EMS Going Bankrupt?

EMS makes damned good set of pants. I have a few pairs I put through the wringer. They have holes but when you pull in them the holes don't spread. I keep wearing them. Every piece of EMS gear I have boight has been of excellent quality for way less. $$$ than other name brand gear. EMS has helped me reached heights I couldn't believe at an attractive cost. Nothing beats touching a textile to make a purchase. If someone is willing to help me try on pairs of boots to find the right one. I am going to buy from them if I find the right pair. If I have to spend a few bucks more, whatever. I got a service and that person got to keep their job. I could not in good conscience, try something on site and buy online from another retailer for 20 bucks less.

Today I was an idiot. I purchased two set of zip offs. Only I picked out two sets that weren't. I came back an hour and a half later witg myvtail between my legs so to speak. The guy recognized me, didn't question me and toon care of things. I grabbed the proper pair, we shared a laugh paid a few more bucks for the difference in cost and was on my way. I will be back. It was painless and had an employee that just took care of me. No questions asked. I appreciate that. This was at the lynnfield MA location. I will be sad if This EMS location has to close nothing but friendly people that are willing to help here.

thegibba said:

EMS makes damned good set of pants.

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I will only buy pants at EMS. Seriously. Usually Kuhl, but the EMS brand is good as well.

I have always been very happy with the Portsmouth store, the staff's knowledge, experience, and friendliness, and have always thought EMS made good gear. I have many things from their own brand and find them high quality for the most part. I love REI as well but don't want to see EMS falter.

An employee from EMS in Peterborough still holds the prize for the best customer service I have ever received going back 16 years. Unreal service.

My GF works for a company that supplies a certain type of outdoor gear for climbers. EMS is always on a credit hold with the company, and pays just enough money to get their next order and then goes on credit hold again. As soon as the owner found out today that EMS was going under, he put a stop to the next order. This cycle of credit hold has been ongoing for several years now. I've been waiting forever the other shoe to drop for quite awhile. It wasn't surprising to me when they closed the South Portland store.

I miss the old EMS store they had in Auburn ME when I was growing up. Never bought much there, but always liked to walk through it and daydream.

Giving away my age but I remember many visits and purchases when EMS was located where IME is now before the move to The inn. OR maybe it is not there either. Ben a while since being in downtown.

Raven said:

I will only buy pants at EMS. Seriously. Usually Kuhl, but the EMS brand is good as well.

I have always been very happy with the Portsmouth store, the staff's knowledge, experience, and friendliness, and have always thought EMS made good gear. I have many things from their own brand and find them high quality for the most part. I love REI as well but don't want to see EMS falter.

An employee from EMS in Peterborough still holds the prize for the best customer service I have ever received going back 16 years. Unreal service.

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My two favorite hiking pants are the EMS brand and they couldn't be more different. One pair is a zip-off constructed of nearly indestructible nylon that resembles the type of Cordura found on heavy duty duffle bags the other is the Endo series, which is flexible yet tear resistant.

My oldest still performing gloves are EMS brand with Gore-Tex and my favorite oldie but goodie vest is one of the first generation Primloft garments they ever made.

I hate to see this company go down.


Z

Sadly, I have also seen the proverbial "writing on the wall":

• About 2 years ago I was buying snowshoes. My sister gave me a 25% off coupon and I placed an order on EMS Web site. Two days later I got an e-mail that my order was cancelled. I called EMS and revived the order. A day later another cancellation e-mail came. I called again, and again my order got canceled. With my trip nearing I placed an order on Amazon for the same snowshoes and the same price. Amazon gladly accepts the same credit card EMS didn't like. Score: EMS $0, Amazon $150.
• Some time later I wanted to buy my favorite EMS Camp Cargo hiking pants and some other EMS-branded cloths. I could not find them on EMS Web site but voila - they were available on Amazon (sold by EMS.) Score: EMS $100 less Amazon commission, Amazon: some part of $100 (I'm guessing maybe 10%?)
• More recently we were in the market for lightweight backpack for my son. We went to visit EMS in Somerville NJ and there was nothing lightweight in that store. We ended up buying Osprey Exos 58. Score: EMS $0, REI $220 or so after some discount.
• Two months ago I wanted to check out EMS Polartec Alpha jacket. I visit the store and oops - the only size available is XXL and I am not there yet... I change my mind and get Patagonia Micro D Full-Zip Fleece. Score: EMS $0, REI $89.
• About a year ago I noticed that EMS store next to Campmor got closed down. Somehow, Campmor parking lot was always full and the store was always busy while EMS was barely getting any traffic (mostly Campmor customers that have already done their shopping.)

I have shopped at EMS for years, and I'm sorry to see it go, but it is a death from self-inflicted wounds, and EMS didn't to want to accept my helping $-hand!

From reading this thread...everyone thinks that EMS is finished...I'm not jumping to that conclusion. There are some good testimonials posted here. What will most likely happen is that some stores will close [too many] and they might offer more name brands versus their own. It's a matter of rethinking what they are doing and downsizing. I really like the Concord, NH store...good layout, accent lightning, great selection of gear, off the highway and friendly staff.

My observation has been that "outdoor" stores seemed to take one of two tacks: outdoor clothing, equipment and supplies across the board including fishing, hunting and other things that broadened their appeal to include a more blue collar demographic or those that broadened their appeal to a more urban fashion statement. Every one of the former seems to be doing well, the latter seem to be struggling.

I have spent many thousands of dollars at LLBean for the Tall clothes... So I never seem to buy EMS because of that...a EMS has Tall but for me it's not a good selection (very little) and doesn't look "Tall" as LLBean carries and not well organized racks in the store. etc. So I pass completely and just shop LL. How many Tall guys (6'2") like me out there shopping the same? Also LL has so many outlets across New England and beyond and it's always packed. That must hurt EMS as much as the other stores. Bread and Butter stuff like Fleece Jackets,etc. is important.
Also I do shop at LL for most of my stuff now do to the return policies of other stores...I've had a few items that I never used much being seasonal etc that gave me trouble long after I purchased and I was given store credit etc. . They have many sales as well to offset their price's. I just wait if I can. I get lot's of coupon dollars using their Visa which figures in.
So figure LL still in the game. REI ..and all the others across the country hammering at EMS.

CaptCaper said:

How many Tall guys (6'2") like me out there shopping the same?

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I'm 6'3"; at this point I do enough running and swimming that the Bean stuff doesn't fit quite right. I have a Bean medium tall softshell that's a little tight across the shoulders but a little loose through the gut. The REI tall sizes fit me a bit better (and REI gets a fair bit of money from me because of it) but honestly at this point a Patagucci large fits me very nicely; they have a touch more length than most "mainstream" brands.

It's funny, Raven, I had a pretty lousy experience the few times I've been in the Portsmouth store. I guess I was spoiled by the Santa Fe REI (for about the same drive time.) These days most of my shopping is the Patagucci web specials or REI website; if something from REI doesn't work out, I just return it at the Boston store next time I'm down there.

Everybody raves about the ability to see something in person and knowledgeable staff. I tend not to experience either shopping retail; what I need is never in stock and often I'm more familiar with what I need and what's on the market than staff. I might be going at the wrong times and/or have very peculiar tastes; I'm a fan of "shop local" where I can but actually getting the product I need is a higher priority.

I'm not positive they are closing, but right now, they are advertising up to 70% off! Fire Sale?

http://www.ems.com/sale/clearance/

I'm 6'3" and tend to buy outerwear from LL Bean and Eddie Bauer because they have tall sizes. I, too, have found that patagucci extra large has enough length in the sleeves to fit and the chest is tight enough.

I would expect that they and every other outdoor gear retailer that is East coast based is dumping what is left of winter season gear after such an abysmal winter season.

With the exception of an uptick in microspike sales at the end of the season, I don't think a lot of new gear was bought. The local snow machine rental areas in northern NH were very lonely places this year. The secondary snow machine trail through my neighborhood was never groomed all winter. The ski areas were also real slow and more than few folks that depend on seasonal work ended up elsewhere.

TJsName said:

I know one of the big issues facing all brick and mortal retailers is that people come in, try it out, then check online for better deals (and usually find one).

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IMO, Best Buy has solved this with free in-store wifi and in-store no-hassle online price matching. I went in to check out some camera bags, saw that they were overpriced, and was mere seconds away from leaving and buying cheaper on Amazon before I noticed their signs about the policy. I brought my items and my amazon links to the checkout, the cashier looked at the Amazon links on my phone, and discounted the items appropriately.

Rainman said:

Just because the holding company is filing for bankruptcy does not mean that any EMS stores will close. This is a financial transaction to reduce debt load. Stores may close, but we can't tell yet.

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Filing for bankruptcy is a very common technique in the retail sector to break leases so they can close stores and preserve assets if its Chapter 11. Chapter 7 is time-limited protection from the demands of creditors. In any event, almost all clothing/sporting stores are highly leveraged. This means that they take a huge loan out before the start of the new season, use that loan to buy merchandise, sell the merchandise for cash, then repay the loan and interest with cash, keeping any profit. Filing for bankruptcy makes it very difficult to get a commercial loan--typically the assets/brand are sold to a new investor (or a liquidator).

REI is probably leveraged, and all the members can get balance sheets and income statements (I think they mail them with the dividend card). I wonder if sales have been falling--have to check.

skiguy said:

EMS has unfortunately been in a downward spiral for quite sometime. The outdoor retail world is a dog eat dog situation. Brick and mortar outdoor retail in general is suffering big time due to online sales. Personally I really enjoy actually looking and touching gear. The retail space that EMS has in North Conway IMO is one of the most poorly laid out retail spaces I have ever experienced. They are really doing themselves no favors. I really hope the best for them going forward as I have been a customer of that store since the 70's; but they really do need to do something to get their feet on the ground again. IF they can't do a stellar job in North Conway I can't imagine how bad it has gotten elsewhere. Hopefully they do not suffer the same demise as Eddie Bauer.

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I am not sure EMS ever had staff to fit boots well. And my experience at REI is that they never had the combination of width and size in most of the boots I wanted to try. The salesman always steered me to something that was in stock. I found it easier to order pairs of boots in different sizes and widths from Amazon or REI, try them on, wear them for hours (inside), and return the unused pair(s). Actually, Amazon would credit my account as soon as the self-sealing return bag and label were scanned at the drop-off at Staples.

Naturally, this wont work at all for highest end stuff....

egilbe said:

My GF works for a company that supplies a certain type of outdoor gear for climbers. EMS is always on a credit hold with the company, and pays just enough money to get their next order and then goes on credit hold again. As soon as the owner found out today that EMS was going under, he put a stop to the next order. This cycle of credit hold has been ongoing for several years now. I've been waiting forever the other shoe to drop for quite awhile. It wasn't surprising to me when they closed the South Portland store.

I miss the old EMS store they had in Auburn ME when I was growing up. Never bought much there, but always liked to walk through it and daydream.

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Everything you said, plus any money paid to your girlfriend's employer for the 90 days prior to the filing can be seized back by the bankruptcy court and redistributed to other creditors "to make everything fair"

EMS lost me year's ago, so if they go under, I won't lose any sleep. They push their name brands and have a terrible selection of clothes and boots. I mean, if you like trail runners maybe, but their boot selection has been a joke for year's. As far as their sales people, it's painfully obvious they put little, if nothing into training. REI has a selection that blows EMS away as far as I'm concerned. Closing EMS would open the door to REI coming to NH, I hope that happens. Tradition can only get you so far.

Tom Rankin said:

I'm not positive they are closing, but right now, they are advertising up to 70% off! Fire Sale?

http://www.ems.com/sale/clearance/

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They've been running pretty good sales all season, like many other retailers, but of late they are very heavily discounting their own brand of products. At a minimum I'd say maybe their EMS branded stuff might be going away.

DayTrip said:

At a minimum I'd say maybe their EMS branded stuff might be going away.

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I find the EMS-branded items to be a very good value for the money, especially when you get them on sale or with a coupon--you should (of course) never pay full retail at EMS unless you have an emergency gear need.

Tim