Why the web is now the main sales channel at The Sportsman’s Guide
It’s been more than a year since The Sportsman’s Guide Inc. purchased The Golf Warehouse in June 2004 for about $30.5 million and one area where the acquisition is making a difference is the ratio of web sales to catalog sales.
In its recently released second quarter financials, The Sportsman’s Guide, No. 76 in the Internet Retailer Top 400 Guide to Retail Web Sites, reports that 60%, or about $38.3 million, of its total sales of $63.8 million were from e-commerce. “We saw strong net sales at both The Golf Warehouse and The Sportsman’s Guide,” says CEO George R. Binkley. “The increase in total net sales and in the percentage of Internet-related sales is also the result of a continued strong performance at The Golf Warehouse.”
The Sportsman’s Guide, which operates SportsmansGuide.com, TGW.com and BargainOutfitters.com, used the web to account for 41% of all sales in 2004, or about $98 million, compared with 36%, or about $69.1 million in e-commerce sales, in 2003, according to the company.
The acquisition of The Golf Warehouse also helped The Sportsman’s Guide to lower its administrative overhead slightly in the last year, according to the company’s 2004 annual report. Consolidated selling, general and administrative expenses were $62.1 million, 26.7% of sales, in 2004 compared to $54.5 million, or 28% of sales, during 2003. “The Sportsman’s Guide’s expenses as a percentage of sales for 2004 were lower compared to the prior year as a result of higher Internet sales and lower processing costs with the increased sales generated through the Internet,” the company says in its 2004 annual report.
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