Is Neptune Mountaineering going out of business?

I was in Neptune yesterday and I swear it looked like they were going out of business.

Neptune is one of the best climbing and outdoor gear shops around. They stock everything and the shop is well organized and very well stocked. They have every kind of climbing gear and the most comprehensive selection of books and guidebooks as well as shoes.

However, when I was there yesterday, much of the the climbing gear was sold out, they didn't have guidebooks for the most popular areas (e.g.South Platte).

The front of the store where they setup for talks was full of 75% off racks.

In general, nothing was being restocked and it looked everything like a liquidation sale for going out of business...

I asked one of the employees if they were going out of business and they said "no, just selling stuff to make money to buy new stuff." Really? You don't have adequate cash flow to restock?

Just curious - and sad if they really are going out of business.

They are all going out of business slowly thanks to online shopping

I feel like I spend enough there to keep it afloat :/

Well, hopefully not - I love that place.

No....but Gary did sell it...the new company is selling outlet stock cheap....go get some!

peter heekin wrote:They are all going out of business slowly thanks to online shopping

I think this is very true.

When I go to Neptune's I always try to buy what I'm looking for there. Partly because if they have it, I get to see it/try it on before I buy. And I think that's worth something. It also supports local jobs. So when I walk out with a new cam I feel pretty good that I helped support local business.

But on the other hand, I feel pretty stupid! Because I know I could have bought the same thing online for 25-50% less, in a lot of cases. It's hard to justify doing all my gear shopping there because everything seems to be at MSRP. I have no idea what the overhead of the place is, but surely a lower profit margin would increase overall sales.

I hope not! Neptune is a great place. The people are very friendly as well as helpful. Used to love checking out all their memorabilia, especially.

Mathias wrote: I have no idea what the overhead of the place is, but surely a lower profit margin would increase overall sales.

The rent has got to be ridiculous, and I'm sure increasing all the time. It is Boulder after all.

It seems like everyone I talk to feels the service has really gone downhill lately.

I usually hit up Wilderness or Bent Gate these days (and REI for some things, hard to beat the return policy).

Service is always great there. They have great employees with real experience in the woods and walls.

Backwoods, one of our core Midwest outdoor stores, bought them and promised to keep it Neptune. The owners of both were old climbing friends.

Backwoods in Kansas City moved from a prime midtown location to right across the street from Dynamic Earth in the rich burbs. In a classic WalMart - Kmart move, they put Dynamic under. A year later REI opened up down the street and put Backwoods under.

We chanced upon Neptune on our honeymoon while searching for coffee on a front range climbing spree. I had seen it in a climbing movie, then saw the sign and flipped a b. Awesome store. Hope it holds up to the inet age.

The big sale is all the Outlet items being shipped in from Backwoods. From what I've been told by employees and other folks connected to the store, Neptune's core business is still trucking and there are no concerns of going out of business. Although I'm sure there are plenty of struggles competing with REI and the big box stores.

Faulted Geologist wrote:Backwoods, one of our core Midwest outdoor stores, bought them and promised to keep it Neptune. The owners of both were old climbing friends. Backwoods in Kansas City moved from a prime midtown location to right across the street from Dynamic Earth in the rich burbs. In a classic WalMart - Kmart move, they put Dynamic under. A year later REI opened up down the street and put Backwoods under. We chanced upon Neptune on our honeymoon while searching for coffee on a front range climbing spree. I had seen it in a climbing movie, then saw the sign and flipped a b. Awesome store. Hope it holds up to the inet age.

I guess that would explain the emails I've been getting from Backwoods. The first time I got one of those in my inbox I was like "Who are these guys? "

Backwoods is a really good small business that takes great care of their employees and local areas. They will be good stewards of the Neptune. Other Backwoods stores exist in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. I understand they are buying some failing small outdoor shops in an attempt to keep them going.

Support your local shops! REI may have some employees that know their shit, but when I applied there years ago they didn't have many people there that adventured. I frequently cannot find expert help there. Love the coop aspect, but they need to give a dirtbag a job.

I've shopped at Neptune since I went to CU in 1973. Gary resoled shoes and had a few climbing related items from a small strip mall in eastern Boulder.

After graduating from college, I lived in Texas and shopped in a Backwoods store in Dallas. It was more like an REI - mostly camping and outdoor gear with a little bit of climbing gear. However, there were far fewer climbers back then and no climbing gyms, so the market was fairly small.

After moving to the larger store, Neptune has always been very well stocked and you could find any kind of climbing gear which you needed.

What threw me the other day was how so much of the store was not restocked - there were many empty hooks on the climbing gear wall which I have never seen. They missed a sale because they didn't have what I wanted - ironically, REI had it in stock so I purchased it there and took advantage of the 20% off coupon.

Often when one company buys another they overpay and soon they are closing down the company they purchased - look at what is happening with Microsoft and Nokia.

I lived in Jackson Hole and Teton Mountaineering always has an "outlet" sale in the spring where they sell items from last season or overstocked items. However, the store always remains stocked and well organized.

I really do hope this is just temporary and they will get the store restocked and a reliable source of any kind of climbing gear or guidebooks that you desire.

Hi all,

This is Dan Vardamis - I'm the assistant General Manager at Neptune Mountaineering. I figured it would be worth clarifying a few things on here.

First off, we're not going out of business. We're alive and well and things are humming along. We're going to continue to offer great climbing, mountaineering, backcountry skiing, camping and expedition gear now and in the future.

The bulk of the merchandise in the the outlet store is winter clothing and footwear. We acquired the product from other outdoor stores who had a hard time selling it because of record warm temperatures. Down puffy coats are a tough sell when it's 70 degree on December 20th! Boulder is a good market to sell this stuff - hence the reason for the Outlet Store. It's a one-time deal that we anticipate will wrap up by the end of June.

As far as other product goes, we've been slow getting it in but much more is on the way. We'll be getting a heap of Black Diamond climbing gear in next week which should fill the wall to the brim.

Thanks everybody for your awesome support over the past 43 years. We're looking forward to being here for at least another 43!

Thanks,

Dan Vardamis
dvardamis@neptunemountaineering.com
303-499-8866

Hi Dan.

Thanks for the update. As you can tell, many people really love Neptune since it's one of the best climbing and outdoor gear shop in the rockies!

Best Regards,
Arlo

Faulted Geologist wrote:Backwoods, one of our core Midwest outdoor stores, bought them and promised to keep it Neptune. The owners of both were old climbing friends. Backwoods in Kansas City moved from a prime midtown location to right across the street from Dynamic Earth in the rich burbs. In a classic WalMart - Kmart move, they put Dynamic under. A year later REI opened up down the street and put Backwoods under. We chanced upon Neptune on our honeymoon while searching for coffee on a front range climbing spree. I had seen it in a climbing movie, then saw the sign and flipped a b. Awesome store. Hope it holds up to the inet age.

I'm pretty sure Backwoods owns Dynamic Earth.

How much credit and what were the terms?

Ray Pinpillage wrote:How much credit and what were the terms?

As if she will disclose that on the Internet. So you can pick it apart.

FrankPS wrote: As if she will disclose that on the Internet. So you can pick it apart.

She made the case Neptune is dishonest in public, I'd like her to substantiate her claim.

John Tex wrote:Screw neptunes and the Neptude. Shop at bent gate. Those guys actually are probably better than you, you just won't know it, unlike neptunes where they aren't better than you, but they will try to convince you otherwise. They lied to me about ending there 50$ for every 500 you spend and I came back twice more. I always ask how much more I have to spend to get my 50 bucks and was told a number even though the deal had ended! Plus most of them don't know much and now they work on commission. It's like walking into a car dealership now. They always push the more expensive thing with no concern for practicality. When you walk in there's always a cluster of unknowledgeable employees ready to swoop in on you like hawks, trying to call dibs on your commission. My last visit there the first two employees I spoke to didn't know the difference between a dynamic and static rope, yet they both were talking to me like I was a lost child and advising me on which rope to get. I've spent over three grand there in two years and now all of my money goes to bent gate, even though I pass neptunes on the way there.

Huh, that sucks you had that experience.

I've been there a bunch and never had an experience even close to that. The worst thing I can say is it is sometimes hard to get someone back to the climbing counter.