Salt Lake City: Livability in the 21st Century

enthusiastic about outdoor sports. In recent years, Sportsman’s
Warehouse has opened three to four new locations each year,
a rate of growth it plans to maintain while expanding to both
the west and east. In each new location, it seeks employees
who are outdoor sportsmen or sportswomen.
“Many of our customers rely on the proficiency of our
associates when making product selections,” Schaefer says.
“We appreciate their work and take pride in the positive customer
feedback we receive about them. Our success is driven
by this expertise and passion. We receive an impressive
amount of positive feedback about the great job they do, and
appreciate their contributions to Sportsman’s Warehouse.”
Founded by Bill Hayes and Scott Neilsen in 1986 as Sports
Warehouse, the company’s name changed soon afterward to
Sportsman’s Warehouse. It employs a total of 3,350 people,
including 105 at the corporate headquarters in Midvale, Utah.
Marketing is driven by new product lines and use of the
Internet, with the stores and e-commerce site having a clear
mission to provide a great shopping experience. The stores’
footprints—averaging 48,000 square feet—are sometimes
smaller than certain other big box outfitters, but their size
allows customers to find the national brands they know and
trust quickly and easily. The Sportsman’s Warehouse loyalty
program rewards frequent shoppers with gift cards and
specific offers catered to their favorite outdoor activities.
Plans for the future include adding to offerings on the
e-commerce site. Since it opened in 2010, improvements to
design, content and usability have brought a significant increase
in use. Among the most recent improvements has been the
addition of a mobile site for easier shopping from phones and
tablets along with the continued focus on content as well
as with additions to the products offered online, with corresponding
multiple-image views and enhanced descriptions.
Although guns will not be sold online, the company is
creating a library of guns and safes on the site. This is
designed to aid consumer research and to give customers
information about what is available in the brick-and-mortar
stores. Plans also call for equipping the site with enhanced
reporting tools so consumers can access details concerning
their purchase and location.
“Hands-on testing will be done in the stores to determine
how people use the site,” Schaefer said, along with promotional
offers in areas where the company’s stores are located,
and marketing of the e-site inside the stores. Plans also call
for Sportsman’s Warehouse to sponsor five or six national
television programs, along with advertisements in such
national publications as Outdoor Life and Field and Stream,
with QR codes on each ad.
Special events offered by Sportsman’s Warehouse are
geared to the specific areas in which they are scheduled.
These include classes, seminars
and presentations, and events.
Most stores offer a “Ladies
Nights” to engage more females
interested in fishing, camping
and hunting in a friendly and
educational environment. In
Alaska, some sites hosted an
Easter Egg Extravanza, a Basics
of Rainwear presentation and
introduction to archery. Classes
in California have covered topics
ranging from deep-frying turkeys
to hunter safety, and from
Dutch oven cooking to a pistol
reloading seminar.
It is all designed to provide
the information and products the
customer wants, and to make the
entire process an enjoyable one.
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