Le Baron Bankrupt ???

Big Bad said:
This is still an unfounded rumour as far as I can see. And this right here is probably the origin of it: http://www.oodmag.com/community/showthread.php?87102-Lebaron-Ottawa-mass-restructuring-(i-e-closing)

Guy was told they're doing a mass restructuring and he made it into a closure/bankruptcy. Could be, may not be, maybe they are just fixing the roof in Ottawa.

Cabela's had a major staff recruitment drive here before opening, of course. If LeB is going under, I would have expected to see some of their staff working at Cabela's on their opening day, and I did not.
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I'm friends with an employee. They've been told to be prepared to be closed for good. Someone else here said the sale starts on Monday. My friend didnt know that (when it started) when he spoke with me, but it sounds logical, if they've exhausted all their other finance options.
 
I have only ever been to the Mississauga location. The three employees in the gun room have always been pretty good to my son and I.

Now the big guy who sits by the front cash register, that's another story. The lack of a modern website and the horrible customer service on the part of several of the employees must have played a factor in the demise of this business.
 
mississaugagunnut said:
I have only ever been to the Mississauga location. The three employees in the gun room have always been pretty good to my son and I.

Now the big guy who sits by the front cash register, that's another story. The lack of a modern website and the horrible customer service on the part of several of the employees must have played a factor in the demise of this business.
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Same. The young woman there has been especially helpful on a few occasions. Even added me to a MiniMag wait list, and then called 2 months later when the stock finally arrived. I'd forgotten I was on a list, but got my case.

I remember going in to Le Baron's when they were in the Newtonbrook Plaza in North York. That might date me ;-)
 
trebor2880 said:
And Norinco AK-47s SA in .223, at the Bell's Corner store, that you could take out and shoot anywhere you could any other rifle. But we weren't such an oppressed nation back then.
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LOL! You remember that? Then a short trip up the 400 to Ontario Sporting Supplies to drool over unrestricted AR-15's and fondle some Mini Uzi's and Tec 9's! Gotta give credit to Bell Distributors though-one of the first companies to deal with the then fledgling Norinco and the first to bring in Norinco Ammo.
 
The gun shop employee named Dave had always been good to me. I asked for advise and opinion and he provided it to me. Their web site needed to keep up with the times though.
 
hoytcanon said:
LeBarons is not "a part of Sail."

Whether their inventory was up to date or not, I can't see how the closing of an outdoor retailer is good for anybody... LeBarons prices were good and I did a fair amount of shopping in all three Ontario stores... and yes, there were often inventory disappointments, but I would be sad to see them go, if this rumour is true.
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I agree, sad if true. Membership has saved me some money over the years. In fact was in there a week ago and took advantage of no tax sale. Sometime feels like they really don't want to compete though. Their hours suck. Their website sucks, and much of the product in the catalogue they never have, but I shop there anyway.
 
Here in Ottawa I called asking about a specific Marlin lever gun I wanted to buy. I was told it's in stock, and I went over to make the purchase. When I got there I was told it isn't in stock but other models are. I said how I had called and been told they had the one I wanted. The response of the big guy I was talking to, "That didn't happen." Enjoy unemployment, big guy.
 
Very sad news as it is never good to loose a sporting retailer especially one that's been around as long as LeBaron's. I shopped at there store in downtown Toronto when it was a small cramped hovel of a place. Over the years I bought a tremendous amount of goods from them but they were there own worst enemies when it came to customer service and attitude. They were notorious for bad customer service and having an arrogant attitude, and that seemed to carry from store to store and through the years.
There difficulties in my opinion arise from many areas, there refusal to enter the world of the internet, customer service, the big box retailers like ProBass and Cabelas. Years ago they had a small core of employees in the Toronto stores that were selling more goods out the back door than the front.
I had the opportunity to have lunch one time at the Toronto Sportsman show with Mr. Mrs. LeBaron. She was a small very feisty women who definitely ran the entire operation. He barely said two words all through lunch, he seemed to know better. She had very strong opinions on how to run the business and could not be deterred from them. At that time they were a very successful retailer so her methods were hard to dispute.
I had no more personal contact with her after that and I do not know if she is still at the helm at this point or not. All in all it will be sad to see them go as they were an all Canadian retailer despite there faults.
 
It's a shame LeBarrons is closing. I bought my first 3 rifles there.

A few years ago I was chatting with the Mississauga store manager and I was asking him why the company did not have computerized inventory, he said in a proud smug way that they don't need it and they never will. For my last purchase, I had to call around to all of their locations for the rifle I wanted and when I finally found one I had to have it shipped to the Mississauga store.

If business don't adapt to eCommerce they will not survive.

Bass Pro is another operation that is choosing not to compete in online sales in the Canadian market. While they have an awesome US .com site, it is next to useless for us Canadians. Likely why I have never bought anything from them.
 
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