then consider anti-trust issues second.  If DSG is the best offer the court received and the other bids also would result in 79 stores closing then they would have little choice but to approve DSG.  

[rkim291968]

Sad to see Golfsmith go out of biz but glad to see Dick is there to pick up some of it.    We have a Dick store in our neighborhood and they don't have much of golf gear.   Perhaps, that can change.   

[gregsandiego]

Golfsmith in Irvine CA is now officially doomed with STORE CLOSING  signs.

The worst part is that the inside practice range is already shut down. What a tragedy. This place provided me free daily practice at lunch time. I made any and all golf purchases there to support them.

We will miss you Golfsmith.

 

 

[WUTiger]

The GolfSmith store on Manchester Rd. in St. Louis appears to have survived.

A store employee told me two weeks ago that he was optimistic, because they had the best sales figures in the region.

Plus, the Manchester store is about three miles from the former Golf Galaxy site in Brentwood, which shut a couple of years ago over a lease dispute. This was located in a mall just south of I-64.

Two other GG sites are along Hwy. 64: Chesterfield Valley (superstore) out west, and Fairview Heights east over in Illinois.

Golf Discount - based out of St. Louis - has gone from four stores to two stores in our area since about 2005. Golf Discount keeps growing its online sales.

For clubfitting and lessons, GolfTEC remains solid; a couple of custom clubfitting operations have also opened up. Some well respected custom clubfitting operations survive in towns on edge of metro area.

ProAmGolf retains a strong presence in St. Louis County, and also has a store in Columbia, MO.

[newtogolf]

I received an e-mail today that looks like all the stores in NY will be closed.  I was at the Lake Grove store last week and their inventory levels were minimal so I suspect they were preparing for the closing.  You might be able to find some good deals as they are advertising 30% off but I'm guessing the best equipment has been shipped back to the warehouse or to the 30 stores that will remain open.  

[gregsandiego]

10 hours ago, WUTiger said:

The GolfSmith store on Manchester Rd. in St. Louis appears to have survived.

A store employee told me two weeks ago that he was optimistic, because they had the best sales figures in the region.

Plus, the Manchester store is about three miles from the former Golf Galaxy site in Brentwood, which shut a couple of years ago over a lease dispute. This was located in a mall just south of I-64.

Two other GG sites are along Hwy. 64: Chesterfield Valley (superstore) out west, and Fairview Heights east over in Illinois.

Golf Discount - based out of St. Louis - has gone from four stores to two stores in our area since about 2005. Golf Discount keeps growing its online sales.

For clubfitting and lessons, GolfTEC remains solid; a couple of custom clubfitting operations have also opened up. Some well respected custom clubfitting operations survive in towns on edge of metro area.

ProAmGolf retains a strong presence in St. Louis County, and also has a store in Columbia, MO.

Does your Manchester store have the free inside driving range ?