Sportsman’s Warehouse to build in CdA

Sportsman’s Warehouse, which competes with Cabela’s for sales of outdoor gear, is building a store in Coeur d’Alene.

The 49,000-square-foot store is slated to open in May. It will employ about 65 people. The fast-growing chain also operates a store at the Spokane Valley Mall and is considering building another on Spokane’s North Side, said Stu Utgaard, chairman and CEO of the Salt Lake City-based company.

Sportsman’s Warehouse stores sell hunting, fishing and camping equipment and clothing. Customers who reach the automated phone system at the Spokane Valley Mall store are given the option of listening to the “fishing report.” The store also sells camouflage clothing in children’s sizes and displays hunting photos from customers.

With 54 stores across the nation, Sportsman’s Warehouse is one of the 10 largest sporting goods retailers in the U.S., according to Utgaard.

The first Sportman’s Warehouse opened in Midvale, Utah, in 1986. Utgaard, a corporate growth consultant who specialized in mergers and acquisitions, tried twice to sell the store for its owner. He ended up buying it in 1996 and starting a retail expansion program.

Locally, Sportsman’s Warehouse competes with retailers such as the General Store in Spokane, Big 5 Sporting Goods and Black Sheep Sporting Goods & Toys in Coeur d’Alene, which will be a neighbor of the new store, Utgaard said.

Nationally, the chain is also a competitor of Cabela’s, “though we don’t expect taxpayers to fund our growth,” Utgaard said.

Cabela’s recently opened a store in Boise and is contemplating building an 180,000-square-foot store in either Liberty Lake or Post Falls.

The company, based in Nebraska, has been adept at getting concessions from state and local governments to defray expansion costs.

Utgaard was critical of a recent Idaho Tax Commission decision allowing Cabela’s to forego collection of sales tax on catalog items sold in-state. Idaho is one of 19 states that granted the concession.

Last spring, Washington passed incentive legislation designed to lure Cabela’s to Liberty Lake, while Idaho lawmakers plan to reintroduce bills in January that would reimburse Cabela’s for the cost of a new freeway interchange if the firm builds in Post Falls. The new store could open in 2007.

“Ethically, we don’t think it’s a good idea for the taxpayers to support any private company,” Utgaard said.