Many gun retailers I know on the West coast are closed Sunday/Monday. Reliable, Wanstall's, and Italian Sporting goods come to mind. I don't begrudge a store being closed on Sunday. We all need a two day break. Italian is open until 7 Tuesday to Thursday, which more than makes up for it, and the other two have good web presences.
Le Baron Bankrupt ???
- Thread starter jimmyjazz
- Start date
Maybe I'm not quite surprised by this, but I am somewhat saddened. LeBaron filled a niche for me; they had a broad enough selection of gear and the prices were reasonable in comparison to other local retailers. Then again, I made my annual shopping trip there with the expectation that I wouldn't receive a lot of in-store assistance or that at least some of the items on my list wouldn't be in stock. As a consequence, the place rarely disappointed me.
And I don't think being closed on Sundays did them in--although a later, 9pm closing on Wednesdays would have been nice. But yes, the mail-order procedure seemed a bit of a relic from the days of the Eaton's catalogue.
Those of us in eastern Ontario are fortunate enough to have a few local shops that provide excellent service, and I hope they pick up some of the slack. Neither Cabela's nor the so-called "Pro" hunting/fishing section at Canadian Tire really do much for me. Too much time and space devoted to junky camouflaged garbage and low-quality merchandise.
And I don't think being closed on Sundays did them in--although a later, 9pm closing on Wednesdays would have been nice. But yes, the mail-order procedure seemed a bit of a relic from the days of the Eaton's catalogue.
Those of us in eastern Ontario are fortunate enough to have a few local shops that provide excellent service, and I hope they pick up some of the slack. Neither Cabela's nor the so-called "Pro" hunting/fishing section at Canadian Tire really do much for me. Too much time and space devoted to junky camouflaged garbage and low-quality merchandise.
Very disappointing to see their stores closing. Less competition and choice is never a good thing. The Markham store is 5 minutes from my work I liked to be able to stop in at lunch and pick up a lure or box of shells. And irregardless of our individual opinions and experiences, it is NEVER good to see others lose there job.
It's a bit bittersweet if you ask me. The service was terrible, often over priced and nothing was ever in stock so yeah it wasn't the best store but they were one of the few places you could buy guns and ammo in montreal. It's sad to see sail take over as the big hunting and fishing retailer in quebec. At least for many of you out thrre bass pro, cabelas and the smaller local shops are still an option. My best option is londerosport and that's alost an hour away.
Sad thing to see them go, but I can see why: with their smallish store area and "regular" prices, there's no way they could compete with the large floor-area stores like Sail and Cabela's. Their abysmally ####ty web presence didn't help either, and AFAIK they didn't even try to angle their business toward some kind of niche where they could have upstaged the big boys. They were doomed.
They were the only store holding reloading powders in stock in Ottawa until Cabela's opened last week, too.
They were the only store holding reloading powders in stock in Ottawa until Cabela's opened last week, too.
- Location
- The Sausage.
Kinda sucks for me, having been going their since I was a kid with my brother and dad since I could remember and being in awe of all the cool fishing stuff. But yes, their POS/inventory mgmt system was antiquated, and their Web presence was a comparable to a mid 90's Web page, and perhaps their service rubbed some the wrong way.... but it was where I got my hunting and fishing gear as well as throne reading material from their seasonal catalogues.
Too bad for their staff that their incompetent senior management refused to adjust with the times. Want to see a similar successful smaller hunting/fishing retail operation? Look at Al Flaherty's.... if they can still be relevant today, why couldn't Le Barron's??? Staff need to hold upper management's feet to the fire on this one.
Too bad for their staff that their incompetent senior management refused to adjust with the times. Want to see a similar successful smaller hunting/fishing retail operation? Look at Al Flaherty's.... if they can still be relevant today, why couldn't Le Barron's??? Staff need to hold upper management's feet to the fire on this one.
Flaherty's is successful (as far as I know they are successful, I hope they are) because they are a pleasure to deal with. I go out of my way to buy stuff there, just to help them continue to be successful. All Toronto gunnies should be familiar with that store, and do business with it. It's the last left in town.
Biggest city in Canada has one gun store left. What's that say about the future of the shooting sports in Canada?
Haha, I used to be in that Yonge & Cummer store 3-4x a week when I was in highscool picking up a lure, fishing line etc. Didn't realize they had a basement for their footwear and outdoor clothing for the longest while. There was a cute Asian girl with long hair and glasses that used to work the register. Bought my first shotgun from 'em too right after I got my FAC! Good old days.
Never had issues with the Markham store. The gun shop guys knew me and were friendly. They always called me when my powder order came in.
Shooters are living in other areas?
It says more about the city council that closed gun ranges, wanted to shutdown all gun stores and would have banned guns entirely if it had the authority. Except for Flaherty's, the gun stores, including Le Baron, are located in municipalities adjacent to Toronto as are the gun and sportsmen's shows.
It is like going in a time machine visiting their store... catalogue ordering, no bar code scanner at the cash (its all price tags), their online ordering system is literally from 1997, closed on Sunday, and even the store itself is setup in a 1980's fashion. The one time I tried to order online (quite the process) they emailed me back and said sorry you live in Ottawa we don't ship to cities that we have a store in, go to the store to buy it. Ok... so I go to the store, but the item I ordered was not in stock lol.
Sail and Cabela's are in town now... so I expect that is taking a huge hit on them... I will say ppl in there were nice and prices were decent... but their failure to evolve past a business model from the 1980's is beyond me. It also seems odd they don't sell pistols, neither does Sail and I get they want to be labelled a "hunting" store but now you will see Cabela's get a lot of business in that department IMO.
Sail and Cabela's are in town now... so I expect that is taking a huge hit on them... I will say ppl in there were nice and prices were decent... but their failure to evolve past a business model from the 1980's is beyond me. It also seems odd they don't sell pistols, neither does Sail and I get they want to be labelled a "hunting" store but now you will see Cabela's get a lot of business in that department IMO.
I have shopped at their Markham location for years as they always had good deals on ammo . Their staff and customer service was ok , this one particular staff Vincent was very helpful , the other Asian chap with silver hair in the gun room,I avoided like the plague . Sad to see them go .
For the same reasons I can see the same thing happening in Edmonton and Calgary. Them being such left-winged socialist NDP supporters.
For the same reasons I can see the same thing happening in Edmonton and Calgary. Them being such left-winged socialist NDP supporters.
Yes but I don't see the NDP lasting in Alberta... it was ppl voting in someone new bc they are sick of the current govt. Not unlike Canada as a whole voting in Justin or what America is about to do with Trump... but off topic I suppose.
Back to Le Baron, I always got the feeling that anyone under 30 wouldn't bother going there, I'm just a tad older than that and I was almost always the youngest person in the store, customer or employee. It just further amplified their 1980's business model. I went there once with my friend who is only 3-4 years younger than I and he found it all comical. I thought about it and I imagine that is the only time he has seen that type of a business set up, ie. catalogue ordering, no bar code scanner all price tags, no real online system or computer stock system, closed on Sunday, I swear its even painted like a store from 1988...
I can't decide if it's sad that they are closing or if it's amazing they lasted this long without changing...
SAIL's Etobicoke location is technically within Toronto city limits, which was a real surprise to me when they opened.
