Rumor surfacing.

[MrSplitshot]

The BPS store located in Council Bluffs, Iowa (Omaha)...the estimated population of Greater Omaha is 800K+.

The BPS store in Pearl, Mississippi (Jackson)...estimated population of Greater Jackson is 500K+.

If you consider Lexington/Fayette, the surrounding counties, and Frankfort, the population of "Central Kentucky" sings more to the tune of 600K+.

It's do'able based on population and geographic draw, without question, based on the growth this area has seen and other areas where BPS has successful stores.

[Tim_T]

Bullfrog Creek is out of business, but it had nothing to do with BPS in Clarksville. In and around the Louisville area there are a few quality small stores, including Smyrna Bait and Tackle and Peppers, among others.

As far as Dicks, I can promise you the folks at the one in Oxmoor Mall are very knowledgeable, especially the Lodge Manager, who also happens to be a tournament angler, hunter and a frequent poster on this board.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

i had a discussion with norman and norma pepper when the bps opened about hurting their business.Guess what they said hurt their business more than anything,,theft..by employess and customers,Eric who also owned fischers in shepherdsville said the same thing,employees giving rods reels baits and taking cash sales in their pockets.I worked 12 years in a family business and i seen it fisrt hand lowes and home depot didn't hurt us as bad as theives.when they put lowes at preston and g.s freeway evryone said we'd be out of business,they aren't yet.Our prices were a little higher but we did win with customer service.Small business that have been around many years should be establised.Now it would make it real hard for a new one to open if you tried to finance lock stock and barrel and make a living. My cousin talked to the owner of bf creek he said he was ready to give it up.As said thieving and the lack of knowledge of running a small businees is most of the downfall.
If you really look those lizards and worms are not all that much cheaper,i'll take a d&l jig over anything bps has and the cranks are nickel for nickel.
jmo.

[DJD]

Bullfrog Creek is out of business, but it had nothing to do with BPS in Clarksville. In and around the Louisville area there are a few quality small stores, including Smyrna Bait and Tackle and Peppers, among others.

As far as Dicks, I can promise you the folks at the one in Oxmoor Mall are very knowledgeable, especially the Lodge Manager, who also happens to be a tournament angler, hunter and a frequent poster on this board.

I agree that some of the employees of the chain stores are on the ball but as a rule i get the better service from the local guys. It's nice to shoot the bull with a local shop owner or get a special order placed and know that he really does appreciate your business.
I can see the parallel with Wal-Mart moving in to an area and running some of the local hardware/paint folks out because they cannot compete with the bulk buying these huge chain stores do. I have been to several cities that have both BPS and local Bait and Tackle shops so than can co-exist if they are on the ball.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

I agree that some of the employees of the chain stores are on the ball but as a rule i get the better service from the local guys. It's nice to shoot the bull with a local shop owner or get a special order placed and know that he really does appreciate your business.
I can see the parallel with Wal-Mart moving in to an area and running some of the local hardware/paint folks out because they cannot compete with the bulk buying these huge chain stores do. I have been to several cities that have both BPS and local Bait and Tackle shops so than can co-exist if they are on the ball.

hey djd
most of the wholesalers have a cheaper grade of paint and some hardware,it's
wether or not you chose to offer it.also many of the hardware wholesalers have been bought out by do it best and a few others so you get more discounts now from them because they have many more stores nationwide and all the sales are factored in,not just your one store.
You are right i had many customers in the hardware that came in and i'd talk for an hour about fishing and guess what they'd usually buy something even if they just came in to see what was biting.

[biggw]

All true DJD-but the main thing is when you come to shop today --They will know you next week when you come in again--I do love the small bait stores--And by the way this rain is going to do wonder for the fishing--gl to us all------

[RoadToad]

Bullfrog Creek is out of business, but it had nothing to do with BPS in Clarksville. In and around the Louisville area there are a few quality small stores, including Smyrna Bait and Tackle and Peppers, among others.

As far as Dicks, I can promise you the folks at the one in Oxmoor Mall are very knowledgeable, especially the Lodge Manager, who also happens to be a tournament angler, hunter and a frequent poster on this board.

"A few?" I think you just named both of them (Smyrna and Pepper's). Bullfrog Creek is out of business. Karem's is a beer bar that also sells bait. He sells good minnows at a fair price, but his selection of tackle is a joke. Can anybody name another one? Please? If they're out there, I'd love to know where they are!

[redneckshadrap]

The BPS store located in Council Bluffs, Iowa (Omaha)...the estimated population of Greater Omaha is 800K+.

The BPS store in Pearl, Mississippi (Jackson)...estimated population of Greater Jackson is 500K+.

If you consider Lexington/Fayette, the surrounding counties, and Frankfort, the population of "Central Kentucky" sings more to the tune of 600K+.

It's do'able based on population and geographic draw, without question, based on the growth this area has seen and other areas where BPS has successful stores.

London and Somerset aren't slouches either. It could draw all of the hunters from the eastern Ky area.

Waistdeep,

The reps and wholesalers numbers(in the region they service) are down because of fill rate rather than no sales. I DO know that the fill rate for some of these wholesellers isn't to good. Don't let them mislead you.
The same folks(Zoom, Shimano, Yamamoto, ect,ect) that supply them also supply the Dicks, Sportmanswarehouses,Bass Pro shops and the Cabellas across the nation. Now who do you thinks gets thier orders filled first....Definitely not the wholeseller..which isn't fair at all, but it is what it is.
Now D&L(and a few others) is a different story. Thankfully they are committed to the mom and pops...

[Tim_T]

"A few?" I think you just named both of them (Smyrna and Pepper's). Bullfrog Creek is out of business. Karem's is a beer bar that also sells bait. He sells good minnows at a fair price, but his selection of tackle is a joke. Can anybody name another one? Please? If they're out there, I'd love to know where they are!

Fischers in Shepherdsville is still in business. For what it is worth, I would love to hear someone name those that went out of business because of BPS and Dicks moving into the area. There were not that many tackle stores around before BPS and Dicks moved in.

As I said, Bullfrog Creek closing had nothing to do with BPS and Dicks. I visit both chains and smaller stores. I will go see guys like Mr. Pepper, Gary Ball and others, but I am not immune to a trip to BPS or DIcks, because there are things I can get from them that are not available at the smaller places.

BTW CTFSHWHISKER, I ran into Eric F. a couple of weeks ago and spent the better part of an hour BS'ing with him.

[CTFSHWHISKER]

hey Tim
how is Eric i havn't seen for some time.I havn't been there much since he and his mom sold out,he would always order my stuff for me and be as competitive as he could,did all my reel cleaning,the new people aren't as customer friendly.The only one i know out of business are b frog and one that was open a little while in hillview but bps had nothing to do with that.
Norman had one that he closed.then there was white cloud.

[MrSplitshot]

Now who do you thinks gets thier orders filled first....Definitely not the wholeseller..which isn't fair at all, but it is what it is.

As a wholesaler, I fight the same thing in the truck accessory business with some of my manufacturers who supply the AutoZones and Advanced Autos and NAPAs and O'Reillys of the world. They get parts via the big orders that go into their distribution centers and I get the B-O on my loads.

[Tim_T]

hey Tim
how is Eric i havn't seen for some time.I havn't been there much since he and his mom sold out,he would always order my stuff for me and be as competitive as he could,did all my reel cleaning,the new people aren't as customer friendly.The only one i know out of business are b frog and one that was open a little while in hillview but bps had nothing to do with that.
Norman had one that he closed.then there was white cloud.

Eric is doing really good. He is going to try and help me get my first ever flintlock muzzleloader. Been wanting to try it for a while.

The new owner (Tom) really tries, but he is new to the business. He has a lot of good ideas to make the place better, but it is one of those "spend money to make money" deals.