Quarterlytics / Consumer Cyclical / Specialty Retail / Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings, Inc.

Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings, Inc.

spwh · NASDAQ Consumer Cyclical
Claim this profile
Ticker spwh
Exchange NASDAQ
Sector Consumer Cyclical
Industry Specialty Retail
Employees 2050
← All annual reports
FY2018 Annual Report · Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings, Inc.
Sign in to download
Loading PDF…
8
1
0
2

ANNUAL
REPORT

SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC.

25 States 
95 Store Locations 

(cid:3)
(cid:3)

Existing location

Committed 2019 opening

(cid:3)

UNITED STATES  
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION  
Washington, D.C. 20549  

FORM 10-K 

(Mark One)  

 

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934  

For the fiscal year ended February 2, 2019 

OR  

 

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM                      TO                      

Commission File Number 001-36401  

SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. 

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)  

Delaware 
(State or other jurisdiction of 
incorporation or organization) 

7035 South High Tech Drive 
Midvale, Utah 
(Address of principal executive offices) 

39-1975614 
(I.R.S. Employer 
Identification No.) 

84047 
(Zip Code) 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: Common Stock, Par Value $0.01 Per Share; Common stock traded on the Nasdaq stock market  

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: (801) 566-6681  

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None  

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES  NO   

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. YES  NO   

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 
12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. YES  NO   

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 
of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to submit such files). YES  NO   

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of 
Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. 
See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.  

Large accelerated filer 

Non-accelerated filer 
Emerging growth company 

   
  
     

 

  Accelerated filer 

  Smaller reporting company 

   
  
   

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial 
accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act:  

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES  NO  

As of August 3, 2018, the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second quarter, the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity 
held by non-affiliates of the Registrant, based on the closing price of the shares of common stock on The Nasdaq Stock Market on such date, was $204,983,741. Shares held by 
each executive officer and director and by each other person or entity deemed to be an affiliate have been excluded in such calculation.  The determination of affiliate status is not 
necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes. 

The number of shares of Registrant’s Common Stock outstanding as of March 29, 2019 was 42,978,780. 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE 

Portions of the Registrant’s Definitive Proxy Statement relating to the 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission 
within 120 days after the end of the 2018 fiscal year, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report.  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

PART I 

Item 1.  Business 
Item 1A. Risk Factors 
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments 
Item 2.  Properties 
Item 3.  Legal Proceedings 
Item 4.  Mine Safety Disclosures 

PART II   

Item 5.  Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of 

Equity Securities 
Item 6.  Selected Financial Data 
Item 7.  Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations 
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk 
Item 8.  Financial Statements and Supplementary Data 
Item 9.  Changes in and Disagreements With Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure 
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures 
Item 9B. Other Information 

PART III  

Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance 
Item 11. Executive Compensation 
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder 

Matters 

Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence 
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services 

PART IV  

Item 15.  Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules 
Item 16.  Form 10-K Summary 

Page 

4 
20 
34 
34 
34 
35 

35 
36 
39 
51 
52 
75 
75 
75 

76 
76 

76 
76 
76 

77 
78 

ii 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
References throughout this document to “Sportsman’s Warehouse,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Sportsman’s 
Warehouse Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries, and references to “Holdings” refer to Sportsman’s Warehouse 
Holdings, Inc. excluding its subsidiaries.  

STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS  

This Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “10-K”) contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements as 

that term is defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements concern our business, 
operations and financial performance and condition as well as our plans, objectives and expectations for our business 
operations and financial performance and condition, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. All statements other 
than statements of historical fact included in this 10-K are forward-looking statements. These statements may include 
words such as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “can have,” “could,” “due,” “estimate,” “expect,” “goal,” 
“intend,” “likely,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “potential,” “positioned,” “predict,” “should,” “target,” “will,” 
“would” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of 
future operating or financial performance or other events or trends. For example, all statements we make relating to our 
plans and objectives for future operations, growth or initiatives and strategies are forward-looking statements.  

These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about 
our business and the industry in which we operate and our management’s beliefs and assumptions. We derive many of 
our forward-looking statements from our own operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed 
assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that predicting the impact of known 
factors is very difficult, and we cannot anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results.  

All of our forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results to 
differ materially from our expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our 
expectations include, but are not limited to:  

• 


• 

• 

our retail-based business model is impacted by general economic conditions and economic and financial 
uncertainties may cause a decline in consumer spending; 

current and future government regulations, in particular regulations relating to the sale of firearms and 
ammunition, may impact the demand for our products and our ability to conduct our business; 

our concentration of stores in the Western United States makes us susceptible to adverse conditions in this 
region, which could affect our sales and cause our operating results to suffer; 

•  we operate in a highly fragmented and competitive industry and may face increased competition; 

•  we may not be able to anticipate, identify and respond to changes in consumer demands, including regional 

preferences, in a timely manner; and

•  we may not be successful in operating our stores in any existing or new markets into which we expand.   











The above is not a complete list of factors or events that could cause actual results to differ from our expectations, 
and we cannot predict all of them. All written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to us, or persons acting 
on our behalf, are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements disclosed under “Risk Factors,” 
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and elsewhere in this 10-K, 
as such disclosures may be amended, supplemented or superseded from time to time by other reports we file with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including subsequent Annual Reports on Form 10-K and Quarterly 
Reports on Form 10-Q, and public communications. You should evaluate all forward-looking statements made in this 
10-K and otherwise in the context of these risks and uncertainties. 

Potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-

looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements we make. These 
forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this 10-K and are not guarantees of future performance or 
developments and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that are in many cases beyond our 
control. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements 
publicly, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. 

iii 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Item 1. Business.  

PART I 

Overview  

Sportsman’s Warehouse is an outdoor sporting goods retailer focused on meeting the everyday needs of the 
seasoned outdoor veteran, the first-time participant, and every enthusiast in between. Our mission is to provide an omni-
channel shopping experience that equips our customers with the right quality hunting, shooting, fishing and camping 
gear to maximize their enjoyment of the outdoors. We strive to accomplish this goal by tailoring our broad and deep 
merchandise assortment to meet local conditions and demand, offering everyday low prices, providing friendly support 
from our knowledgeable, highly trained staff, offering a top-tier e-commerce experience and extensive in-store events 
and educational programming. These core strategies help position Sportsman’s Warehouse as the “local outdoor experts” 
and the preferred place to both shop and share outdoor-based experiences in the communities we serve. As a result, we 
are growing our loyal customer base in existing markets, expanding our footprint into new markets, and increasing our 
omni-channel presence new and existing markets, which we believe will further drive our growth and profitability.  

Sportsman’s Warehouse was founded in 1986 as a single retail store in Midvale, Utah and has grown to 92 stores 
across 23 states. Today, we have the largest outdoor specialty store base in the Western United States and Alaska. Our 
stores range from 15,000 to 65,000 gross square feet, with an average size of approximately 40,000 gross square feet. 
Our store layout is adaptable to both standalone locations and strip centers. We believe it is less capital-intensive for us 
to open new stores compared to our principal competitors because our “no frills” store layout requires less initial cash 
investment to build out and our stores generally require less square footage than the stores of our competitors. We also 
have the largest offering of firearms available online for in-store purchase by our customers when compared to the 
offerings of our major competitors. Together, these features enable us to effectively serve markets of multiple sizes, 
from Metropolitan Statistical Areas (“MSAs”) with populations of less than 75,000 to major metropolitan areas with 
populations in excess of 1,000,000, while generating consistent four-wall Adjusted EBITDA margins and returns on 
invested capital across a range of store sales volumes. We may post information that is important to investors on our 
website from time to time. The information provided on our website is not part of this report and is, therefore, not 
incorporated herein by reference. 

Our Competitive Strengths 

We believe the following competitive strengths allow us to capitalize on the growth opportunity within the outdoor 

activities and sporting goods market:  

Differentiated Shopping Experience for the Seasoned Outdoor Veteran, the First-Time Participant and Every 

Enthusiast in Between. We place great emphasis on creating an inviting and engaging store experience for customers of 
all experience levels. For the seasoned outdoor veteran, we offer a one-stop, convenient store layout that promotes 
“easy-in, easy-out” access to replenish supplies, learn about local conditions and test products. We also serve first-time 
participants and casual users who are interested in enjoying the outdoors but enter our store without a clear sense for 
what equipment they need for their chosen activity. Our highly trained employees, who often are outdoor enthusiasts 
themselves and users of the products we sell, engage and interact with our customers in order to educate them and equip 
them with the right gear. Our sales associates draw upon both formal vendor sales training as well as first-hand 
experiences from using our products in local conditions. This selling approach allows us to offer a broad range of 
products and to deliver a shopping experience centered on the customer’s needs, which we believe results in increased 
customer loyalty, repeat visits and frequent referrals to other potential customers.  

A customer’s shopping experience in our stores is further enhanced by a variety of helpful in-store offerings and 
features, including the issuance of hunting and fishing licenses, local fishing reports, availability of Sportsman’s News 
(our proprietary in-store newspaper), access to the Braggin’ Board (where customers can post photos of their outdoor 
adventures), indoor test ranges for archery equipment and displays of customer-owned taxidermy. In addition, we host a 
variety of in-store programs (such as “ladies night”), contests (such as Bucks & Bulls, a free-to-enter, big-game trophy 
contest) and a wide range of instructional seminars, from turkey frying to firearm operation and safety. We also offer the 
ability for our customers to buy our product on-line and pick up their order in any of our stores. These programs are all 
designed to help our customers connect with the outdoors and build the skill sets necessary to maximize enjoyment of 
their chosen activities. As a result, we believe our stores often serve as gathering spots where local enthusiasts can share 

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
stories, product knowledge and advice on outdoor recreation activities, which both drives traffic and fosters customer 
loyalty. 

Our in-store experience is further complimented by our top-tier e-commerce experience available on our website, 

sportsmans.com. 

Locally Relevant Merchandise Serving the Comprehensive Needs of Outdoor Enthusiasts at a Compelling 
Value. We offer our customers an extensive and carefully selected assortment of branded, high-quality outdoor products 
at competitive prices. We accomplish this in three principal ways:  

•  Locally Relevant Merchandise: We carry over 68,000 SKUs on average in each store, out of a pool of 
approximately 150,000 total SKUs. Each store’s merchandise is tailored to meet local conditions and 
consumer demand, taking into account seasonal requirements, regional game and fishing species, geographic 
diversity, weather patterns and key demographic factors, so that our customers have the right product, at the 
right time, for the right location.  

•  Breadth and Mix of Product Assortment: Our merchandise strategy is designed to serve a variety of 

purchasing occasions, from big-ticket items to replenishment activity, as well as to meet the wide-ranging 
needs of customers from first-time participants to seasoned outdoor veterans. We pride ourselves on carrying 
an extensive selection of branded, “good, better and best” hard goods at everyday low prices, including a 
broad array of in-stock consumable items. Approximately 35% of our unit sales and 19% of our dollar sales 
during fiscal year 2018 were consumable goods, such as ammunition, bait, cleaning supplies, food, some 
lures, propane and reloading supplies. We believe this pairing of product breadth and consumable goods 
appeals to a broad range of customers and drives both repeat traffic and increased average ticket value.  

•  Strong Vendor Relationships: We believe our vendors find our “brand-centric”, high-service store concept to 
be unique among national specialty outdoor retailers. Our attractive store locations, consistent presentation of 
merchandise and thorough product training present a compelling opportunity for our vendors to offer their 
brands to local markets that historically have been served primarily by “mom & pop” retailers. As a result, we 
believe we are able to negotiate terms with our vendors that are similar to those offered to our principal 
competitors that are larger in size. We share the benefits of these strategic vendor relationships with our 
customers through better pricing and enhanced access to certain products that are limited in production.  

Flexible and Adaptable Real Estate Strategy. We believe that our store model, combined with our rigorous site 

selection process, is uniquely customizable to address the needs of the different markets we serve. Our stores vary in size 
from approximately 15,000 to 65,000 gross square feet. We have had success with leasing existing sites as well as 
constructing new build-to-suit sites. Our flexible store model permits us to serve both large metropolitan areas, like 
Phoenix, Arizona, and smaller MSAs, like Soldotna, Alaska, while generating consistent four-wall Adjusted EBITDA 
margins and returns on invested capital across a range of store sales volumes. In small- to medium-sized markets, we are 
often able to establish ourselves as a standalone destination for our customers; in larger markets, we have successfully 
leveraged existing infrastructure to open stores in shopping plazas near complementary retailers, drawing upon existing 
foot traffic. We believe our low-cost, flexible model allows us to access both large and small markets more economically 
than many of our peers.  

We maintain a disciplined approach to new store development and perform comprehensive market research before 

selecting a new site, including partnering with specialized, third-party local real estate firms. We select sites based on 
criteria such as local demographics, traffic patterns, density of hunting and fishing license holders in the area, abundance 
of hunting and fishing game and outdoor recreation activities, store visibility and accessibility, purchase data from our 
existing customer database and availability of attractive lease terms. We have established productive relationships with 
well-regarded commercial real estate firms and believe that we are a sought-after tenant, given the strength of the 
Sportsman’s Warehouse brand, the high volume of customers that visit our stores and our flexible approach to site 
locations. As a result, we continue to have access to desirable retail sites on attractive terms.  

Low Cost Operating Structure with Attractive and Replicable Store Economics. We strive to maintain a lower 

operating cost structure than our principal competitors, which allows us to serve small- to medium-sized markets as well 
as larger MSAs. We achieve this by exercising tight control over store-level expenses, real estate costs and corporate 
overhead. In addition, our growing store base, efficient, localized marketing spend and “no frills” warehouse store layout 

5 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
helps us maintain comparatively low operating costs and provide us with the opportunity to achieve four-wall Adjusted 
EBITDA margins of 10% or more for stores in most new markets. Our typical new store requires an average net 
investment of approximately $2.0 million, which includes store build-out (net of contributions from landlords) and pre-
opening cash expenditures. In addition, we stock each new store with initial inventory at an average cost of 
approximately $2.2 million. We target a pre-tax return on invested capital within one year after opening of over 50% 
excluding initial inventory cost (or over 20% including initial inventory cost), although our historical returns have often 
exceeded these thresholds. As of the end of fiscal year 2018, the majority of our stores that had been open for more than 
twelve months were profitable and those stores had an average Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.0%. We believe this 
low-cost, capital-efficient approach also allows us to successfully serve markets that are not well-suited for the more 
capital-intensive store models of our principal competitors. Approximately 61% of our markets currently lack another 
nationally recognized outdoor specialty retailer, which we believe is a result of these dynamics.  

Significant New Store Growth Opportunity within Existing and New Markets. As of February 2, 2019, we 
operate 92 stores across 23 states, primarily in the Western United States and Alaska, with a presence in these markets 
that is nearly three times that of the next largest outdoor retailer. We believe our leadership position in the Western 
United States, combined with our existing scalable infrastructure, provides a strong foundation for continued expansion 
within our core markets.  

 Passionate and Experienced Management Team with Proven Track Record. We are focused on delivering an 

unsurpassed shopping experience to anyone who enjoys the excitement of the outdoors. This passion and commitment is 
shared by team members throughout our entire organization, from senior management to the employees in our stores. 
Our senior management team has an average of 23 years of retail experience, with extensive capabilities across a broad 
range of disciplines, including merchandising, real estate, finance, compliance, store operations, supply chain 
management and information technology. We also pride ourselves on the long tenure of our more than 200 store 
managers and corporate employees, who have been with us for an average of approximately nine years.  

Our Growth Strategy  

We are pursuing a number of strategies designed to continue our growth and strong financial performance, 

including:  

Growing Our Omni-Channel Presence and Increasing Our Same Store Sales Growth. We are committed to 

growing our omni-channel presence and increasing same store sales through a number of ongoing and new initiatives, 
including: developing our website to improve functionality, expanding our product assortment through drop ship and 
buy online, pick-up in store capabilities, continuing to improve the ability and increase our selection of firearms that can 
be bought using our website and picked up in the store, expanding our clothing offerings and private label program (such 
as our proprietary Rustic Ridge™ and Killik™ clothing lines),continuing to improve our loyalty program, and 
continuing our “store-within-a-store” programs with major brands such as Carhartt, Columbia Sportswear and Under 
Armour. Each of these ongoing and new initiatives is designed to foster additional shopping convenience, add deeper 
merchandise selection and provide more product information to the customer. We believe these initiatives have driven 
and will continue to drive additional traffic, improved conversion and increased average ticket value. 

Continuing to Enhance Our Operating Margins. We believe that our expansion of our store base and growth in 

net sales will result in improved Adjusted EBITDA margins as we take advantage of economies of scale in product 
sourcing and leverage our existing infrastructure, supply chain, corporate overhead and other fixed costs. Furthermore, 
we expect to increase our gross profit margin by expanding product offerings in our private label program, including our 
proprietary Rustic RidgeTM and KillikTM clothing lines, and continuing marketing initiatives in our higher-margin clothing 
and footwear departments.  

Growing the Sportsman’s Warehouse Brand. We are committed to supporting our stores, product offerings and 
brand through a variety of marketing programs, private label offerings and corporate partnerships. Our marketing and 
promotional strategy includes coordinated print, digital and social media platforms. In-store, we offer a wide range of 
outdoor-themed activities and seminars, from turkey frying to firearm operation and safety. In addition, we sponsor 
community outreach and charity programs to more broadly connect with our local communities with the aim of 
promoting our brand and educating consumers. Finally, we are committed to local chapters of national, regional and 
local wildlife federations and other outdoor-focused organizations, such as Ducks Unlimited and the Rocky Mountain 
Elk Foundation. Many of our store managers and employees serve in senior positions in these organizations, which 

6 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
further strengthens our place as leaders in the local outdoor community. We believe all of these programs promote our 
mission of engaging with our customers and serving outdoor enthusiasts.  

Expanding Our Store Base. We believe that our compelling new store economics and our track record of opening 
successful new stores provide a strong foundation for continued growth through new store openings in existing, adjacent 
and new markets. Over the last three fiscal years, we have opened an average of nine stores per year. We currently plan 
to open three new stores in fiscal year 2019. In 2019, we expect we will grow our square footage approximately 3% as 
we continue to shift some of our cash use to reducing our debt balance. Over the long term, however, our target is to 
grow our square footage at a rate of greater than 5% annually. Our longer-term plans include expanding our store base to 
serve the outdoor needs of enthusiasts in markets across the United States. We believe our existing infrastructure, 
including distribution, information technology, loss prevention and employee training, is capable of sustaining 100 or 
more stores without significant additional capital investment.  

Our Stores  

We operate 92 stores across 23 states as of February 2, 2019. Most of our stores are located in power, 

neighborhood and lifestyle centers. Power centers are large, unenclosed shopping centers that are usually anchored by 
three or more national supercenters, such as Target, Wal-Mart and Costco. Neighborhood centers are shopping centers 
anchored by a supermarket or drugstore that provide convenience goods and services to a neighborhood. Lifestyle 
centers are shopping centers that combine the traditional functions of a shopping mall with leisure amenities such as 
pedestrian friendly areas, open air seating and inviting meeting spaces. We also operate several single-unit, stand-alone 
locations. Our stores average approximately 40,000 gross square feet.  

The following table lists the location by state of our 92 stores open as of February 2, 2019: 

Washington  
California  
Utah  
Oregon  
Arizona  
Colorado  
Idaho 
Alaska  
Wyoming 
Nevada  
New Mexico 
Montana 

Number of 
Stores 
 12 
 11 
 9 
 8 
 8 
 6 
 6 
 5 
 5 
 4 
 3 
 3 

  South Carolina  
  Tennessee  
  Minnesota 
  Iowa  
  Kentucky  
  Louisiana 
  Mississippi  
  North Dakota 
  Virginia  
  North Carolina 
  West Virginia 

Store Design and Layout  

Number of 
Stores 
 2 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 
 1 

We present our broad and deep array of products in a convenient and engaging atmosphere to meet the everyday 
needs of all outdoor enthusiasts, from the seasoned veteran to the first-time participant. We maintain a consistent floor 
layout across our store base that we believe promotes an “easy-in, easy-out” shopping experience. All of our stores 
feature wide aisles, high ceilings, visible signage and central checkouts with multiple registers. Sportsman’s Warehouse 
stores, true to their name, are designed in a “no frills” warehouse format that welcomes customers directly from or on the 
way to an outdoor activity. All of our stores also feature “store-within-a-store” concepts for certain popular brand 
partners, such as Carhartt, Columbia Sportswear and Under Armour, through which we dedicate a portion of our floor 

7 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
space to these brands to help increase visibility and drive additional sales. The diagram below demonstrates our typical 
store layout. 

Our stores include locally relevant features such as a large fishing board at the entrance that displays current 
fishing conditions in local lakes and rivers with coordinating gear in end-cap displays in the fishing aisles. We actively 
engage our customers through in-store features such as the Braggin’ Board, various contests (such as Bucks & Bulls and 
Fish Alaska), and customer-owned taxidermy displays on the walls. We also host in-store programs such as “ladies 
night” and a wide range of instructional seminars, from Dutch oven cooking to choosing the right binocular. Annually, 
we organize approximately 3,000 programs across our stores for the benefit of our customers. We believe these 
programs help us connect with the communities in which we operate and encourage first time participants to build the 
skills necessary to become outdoor enthusiasts and loyal customers. 

The retail stores and the distribution center have loss prevention employees who monitor an average of 60 cameras 
at each store and 200 at the distribution center. These cameras are connected to digital video recorders (DVR) that record 
at least 30 days of video. Cameras are monitored locally during store hours. In addition, all cameras are monitored 
centrally at our headquarters in our dedicated surveillance room, which has capacity to monitor over 120 stores. This 
room is staffed continuously and provides off-hours monitoring and backup for all stores. Digital recorded video can be 
searched by pixel movement, which can quickly identify any loss prevention issue. Our sophisticated systems are a key 
factor in our shrink rates of less than 1% and an important component of our comprehensive compliance program. 

Expansion Opportunities and Site Selection  

We have developed a rigorous and flexible process for site selection. We select sites for new store openings based 

on criteria such as local demographics, traffic patterns, density of hunting and fishing license holders in the area, 
abundance of hunting and fishing game and outdoor recreation activities, store visibility and accessibility, purchase data 
from our existing customer database and availability of attractive lease terms. Our store model is adaptable to markets of 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
multiple sizes, from MSAs with populations of less than 75,000 to major metropolitan areas with populations in excess 
of 1,000,000. We have been successful both in remodeling existing buildings and in constructing new build-to-suit 
locations.  

Our store model is designed to be profitable in a variety of real estate venues, including power, neighborhood and 

lifestyle centers as well as single-unit, stand-alone locations. In small- to medium-sized markets, we generally seek 
anchor locations within high-traffic, easily accessible shopping centers. In larger metropolitan areas, we generally seek 
locations in retail areas with major discount retailers (such as Wal-Mart), wholesale retailers (such as Costco), other 
specialty hardline retailers (such as The Home Depot) or supermarkets. As we continue to expand our store base, we 
believe that small- to medium-sized markets offer a significant opportunity. In these markets, we believe our store size, 
which is smaller than many of our national competitors but larger than many independent retailers, enables us to find 
convenient, easily accessible store locations while still offering the broad and deep selection of merchandise that our 
customers desire. In addition, our store format and size allow us to open multiple stores in local areas within major 
MSAs, which gives our customers convenient, easy access to our products without having to travel long distances.  

Members of our real estate team spend considerable time evaluating prospective sites before bringing a proposal to 

our real estate committee. Our real estate committee, which is comprised of senior management including our Chief 
Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President of Real Estate, and Senior Vice President of Stores, approves 
all prospective locations before a lease is signed.  

We opened five new stores in fiscal year 2018. We currently plan to open an additional three new stores in fiscal 
year 2019. In 2019, we expect we will grow our square footage approximately 3% as we continue to shift some of our 
cash use to reducing our debt balance. Over the long term, however, our target is to grow our square footage at a rate of 
greater than 5% annually. Our new store openings are planned in existing, adjacent and new markets.  

Our new store growth plan is supported by our target new unit economics, which we believe to be compelling. A 
typical store location ranges in size from 15,000 to 65,000 gross square feet. Our net investment to open a new store is 
approximately $2.0 million, consisting of pre-opening expenses and capital investments, net of tenant allowances. In 
addition, we stock each new store with initial inventory at an average cost of approximately $2.2 million. For the first 
twelve month period after opening a new store, we target net sales of $8.0 million to $11.0 million, a four-wall Adjusted 
EBITDA margin of more than 10% and a pre-tax return on invested capital of over 50% excluding initial inventory cost 
(or over 20% including initial inventory cost). Our new stores typically reach a mature sales growth rate within three to 
four years after opening, with net sales increasing approximately 25% in the aggregate during this time period. For the 
52 stores opened since 2010 that have been open for a full twelve months (excluding our 10 acquired stores), we 
achieved an average four-wall Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.0% and an average ROIC of 63.3% excluding initial 
inventory cost (and 24.6% including initial inventory cost) during the first twelve months of operations. In addition, we 
achieved an average pre-tax payback period of less than one year (excluding initial inventory cost) and expect to achieve 
an average pre-tax payback period of approximately 2.5 years (including initial inventory cost). 

Omni-Channel Strategy  

We believe our website is an extension of our brand and our retail stores. Our website, www.sportsmans.com, 

serves as both a sales channel and a platform for marketing and product education, and allows us to engage more fully 
with the local outdoor community. In 2018, we redeveloped our website to improve functionality. Our website features a 
similar merchandise assortment as offered in our stores as well as certain products found exclusively online. Regulatory 
restrictions create certain structural barriers to the online sale of a portion of our revenue, such as firearms, ammunition, 
certain cutlery, propane and reloading powder. As a result, this portion of our business is currently more protected from 
online-only retailers, such as Amazon. 

We also provide our online customers with convenient omni-channel services. To ensure that our customers have 

access to our entire assortment of products available on the e-commerce website, our retail stores feature kiosks that 
allow customers to place orders for items that are available only on our website or that are out of stock or not regularly 
stocked. We view our kiosk offering as an important complement to our larger format stores, as well as a key 
differentiator and extension of our smaller format stores. Our in-store pickup offering allows customers to order products 
through our e-commerce website and pick up the products in our retail stores without incurring shipping costs. We 
believe our ship-to-store functionality is a valuable service offering to customers, as well as a means to generate 
additional foot traffic to our retail stores.  

9 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In addition, our website features local area content, including fishing reports and event schedules, as well as online 

educational resources, including tips, advice and links to video demonstrations on our dedicated YouTube channel. We 
have also rolled out our social media strategy through our Facebook page and Instagram feed. These platforms allow us 
to reach our customers more directly with targeted postings of advertisements and in-store events. We believe our online 
educational resources and community outreach drive traffic to our website and retail stores, while improving user 
engagement as shoppers move from single-purchase users to loyal customers. We provide online customer service 
support and fulfill all orders in-house through our distribution center and through select partner drop ship integration. In 
fiscal year 2018 our website received greater than 29.2 million visits, which we believe demonstrates our position as a 
leading resource for outdoor products and product education.  

Merchandise Strategy  

Our Products and Services  

We offer a broad range of products at a variety of price points and carry a deep selection of branded merchandise 

from well-known manufacturers, such as Browning, Carhartt, Coleman, Columbia Sportswear, Federal Premium 
Ammunition, Honda, Johnson Outdoors, Remington, Shakespeare, Shimano, Smith & Wesson and Under Armour. To 
reinforce our convenient shopping experience, we offer our products at competitive, everyday low prices. We believe 
our competitive pricing strategy supports our strong value proposition, instills price confidence in both our customers 
and our sales associates and is a critical element of our competitive position.  

We believe we offer a wider selection of hard goods than many of our principal competitors. We employ a “good, 

better, and best” merchandise strategy, with an emphasis on “better” products that meet the needs of customers of all 
experience levels. We strive to keep our merchandise mix fresh and exciting by continuously searching for new, 
innovative products and introducing them to our customers. Our hunting and shooting department, which is strategically 
located at the back of the store, is a key driver of store traffic and one of the reasons for our high frequency of customer 
visits. We carry a large array of consumable goods, which includes ammunition, bait, cleaning supplies, food, select 
lures, propane and reloading supplies. During fiscal year 2018, sales of consumable goods accounted for approximately 
35.0% of our unit sales and 19.0% of our dollar sales. We believe the sale of consumables and replenishment items 
drives repeat traffic, with approximately 66% of our customers visiting our stores seven or more times per year 
(according to our internal surveys). During such visits, our customers frequently browse and purchase other items, 
including additional gear and accessories.  

We also carry a variety of private label and special make-up offerings under the Rustic RidgeTM, KillikTM, Vital 

ImpactTM, Yukon Gold, Lost Creek and Sportsman’s Warehouse brands as well as special make-up items through 
vendors such as Tikka, Camp Chef, and various others. These products are designed and priced to complement our 
branded assortment, by offering our customers a quality alternative at all price points. We believe the clothing, footwear 
and camping categories present a compelling near-term opportunity to expand our private label offering. In order to 
address these segments, we previously introduced our proprietary Rustic RidgeTM and KillikTM clothing lines. During 
fiscal year 2018, private label offerings accounted for approximately 3.6% of our total sales with special make-up 
offerings accounting for an additional 1.4% of our total sales.  This combined total of 5.0% compares to more than 20% 
for many of our sporting goods retail peers. We believe our private label and special make-up products are an important 
opportunity to drive sales and increase margins alongside our branded merchandise.  

In addition to outfitting our customers with the correct gear, we provide our customers with various in-store, and 

inner company options, along with value-added, technical support services, such as gunsmithing and firearm service 
plans. Our stores offer full-service archery technician services, fishing-reel line winding, gun bore sighting and scope 
mounting, and cleaning services. We also help first-time participants enjoy the outdoors responsibly by issuing hunting 
and fishing licenses. We believe the support services provided by our highly trained staff technicians differentiate us 
from our competitors and drive customer loyalty and repeat traffic to our stores. 

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our stores are organized into six departments. The table below summarizes the key product lines and brands by 

Products  

department:  

Department 
Camping 

Clothing 
Fishing 

Footwear 

     Product Offerings 
   Backpacks, camp essentials, canoes and kayaks, coolers, outdoor cooking 

equipment, sleeping bags, tents and tools 

   Camouflage, jackets, hats, outerwear, sportswear, technical gear and work wear 
   Bait, electronics, fishing rods, flotation items, fly fishing, lines, lures, reels, tackle 

and small boats 

   Hiking boots, socks, sport sandals, technical footwear, trail shoes, casual shoes, 

waders and work boots 

Hunting and Shooting 

   Ammunition, archery items, ATV accessories, blinds and tree stands, decoys, 
firearms, firearms safety and storage, reloading equipment, and shooting gear 

Optics, Electronics, Accessories, 

   Gift items, GPS devices, knives, lighting, optics (e.g. binoculars), two-way radios, 

and Other 

and other license revenue, net of revenue discounts 

Each department has buying and planning teams that are responsible for monitoring product availability from 
vendors and sales volume within the department and across all stores. We actively monitor the profitability of each 
product category within each department and adjust our assortment and selling space accordingly. This flexibility 
enables us to provide customers with more preferred product choices and to enhance the profit potential of each store.  

Hunting and shooting have historically been the largest contributor to our sales. Hunting and shooting department 

products are generally sold at significantly higher price points than other merchandise but often have lower margins. 
Camping is our second largest department, and family-oriented camping equipment in particular continues to be a high 
growth product category. Clothing sales have grown as we have introduced new brands and styles, including our 
selections for women and children. We view clothing sales as an important opportunity, given this department’s high 
gross margins and appeal to a broad, growing demographic.  

The following table shows our sales during the past three fiscal years presented by department: 

Department 
Camping 

Clothing 

Fishing 

Footwear 

Hunting and Shooting 

Optics, Electronics, 
Accessories, and Other 

Product Offerings 

Backpacks, camp essentials, canoes and 
kayaks, coolers, outdoor cooking equipment, 
sleeping bags, tents and tools 
Camouflage, jackets, hats, outerwear, 
sportswear, technical gear and work wear 
Bait, electronics, fishing rods, flotation 
items, fly fishing, lines, lures, reels, tackle 
and small boats 
Hiking boots, socks, sport sandals, technical 
footwear, trail shoes, casual shoes, waders 
and work boots 
Ammunition, archery items, ATV 
accessories, blinds and tree stands, decoys, 
firearms, reloading equipment and shooting 
gear 
Gift items, GPS devices, knives, lighting, 
optics (e.g. binoculars), two-way radios, and 
other license revenue, net of revenue 
discounts 

Fiscal Year Ended 

February 2, 
2019 

February 3, 
2018 

January 28, 
2017 

14.2% 

15.1% 

14.6% 

8.9% 

9.3% 

8.7% 

10.6% 

10.7% 

10.0% 

7.3% 

7.4% 

7.1% 

48.3% 

48.7% 

50.9% 

10.6% 

8.8% 

8.7% 

Total 

100.0%  

100.0%  

100.0%  

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
    
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Camping. Camping represented approximately 14.2% of our net sales during fiscal year 2018. Our camping 
assortment addresses both the technical requirements of the heavy-use camper, including gear for long-duration or deep-
woods excursions, as well as the needs of the casual camper. We offer a broad selection of tents and shelters for both 
multi-day back country use and weekend outings, sleeping bags for the most extreme conditions as well as the summer 
overnight trip, backpacks and backpacking gear, including camouflaged styles for hunting, generators for home and 
camp use, cooking and food preparation equipment, including stoves and extended-use coolers, as well as dehydrated 
foods. Our camping department also includes canoes, kayaks and a selection of recreational family camping equipment, 
including basic automotive accessories, camp chairs and canopies. Our camping department includes brands such as 
Alps Mountaineering, Camp Chef, Coleman, Honda, Teton Sports, and Yeti Coolers.  

Clothing. Clothing represented approximately 8.9% of our net sales during fiscal year 2018 and includes 
camouflage, outerwear, sportswear, technical gear, work-wear, jackets and hats. We primarily offer well-known brands 
in our clothing department, such as Carhartt, Columbia, Sitka, and Under Armour. We also intend to grow our private 
label clothing lines, including Rustic RidgeTM and KillikTM. Our clothing selection offers technical performance 
capabilities for a variety of hunting activities, including upland game, waterfowl, archery, big game hunting, turkey 
hunting and shooting sports. Performance attributes include waterproofing, temperature control, scent control features 
and visual capabilities, such as blaze orange and camouflage in a wide range of patterns. Outerwear, particularly 
performance rainwear, is an important product category for customers who are fishing, hiking, hunting or marine 
enthusiasts. We further complement our technical clothing with an assortment of casual clothing that fits our customers’ 
lifestyles, including a variety of branded graphic t-shirts, and private label motto t-shirts. 

Fishing. Fishing represented approximately 10.6% of our net sales during fiscal year 2018 and includes products 

for fresh-water fishing, salt-water fishing, fly-fishing, ice-fishing and boating. Our broad assortment appeals to the 
beginning and weekend angler, as well as avid and tournament anglers. In addition to lures, rods and reels, our fishing 
assortment features a wide selection of products in tackle management and organization, electronics, fly-fishing, ice-
fishing and marine accessories sub-categories. We also provide fishing-reel line winding services in all of our stores and 
live bait in most of our stores. We offer products for boat care and maintenance, as well as safety equipment and aquatic 
products such as float tubes and pontoons. All of our stores also sell fishing licenses. Our fishing department includes 
brands such as Johnson Outdoors, Normark, Plano, Pure Fishing, Rivers Wild Flies, and Shimano.  

Footwear. Footwear represented approximately 7.3% of our net sales during fiscal year 2018 and includes work 

boots, technical footwear, hiking boots, trail shoes, socks, sport sandals and waders. As with clothing, our footwear 
selection offers a variety of technical performance capabilities, such as different levels of support and types of tread, 
waterproofing, temperature control and visual attributes. Our footwear department includes brands such as Danner, 
Keen, Merrell, Red Wing, and Under Armour.  

Hunting and Shooting. Hunting and shooting is our largest merchandise department, representing approximately 

48.3% of our net sales during fiscal year 2018. Products such as ammunition, cleaning supplies, firearms, firearms safety 
and storage, and reloading selections are typically key drivers of traffic in our stores. Our hunting and shooting 
merchandise assortment provides equipment, accessories and consumable supplies for virtually every type of hunting 
and shooting sport. A backroom shop staffed with technicians allows us to support our hunting assortments for the 
benefit of the hunter, shooter, and archery enthusiast. Our merchandise selection includes a wide variety of firearms 
designed for hunting, shooting sports and home and personal defense, including air guns, black powder muzzle loaders, 
handguns, rifles and shotguns. We carry a wide selection of ammunition, archery equipment, dog training products, 
hunting equipment, reloading equipment and shooting accessories. Our hunting and shooting department includes brands 
such as Federal Premium Ammunition, Hornady, Remington Arms, Ruger, Smith & Wesson, and Winchester.  

Optics, Electronics, Accessories and Other. Our optics, electronics, accessories and other department represented 

approximately 10.6% of our net sales during fiscal year 2018. This department supplements our other equipment 
departments with complementary products, such as optics (including binoculars, spotting scopes and rangefinders), GPS 
devices and other navigation gear, GoPro video cameras, two-way radios, specialized and basic cutlery and tools, 
including hunting and other knives, lighting, bear spray and other accessories. Our optics, electronics and accessories 
department includes brands such as Garmin, Leica, Nikon, Swarovski Optik and Vortex Optics. Our other department 
includes miscellaneous products and services.  

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Loyalty Programs  

We have a loyalty program through which our consumers are able to earn “points” towards Sportsman’s 

Warehouse gift cards on most of their purchases. The program is free to join and accepted through all channels for both 
purchases and the use of redemption cards. As of February 2, 2019, we had approximately 1.9 million participants in our 
loyalty program. 

Customers may obtain a loyalty program card when making a purchase in-store or online. After obtaining a card, 
the customer must register on our website in order to redeem loyalty rewards. Customers earn one point for each dollar 
spent, with the exception of certain items, such as gift cards and fish and game licenses. For every 100 points 
accumulated, the customer is entitled to a $1.00 credit in loyalty rewards, which may be redeemed by logging into our 
website to request a redemption card for any whole dollar amount (subject to the customer’s available point balance). 
The redemption card is then mailed to the customer and operates as a gift card to be used for both in-store and online 
purchasing. The rewards points expire after 18 months of dormancy.  

In addition, we offer our customers the multi-use Sportsman’s Warehouse Rewards VISA Platinum credit card 

issued by US Bank. US Bank extends credit directly to cardholders and provides all servicing for the credit card 
accounts, funds the rewards and bears all credit and fraud losses. This card allows customers to earn points whenever 
and wherever they use their card. Customers may redeem earned points for products and services just as they would 
redeem loyalty card points. 

Sourcing  

Sourcing and Distribution  

We maintain central purchasing, replenishment and distribution functions to manage inventory planning, allocate 

merchandise to stores and oversee the replenishment of basic merchandise to the distribution center. We have no long-
term purchase commitments. During fiscal year 2018, we purchased merchandise from approximately 1,500 vendors 
with no vendor accounting for more than approximately 6% of total merchandise purchased. We have established long-
standing, continuous relationships with our largest vendors.  

Our sourcing organization is currently managed by our merchant team in our corporate headquarters. We also have 

field merchants that coordinate certain merchandising functions at the store level to provide a more localized 
merchandising model. To ensure that our product offerings are tailored to local market conditions and demand, our 
merchant teams regularly meet one-on-one with our vendors, and attend trade shows, review trade periodicals and 
evaluate merchandise offered by other retail and online merchants. We also frequently gather feedback and new product 
reviews from our store management and employees, as well as from reviews submitted by our customers. We believe 
this feedback is valuable to our vendor-partners and improves our access to new models and technologies.  

 Distribution and Fulfillment  

We currently distribute all of our merchandise from our 507,000 square foot distribution center in Salt Lake City, 
Utah. The distribution center supports replenishment for all 92 stores and manages the fulfillment of direct-to-consumer 
e-commerce orders. We use preferred carriers for replenishment to our retail stores. We ship merchandise to our e-
commerce customers via courier service. An experienced distribution management team leads a staff of approximately 
400 employees at peak inventory levels heading into the fourth quarter.  

The distribution center has dynamic systems and processes that we believe can accommodate continued new store 
growth. We use the HighJump Warehouse Management System (“WMS”) to manage all activities. The system is highly 
adaptable and can be easily changed to accommodate new business requirements. For example, our WMS enabled us to 
support full omni channel distribution under one roof by allowing us to comingle inventory to optimize space 
requirements and labor. Additionally, we have developed customized Radio Frequency and Voice Directed processes to 
handle the specific requirements of our operations. We have the capability to both case pick and item pick, which is 
designed to ensure that our stores have sufficient quantities of product while also allowing us to maintain our in stock 
levels . This balance allows us to stock the right products at the necessary locations, all at the right time and in the 
correct quantity. 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Marketing and Advertising  

We believe, based on internal surveys, that the majority of our customers are male, between the ages of 35 and 65, 

and have an annual household income between $40,000 and $100,000. We also actively market to women and children 
and have expanded our product offerings of women’s and children’s outerwear, clothing and footwear to address rising 
participation rates in hunting and shooting sports, as well as overall outdoor activity.  

Our primary marketing efforts are focused on driving additional consumers to the stores and increasing the 

frequency and profitability of visits by customers of all types. We employ a two-pronged marketing approach:  

• 

• 

regional advertising programs; and  

local grass roots efforts to build brand awareness and customer loyalty.  

Our regional advertising programs emphasize seasonal requirements for hunting, fishing and camping in our 

various store geographies. Our advertising medium is typically newspaper inserts (primarily multi-page color inserts 
during key shopping periods such as the Christmas season and Father’s Day), supplemented with modest amounts of 
direct mail, seasonal use of local and national television ads and a variety of out-of-home media buys. We proactively 
modify the timing and content of our message to match local and regional preferences, changing seasons, weather 
patterns and topography of a given region. In addition, the use of co-op funding with select vendors to supplement our 
out-of-pocket media expenses allows us to improve brand exposure through various advertising vehicles, while 
partnering with national brands in relevant media channels. This program also reinforces the general consumer’s 
impression of Sportsman’s Warehouse as a preferred retailer for those brands. Finally, we sponsor regional and national 
television programming, including sponsoring the, Angler’s Channel, Fishful Thinking, Hooked on Utah and Eastman’s 
Hunting TV. Our total marketing expenses for fiscal year 2018 were approximately $10.3 million, excluding co-op 
reimbursement of $1.9 million.  

The second prong of our marketing effort is the time and resources devoted to fostering grass roots relationships in 

the local community. Each Sportsman’s Warehouse store employs a variety of outreach tools to build local awareness. 
One key component to a successful store is hosting events throughout the year, targeting a variety of end user customer 
profiles (such as hunters, campers, anglers, women and children). In total, our store base hosts or facilitates 
approximately 3,000 in-store and offsite seminars and events per year, such as “ladies night,” Eastman’s Deer Tour, 
Waterfowl Weekend, Conservation Days contest and Bucks & Bulls. We are also active in supporting a variety of 
conservation groups, such as Ducks Unlimited, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Mule Deer Foundation and the 
National Wild Turkey Federation, both at the corporate level and through store employee local memberships and 
participation. Company representatives attend more than 600 events annually in the aggregate, both to provide support 
for these organizations and to solidify ties between their members and the Sportsman’s brand. Furthermore, we believe 
that the Sportsman’s News newspaper, offered in-store, provides a unique point of contact with our customers by 
offering outdoor stories, product reviews, how-to articles and new product introductions to keep all of our customers up 
to date on the latest trends and technology. Finally, such grass roots campaigns enable us to reduce our initial marketing 
spend in connection with new store openings. We believe that these initiatives are highly cost-effective tools to create 
brand awareness and engender a loyal community of local customers, as well as a key differentiator versus other national 
retailers. 

Hiring, Training and Motivating our Employees  

We believe that the recruitment, training and knowledge of our employees and the consistency and quality of the 

service they deliver are central to our success. We emphasize deep product knowledge for store managers and sales 
associates at both the hiring and training stages. We hire most of our sales associates for a specific department or product 
category. As part of the interview process, we test each prospective employee for knowledge specific to the department 
or category in which he or she is applying to work. All of our managers and sales associates undergo focused sales 
training, consisting of both sales techniques and specialized product instruction, both immediately upon hiring 
(approximately 20 hours) and continuing throughout their career (approximately 16 hours annually). In addition, our 
sales associates receive loss prevention instruction and departmental training upon hiring. For example, in our hunting 
department, all employees receive an additional nine hours of training on ATF and company policies initially upon hire, 
with continuing education throughout the year. Our store managers complete two to six months of on-the-job training at 
another store with an existing district manager, as part of which they receive approximately 80 hours of dedicated 

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
managerial training and instruction. Our department heads receive extensive online training as well as on-site instruction, 
totaling approximately 40 hours. As a result of these programs, our employees are highly trained to provide friendly and 
non-intimidating education, guidance and support to address our customers’ needs.  

Our employees are often outdoor enthusiasts themselves, participating in outdoor activities alongside our 
customers in the local community. Our employees spend a portion of their gross wages in-store, underscoring their 
passion for both our company and the outdoor lifestyle. We believe our level of employee store patronage is unique 
among our competitors in this industry and enhances our differentiated shopping experience.  

One of our unique assets is a specially designed training room located at our headquarters. Our training room is 

used frequently for firm-wide training programs and by vendors to stage training demonstrations for new products. 
Training room sessions are broadcast real-time in high definition to each store location and are recorded for future 
viewing. Vendor training is especially interactive, permitting vendor representatives to present a uniform message 
simultaneously to all employees, while allowing managers and sales staff in individual stores to ask questions of the 
vendors and provide real-time feedback on products. This system decreases the vendor’s promotion and education costs 
and provides more meaningful training to our employees. Training room sessions are particularly important for technical 
products, especially those with numerous features and a high unit price, because they enable our sales associates to better 
educate customers and provide additional assurance that a given product fits the customer’s needs. Given its utility as a 
cost-effective sales tool, our training room is reserved well in advance by vendors. We believe our training program has 
been a critical factor in increasing conversion and average ticket growth.  

Information Technology 

Business critical information technology (“IT”) systems include our supply chain systems, merchandise system, 

point-of-sale (“POS”) system, warehouse management system, e-commerce system, loss prevention system and financial 
and payroll systems. Our IT infrastructure is robustly designed to be able to access real-time data from any store or 
channel. The network infrastructure allows us to quickly and cost effectively add new stores to the wide area network 
(“WAN”). The private WAN is built on a CenturyLink backbone with all of its resources and support. Additionally, we 
have implemented a redundant wireless WAN on Verizon’s infrastructure. All key systems will continue to run in the 
event of a power or network outage. All data is backed up daily from one storage array to another storage array.  

We have implemented what we believe to be best-of-class software for all of our major business critical systems. 
Key operating systems include Oracle Applications for ERP, SAP Commerce for our e-commerce channel, Salesforce’s 
(formally Tomax’s) Retail.net and JPOS for in-store functionality and HighJump for WMS. Our physical infrastructure 
is also built on products from best-in-class vendors Cisco, Dell, Oracle Sun and VMWare. Originally designed with the 
goal of being able to run a significantly larger retail business, our IT systems are scalable to support our growth.  

We furthermore have incorporated enhanced reporting tools that have allowed for more comprehensive monitoring 

of business performance, which has been critical to management’s ability to drive strong store level performance. 
Management has access to a reporting dashboard that shows key performance indicators (“KPIs”) on a company, store, 
department and category level. KPIs include sales, margin, budget, conversions, payroll, shrinkage and average order 
value all on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. All KPIs are compared to comparable prior year periods. District, 
store and department managers have access to the data relevant to their area of responsibility. Real-time, up to the 
second, sales data is available on demand. The system allows for custom-created reports as required.  

Intellectual Property 

Sportsman’s Warehouse®, Sportsman’s Warehouse America’s Premier Outfitter®, Lost Creek®, LC Lost Creek 

Fishing Gear and Accessories®, Rustic RidgeTM, KillikTM, K Killik & DesignTM, LC & DesignTM, and Vital ImpactTM are 
among our service marks or trademarks registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In addition, we 
own several other registered and unregistered trademarks and service marks involving advertising slogans and other 
names and phrases used in our business. We also own numerous domain names, including www.sportsmans.com, among 
others. The information on, or that can be accessed through, our websites is not a part of this filing.  

We believe that our trademarks are valid and valuable and intend to maintain our trademarks and any related 
registrations. We do not know of any material pending claims of infringement or other challenges to our right to use our 
marks in the United States or elsewhere. We have no franchises or other concessions that are material to our operations.  

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Our Market  

Our Market and Competition  

We compete in the large, growing and fragmented outdoor activities and sporting goods market, which we believe 

is currently underserved by full-line multi-activity retailers. We believe, based on reports by the National Sporting 
Goods Association and other industry sources, that U.S. outdoor activities and sporting goods retail sales in our related 
product categories totaled over $70 billion in 2018. The U.S. outdoor activities and sporting goods sector is comprised of 
three primary categories—equipment, clothing and footwear—with each category containing distinct product sets to 
support a variety of activities, including hunting, fishing, camping and shooting, as well as other sporting goods 
activities.  

We believe growth in the U.S. outdoor activities and sporting goods market is driven by several key trends, 
centered around enhancing performance and enjoyment while participating in sporting and outdoor activities, including 
new product introductions, and the resilience of consumer demand for purchases in these categories versus other 
discretionary categories. We believe these factors will continue to foster growth in the outdoor activities and sporting 
goods market in the future.  

Within the retail sporting goods sector, we operate primarily in the outdoor equipment, clothing and footwear 

segment, which includes hunting and shooting, fishing, camping and boating. This segment is growing at a faster rate 
than the sporting goods industry at large. The 2016 U.S. Fish and Wildlife national survey, published once every five 
years, found that fishing participation increased 9% and participation in wildlife relation recreation increased 6%, for 
Americans aged 16 and older from 2011 to 2016.  

A 2018 National Sporting Goods Association report indicated a 2% increase in hunting and firearm equipment 

sales from 2017 to 2018.  

Furthermore, we believe that specialty retailers have generated additional sales volume by expanding their 
presence, especially in smaller communities, which has increased customers’ access to products that formerly were less 
available. The nature of the outdoor activities to which we cater requires recurring purchases throughout the year, 
resulting in high rates of conversion among customers. For example, active anglers typically purchase various fishing 
tackle throughout the year based on seasons and changing conditions. Hunting with firearms typically is accompanied by 
recurring purchases of ammunition and cleaning supplies throughout the year and multiple firearm styles for different 
hunted game.  

Competition  

We believe that the principal competitive factors in our industry are breadth and depth of product selection, including 

locally relevant offerings, value pricing, convenient locations, technical services and customer service. A few of our 
competitors have a larger number of stores, and some of them have a greater market presence, name recognition and 
financial, distribution, marketing and other resources than we have. We believe that we compete effectively with our 
competitors with our distinctive branded selection and superior customer service, as well as our commitment to 
understanding and providing merchandise that is relevant to our targeted customer base. We cater to the outdoor enthusiast 
and believe that we have both an in-depth knowledge of the technical outdoor customer and a “grab and go” store 
environment that is uniquely conducive to their need for value and convenience. We believe that our flexible box size, 
combined with our low-cost, high-service model, also allows us to enter into and serve smaller markets that our larger 
competitors cannot penetrate as effectively. Finally, certain barriers, including legal restrictions, exist on the sale of our 
product offerings that comprise a portion of our revenue, such as firearms, ammunition, certain cutlery, propane and 
reloading powder, create a structural barrier to competition from many online retailers, such as Amazon.  

Our principal competitors include the following:  

• 

• 

independent, local specialty stores, often referred to as “mom & pops”;  

other specialty retailers that compete with us across a significant portion of our merchandising categories 
through retail store, catalog or e-commerce businesses, such as Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s;  

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• 

large-format sporting goods stores and chains, such as Academy Sports + Outdoors and Dick’s Sporting 
Goods; and  

•  mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores and online retailers, such as 

Amazon, Target and Wal-Mart.  

Independent, Local Specialty Stores. These stores generally range in size from approximately 2,000 to 10,000 

square feet, and typically focus on one or two specific product categories, such as hunting, fishing or camping, and 
usually lack a broad selection of product.  

Other Specialty Retailers. Some of the other specialty retailers that compete with us across a significant portion of 

our merchandising categories are large-format retailers that generally range in size from 40,000 to 250,000 square feet. 
These retailers seek to offer a broad selection of merchandise focused on hunting, fishing, camping and other outdoor 
product categories. Some of these stores combine the characteristics of an outdoor retailer with outdoor entertainment 
and theme attractions. We believe that the number of these stores that can be supported in any single market area is 
limited because of their large size and significant per-store cost.  

Other specialty retailers are smaller chains that typically focus on offering a broad selection of merchandise in one 
or more of the following product categories—hunting, fishing, camping or other outdoor product categories. We believe 
that these other outdoor-focused chains generally do not offer a similar depth and breadth of merchandise or specialized 
services in all of our product categories.  

Large-Format Sporting Goods Stores And Chains. These stores generally range from 20,000 to 80,000 square 

feet and offer a broad selection of sporting goods merchandise covering a variety of sporting goods categories, including 
baseball, basketball, football and home gyms, as well as hunting, fishing and camping. However, we believe that the 
amount of space at these stores devoted to our outdoor product categories limits the extent of their offerings in these 
areas.  

Mass Merchandisers, Warehouse Clubs, Discount Stores, Department Stores and Online Retailers. With respect 

to retailers in this category with physical stores, these stores generally range in size from approximately 50,000 to over 
200,000 square feet and are primarily located in shopping centers, free-standing sites or regional malls. Hunting, fishing 
and camping merchandise and clothing represent a small portion of the stores’ assortment, and of their total sales. We 
believe that less than 10% of our product offering, and less than 5% of our hunting and shooting product offering, 
overlap with these stores.  

Over the past decade, specialty retailers, such as us, have gained market share of equipment sales at the expense of 

mass merchants, discount stores and independent retailers, or “mom & pop” shops, which we believe comprise 
approximately 65% of the market. In addition, while there are over 60,000 Type 01 Federal Firearms Licenses, or FFLs, 
in the United States today, only 4,000 are currently held by national or regional specialty stores. Since FFLs are issued at 
the store level, these statistics imply that the remaining 95% of the market is fragmented among mom & pop stores. We 
believe this fragmentation within the total addressable market presents an attractive opportunity for us to continue to 
expand our market share, as customers increasingly prefer a broad and appealing selection of merchandise, competitive 
prices, high levels of service and one-stop shopping convenience.  

Seasonality  

We experience moderate seasonal fluctuations in our net sales and operating results as a result of holiday spending 
and the opening of hunting seasons. While our sales are more level throughout the year than many retailers, our sales are 
still traditionally somewhat higher in the third and fourth fiscal quarters than in the other quarterly periods. On average 
over the last three fiscal years, we have generated 27.0% and 29.0% of our net sales in the third and fourth fiscal 
quarters, respectively, which includes the holiday selling season as well as the opening of the fall hunting season. 
However, Spring hunting, Father’s Day and the availability of hunting and fishing throughout the year in many of our 
markets counterbalance this seasonality to a certain degree. For additional information, see Part II, Item 7  
“Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation." 

17 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regulation and Legislation  

Regulation and Compliance  

We operate in highly regulated industries. There are a number of federal, state and local laws and regulations that 

affect our business. In every state in which we operate, we must obtain various licenses or permits in order to operate our 
business.  

Because we sell firearms at all of our retail stores, we are subject to regulation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms and Explosives, or the “ATF”. Each store has a federal firearms license permitting the sale of firearms, and our 
distribution center has obtained a federal firearms license to store and distribute firearms. Certain states require a state 
license to sell firearms, and we have obtained these licenses for the states in which we operate that have such a 
requirement.  

We must comply with federal, state and local laws and regulations, including the National Firearms Act of 1934, 

or NFA, the Gun Control Act of 1968, or GCA, the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 and Internal Revenue Code 
provisions applicable to the Firearms and Ammunition Excise Tax, all of which have been amended from time to time. 
The NFA and the GCA require our business to, among other things, maintain federal firearms licenses for our locations 
and perform a pre-transfer background check in connection with all firearms purchases. We perform this background 
check using either the FBI-managed National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS, or a comparable 
state government-managed system that relies on NICS and any additional information collected by the state, a state point 
of contact. These background check systems either confirm that a transfer can be made, deny the transfer or require that 
the transfer be delayed for further review, and provide us with a transaction number for the proposed transfer. We are 
required to record the transaction number on an ATF Form 4473 and retain this form in our records for auditing purposes 
for 20 years for each approved transfer and five years for each denied or delayed transaction.  

The federal categories of prohibited purchasers are the prevailing minimum for all states. States (and, in some 
cases, local governments) on occasion enact laws that further restrict permissible purchasers of firearms. We are also 
subject to numerous other federal, state and local laws and regulations regarding firearm sale procedures, record keeping, 
inspection and reporting, including adhering to minimum age restrictions regarding the purchase or possession of 
firearms or ammunition, residency requirements, applicable waiting periods, importation regulations and regulations 
pertaining to the shipment and transportation of firearms.  

In September 2004, Congress declined to renew the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994, or AWB, which prohibited the 

manufacture of certain firearms defined as “assault weapons”; restricted the sale or possession of “assault weapons,” 
except those that were manufactured prior to the law’s enactment; and placed restrictions on the sale of new high 
capacity ammunition feeding devices. Various states and local jurisdictions, including Colorado, California, and 
Washington (states in which we operate stores), have adopted their own versions of the AWB or high capacity 
ammunition feeding device restrictions, some of which restrictions apply to the products we sell in other states. If a 
statute similar to the AWB were to be enacted or re-enacted at the federal level, it would impact our ability to sell certain 
products. Additionally, state and local governments have proposed laws and regulations that, if enacted, would place 
additional restrictions on the manufacture, transfer, sale, purchase, possession and use of firearms, ammunition and 
shooting-related products. For example, several states, such as California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Maryland, 
New Jersey, New York, and Washington have enacted laws and regulations that are more restrictive than federal laws 
and regulations that limit access to and sale of certain firearms and ammunition. Connecticut and New York impose 
mandatory screening of ammunition purchases; California and the District of Columbia have requirements for 
microstamping (that is, engraving the handgun’s serial number on each cartridge) of new handguns; Washington recently 
passed legislation that, among other things, raises the minimum age to purchase any firearm to 21 from 18 and imposes a 
three-day waiting period on gun purchases. California also raised the minimum age to purchase any firearm to 21 and 
enacted several restrictions regarding ammunition sales. Some states prohibit the sale of guns without internal or external 
locking mechanisms. Other state or local governmental entities may also explore similar legislative or regulatory 
initiatives that may further restrict the manufacture, sale, purchase, possession or use of firearms, ammunition and 
shooting-related products.  

The Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which became effective in October 2005, prohibits civil 
liability actions from being brought or continued in any federal or state court against federally licensed manufacturers, 
distributors, dealers or importers of firearms or ammunition for damages, punitive damages, injunctive or declaratory 

18 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
relief, abatement, restitution, fines, penalties or other relief resulting from the criminal or unlawful misuse of a qualified 
product by third parties. The legislation does not preclude traditional product liability actions.  

We are also subject to a variety of federal, state and local laws and regulations relating to, among other things, 

protection of the environment, human health and safety, advertising, pricing, weights and measures, product safety, and 
other matters. Some of these laws affect or restrict the manner in which we can sell certain items, such as handguns, 
smokeless powder, black powder substitutes, ammunition, bows, knives and other products. State and local laws and 
regulations governing hunting, fishing, boating, ATVs and other outdoor activities and equipment can also affect our 
business. We believe that we are in substantial compliance with the terms of such laws and that we have no liabilities 
under such laws that we expect could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations or financial 
condition.  

In addition, many of our imported products are subject to existing or potential duties, tariffs or quotas that may 
limit the quantity of products that we may import into the United States and other countries or impact the cost of such 
products. To date, quotas in the operation of our business have not restricted us, and customs duties have not comprised 
a material portion of the total cost of our products.  

Our e-commerce business is subject to the Mail or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule and related regulations 

promulgated by the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, which affect our catalog mail order operations. FTC 
regulations, in general, govern the solicitation of orders, the information provided to prospective customers, and the 
timeliness of shipments and refunds. In addition, the FTC has established guidelines for advertising and labeling many of 
the products we sell.  

Compliance  

We are routinely inspected by the ATF and various state agencies to ensure compliance with federal and local 

regulations. While we view such inspections as a starting point, we employ more thorough internal compliance 
inspections to help ensure we are in compliance with all applicable laws. With the IT infrastructure systems we have in 
place, certain components of recall inspections can be done remotely.  

We dedicate significant resources to ensure compliance with applicable federal, state and local regulations. Since 
we began operations in 1986, none of our federal firearm licenses have been revoked, and none of our ATF compliance 
inspections within the last ten years have resulted in a major violation. 

We are also subject to a variety of state laws and regulations relating to, among other things, advertising and 
product restrictions. Some of these laws prohibit or limit the sale, in certain states and locations, of certain items, such as 
black powder firearms, ammunition, bows, knives, and similar products. Our compliance department administers various 
restriction codes and other software tools to prevent the sale of such jurisdictionally restricted items.  

We have particular expertise in the California market and have passed several California Department of Justice, or 

CA DOJ, firearm audits with zero violations or only minor violations. The CA DOJ communicates with us for policy 
discussion, recognizing the strength of our compliance infrastructure.  

Employees  

As of February 2, 2019, we had approximately 5,100 total employees. Of our total employees, approximately 200 

were based at our corporate headquarters in Midvale, Utah, approximately 400 were located at our distribution center, 
and approximately 4,500 were store employees. We had approximately 1,700 full-time employees and approximately 
3,400 part-time employees, who are primarily store employees. None of our employees are represented by a labor union 
or are party to a collective bargaining agreement, and we have had no labor-related work stoppages. Our positive 
relationship with our employees is one of the keys to our success. 

Available Information  

Our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and 

amendments to reports filed or furnished pursuant to Sections 13(a) and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as 
amended, or the Exchange Act, are available on our web site at www.sportsmanswarehouse.com, free of charge, as soon 

19 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
as reasonably practicable after the electronic filing of these reports with, or furnishing of these reports to, the SEC. In 
addition, the SEC maintains a web site at www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and 
other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC, including us. 

ITEM 1A. RISK FACTORS 

Our business faces significant risks and uncertainties. Certain important factors may have a material adverse effect 

on our business prospects, financial condition and results of operations, and you should carefully consider them. 
Accordingly, in evaluating our business, we encourage you to consider the following discussion of risk factors, in its 
entirety, in addition to other information contained in or incorporated by reference into this 10-K and our other public 
filings with the SEC. Other events that we do not currently anticipate or that we currently deem immaterial may also 
affect our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. 

Risks Related to Our Business  

Current and future government regulations, in particular regulations relating to the sale of firearms and 
ammunition, may negatively impact the demand for our products and our ability to conduct our business.  

We operate in a complex regulatory and legal environment that could negatively impact the demand for our 

products and expose us to compliance and litigation risks, which could materially affect our operations and financial 
results. These laws may change, sometimes significantly, as a result of political, economic or social events. For instance, 
Washington recently passed legislation that, among other things, raises the minimum age to purchase any firearm to 21 
from 18 and imposes a five-day waiting period on gun purchases. Some of the federal, state or local laws and regulations 
that affect our business and demand for our products include:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

federal, state or local laws and regulations or executive orders that prohibit or limit the sale of certain items 
we offer, such as firearms, black powder firearms, ammunition, bows, knives and similar products;  

the ATF, regulations, audit and regulatory policies that impact the process by which we sell firearms and 
ammunition and similar policies of state agencies that have concurrent jurisdiction, such as the CA DOJ; 

laws and regulations governing hunting and fishing;  

laws and regulations relating to the collecting and sharing of non-public customer information;  

laws and regulations relating to consumer products, product liability or consumer protection, including 
regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission and similar state regulatory agencies;  

laws and regulations relating to the manner in which we advertise, market or sell our products;  

labor and employment laws, including wage and hour laws;  

•  U.S. customs laws and regulations pertaining to proper item classification, quotas and the payment of duties 

and tariffs; and  

•  FTC regulations governing the manner in which orders may be solicited and prescribing other obligations in 

fulfilling orders and consummating sales.  

Over the past several years, bills have been introduced in the United States Congress that would restrict or prohibit 

the manufacture, transfer, importation or sale of certain calibers of handgun ammunition, impose a tax and import 
controls on bullets designed to penetrate bullet-proof vests, impose a special occupational tax and registration 
requirements on manufacturers of handgun ammunition and increase the tax on handgun ammunition in certain calibers. 
Because we carry these products, such legislation could, depending on its scope, materially harm our sales.  

Additionally, state and local governments have proposed laws and regulations that, if enacted, would place 

additional restrictions on the manufacture, transfer, sale, purchase, possession and use of firearms, ammunition and 
shooting-related products. For example, in response to mass shootings and other incidents in the United States, several 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
states, such as Colorado, Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, have enacted laws and regulations that 
limit access to and sale of certain firearms in ways more restrictive than federal laws. Other state or local governmental 
entities may continue to explore similar legislative or regulatory restrictions that could prohibit the manufacture, sale, 
purchase, possession or use of firearms and ammunition. In New York and Connecticut, mandatory screening of 
ammunition purchases is now required. In addition, California and the District of Columbia have adopted requirements 
for micro-stamping (that is, engraving the handgun’s serial number on the firing pin of new handguns), and at least seven 
other states and the United States Congress have introduced microstamping legislation for certain firearms. Lastly, some 
states prohibit the sale of firearms without internal or external locking mechanisms, and several states are considering 
mandating certain design features on safety grounds, most of which would be applicable only to handguns. Other state or 
local governmental entities may also explore similar legislative or regulatory initiatives that may further restrict the 
manufacture, sale, purchase, possession or use of firearms, ammunition and shooting-related products.  

The regulation of firearms, ammunition and shooting-related products may become more restrictive in the future. 
Changes in these laws and regulations or additional regulation, particularly new laws or increased regulations regarding 
sales and ownership of firearms and ammunition, could cause the demand for and sales of our products to decrease and 
could materially adversely impact our net sales and profitability. Sales of firearms represent a significant percentage of 
our net sales and are critical in drawing customers to our stores. A substantial reduction in our sales or margins on sales 
of firearms and firearm related products due to the establishment of new regulations could harm our operating results. 
Moreover, complying with increased or changed regulations could cause our operating expenses to increase.  

Our retail-based business model is impacted by general economic conditions in our markets, and ongoing 
economic and financial uncertainties may cause a decline in consumer spending that may adversely affect our 
business, operations, liquidity, financial results and stock price.  

As a retail business that depends on consumer discretionary spending, we may be adversely affected if our 

customers reduce, delay or forego their purchases of our products as a result of job losses, bankruptcies, higher consumer 
debt and interest rates, increases in inflation, higher energy and fuel costs, reduced access to credit, falling home prices 
and other adverse conditions in the mortgage and housing markets, lower consumer confidence, uncertainty or changes 
in tax policies and tax rates, uncertainty due to potential national or international security concerns and adverse or 
unseasonal weather conditions. Decreases in same store sales, customer traffic to our stores and e-commerce site or 
average ticket sales negatively affect our financial performance, and a prolonged period of depressed consumer spending 
could have a material adverse effect on our business. Promotional activities, vendor incentives, and decreased demand 
for consumer products could affect profitability and margins. In addition, adverse economic conditions may result in an 
increase in our operating expenses due to, among other things, higher costs of labor, energy, equipment and facilities. 
Due to fluctuations in the U.S. economy, our sales, operating and financial results for a particular period are difficult to 
predict, making it difficult to forecast results to be expected in future periods. Any of the foregoing factors could have a 
material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition and could adversely affect our stock 
price.  

Our concentration of stores in the Western United States makes us susceptible to adverse conditions in this 
region.  

The majority of our stores are currently located in the Western United States, comprising Alaska, Arizona, 
California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. As a result, our 
operations are more susceptible to regional factors than the operations of more geographically diversified competitors. 
These factors include regional economic and weather conditions, natural disasters, demographic and population changes 
and governmental regulations in the states in which we operate. Environmental changes and disease epidemics affecting 
fish or game populations in any concentrated region may also affect our sales. If a region with a concentration of our 
stores were to suffer an economic downturn or other adverse event, our operating results could suffer.  

Competition in the outdoor activities and sporting goods market could reduce our net sales and profitability.  

The outdoor activities and sporting goods market is highly fragmented and competitive. We compete directly or 

indirectly with the following types of companies:  

• 

independent, local specialty stores, often referred to as “mom & pops”;  

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• 

• 

other specialty retailers that compete with us across a significant portion of our merchandising categories 
through retail store, catalog or e-commerce businesses, such as Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s and Gander 
Outdoors;  

large-format sporting goods stores and chains, such as Academy Sports + Outdoors and Dick’s Sporting 
Goods; and  

•  mass merchandisers, warehouse clubs, discount stores, department stores and online retailers, such as 

Amazon, Target and Wal-Mart.  

A few of our competitors have a larger number of stores, and some of them have a greater market presence (both 
brick and mortar and online), name recognition and financial, distribution, marketing and other resources than we have. 
As a result of this competition, we may need to spend more on advertising and promotion than we anticipate. In addition, 
the ability of consumers to compare prices on a real-time basis through the use of smartphones and digital technology 
puts additional pressure on us to maintain competitive pricing. If our competitors reduce their prices, we may have to 
reduce our prices in order to compete, which could harm our margins. Furthermore, some of our competitors may build 
new stores in or near our existing locations or in locations with high concentrations of our e-commerce business 
customers. As a result of this competition, we may need to spend more on advertising and promotion. Some of our mass 
merchandising competitors, such as Wal-Mart, do not currently compete in many of the product lines we offer. However, 
if these competitors were to begin offering a broader array of competing products, or if any of the other factors listed 
above occurred, our net sales could be reduced or our costs could be increased, resulting in reduced profitability.  

If we fail to anticipate changes in consumer demands, including regional preferences, in a timely manner, our 
operating results could suffer.  

Our products appeal to consumers who regularly hunt, camp, fish and participate in various shooting sports. The 

preferences of these consumers cannot be predicted with certainty and are subject to change. In addition, due to different 
game and fishing species and varied weather conditions found in different markets, it is critical that our stores stock 
products appropriate for their markets. Our success depends on our ability to identify product trends in a variety of 
markets as well as to anticipate, gauge and quickly react to changing consumer demands in these markets. We usually 
must order merchandise well in advance of the applicable selling season. The extended lead times for many of our 
purchases may make it difficult for us to respond rapidly to new or changing product trends or changes in prices. If we 
misjudge either the market for our products or our customers’ purchasing habits, our net sales may decline significantly 
and we may not have sufficient quantities of merchandise to satisfy customer demand or we may be required to mark 
down excess inventory, either of which would result in lower profit margins and harm our operating results.  

Our expansion into new, unfamiliar markets presents increased risks that may prevent us from being profitable 
in these new markets.  

We intend to continue to expand by opening stores in new markets, which may include small- to medium-sized 

markets and which may not have existing national outdoor sports retailers. As a result, we may have less familiarity with 
local customer preferences and encounter difficulties in attracting customers due to a reduced level of customer 
familiarity with our brand. Other factors that may impact our ability to open stores in new markets and operate them 
profitably, many of which are beyond our control, include:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

our ability to identify suitable locations, including our ability to gather and assess demographic and marketing 
data to determine consumer demand for our products in the locations we select;  

our ability to obtain financing on favorable terms or negotiate favorable lease agreements;  

our ability to properly assess the profitability of potential new retail store locations;  

our ability to secure required governmental permits and approvals;  

our ability to attract, hire and train skilled store operating personnel, especially management personnel;  

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

the availability of construction materials and labor and the absence of significant construction delays or cost 
overruns;  

our ability to provide a satisfactory mix of merchandise that is responsive to the needs of our customers living 
in the areas where new retail stores are built;  

our ability to supply new retail stores with inventory in a timely manner;  

our competitors building or leasing stores near our retail stores or in locations we have identified as targets for 
a new retail store;  

consumer demand for our products, particularly firearms and ammunition, which drives traffic to our retail 
stores;  

regional economic and other factors in the geographies in which we expand; and  

general economic, political, and business conditions affecting consumer confidence and spending and the 
overall strength of our business.  

Once we decide on a new market and find a suitable location, any delays in opening new stores could impact our 

financial results. It is possible that events, such as delays in the entitlements process or construction delays caused by 
permitting or licensing issues, material shortages, labor issues, weather delays or other acts of god, discovery of 
contaminants, accidents, deaths or injunctions, could delay planned new store openings beyond their expected dates or 
force us to abandon planned openings altogether. In addition, new retail stores typically generate lower operating 
margins because pre-opening expenses are expensed as they are incurred and because fixed costs, as a percentage of net 
sales, are higher. Furthermore, the substantial management time and resources which our retail store expansion strategy 
requires may result in disruption to our existing business operations, which may decrease our profitability.  

As a result of the above factors, we cannot assure you that we will be successful in operating our stores in new 

markets on a profitable basis.  

If we are unable to successfully develop and maintain our omni-channel strategy, we may not be able to compete 
effectively and our sales and profitability may be adversely affected. 

Our e-commerce business is an important element of our brand and relationship with our customers, and we expect 

it to continue to grow. For instance, in 2018, we launched a redesign of our website and significantly enhanced the 
online shopping experience for our customers. While e-commerce has been a rapidly growing sales channel and an 
increasing source of competition in our industry, sales from our e-commerce channel are not yet material to our 
operations. If we are unable to continue to successfully develop and maintain our omni-channel platform, we may not be 
able to compete effectively and our sales and profitability may be adversely affected.  

Online shopping is rapidly evolving, and we expect competition in the e-commerce market to continue to intensify 

as the Internet facilitates competitive entry and comparison shopping. Consumers are increasingly embracing shopping 
online and through mobile commerce applications. As a result, a growing portion of total consumer expenditures with 
retailers is occurring online and through mobile commerce applications. Our future success could be adversely affected 
if we are unable to identify and capitalize on retail trends, including technology, e-commerce and other process 
efficiencies to gain market share and better service our customers. In addition, many of our competitors already have e-
commerce businesses that are substantially larger and more developed than ours, which places us at a competitive 
disadvantage. There are also regulatory restrictions on the sale of a portion of our product offerings, such as ammunition, 
certain cutlery, firearms, propane and reloading powder. If we are unable to expand our e-commerce business, our 
growth plans will suffer and the price of our common stock could decline.  

We are also vulnerable to additional risks and uncertainties associated with e-commerce sales, including rapid 

changes in technology, website downtime and other technical failures, security breaches, cyber-attacks, consumer 
privacy concerns, changes in state tax regimes and government regulation of internet activities. Our failure to 
successfully respond to these risks and uncertainties could reduce our e-commerce same store sales, increase our costs, 

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
diminish our growth prospects and damage our brand, which could negatively impact our results of operations and stock 
price. 

Our planned growth may strain our business infrastructure, which could adversely affect our operations and 
financial condition.  

Over time, we expect to expand the size of our retail store network in new and existing markets. As we grow, we 

will face the risk that our existing resources and systems, including management resources, accounting and finance 
personnel and operating systems, may be inadequate to support our growth. We cannot assure you that we will be able to 
retain the personnel or make the changes in our systems that may be required to support our growth. Failure to secure 
these resources and implement these systems on a timely basis could have a material adverse effect on our operating 
results. In addition, hiring additional personnel and implementing changes and enhancements to our systems will require 
capital expenditures and other increased costs that could also have a material adverse impact on our operating results.  

Our expansion in new markets may also create new distribution and merchandising challenges, including strain on 

our distribution facility, an increase in information to be processed by our management information systems and 
diversion of management attention from existing operations towards the opening of new stores and markets. To the 
extent that we are not able to meet these additional challenges, our sales could decrease and our operating expenses 
could increase.  

Our ability to operate and expand our business and to respond to changing business and economic conditions will 
depend on the availability of adequate capital.  

The operation of our business, the rate of our expansion and our ability to respond to changing business and 
economic conditions depend on the availability of adequate capital, which in turn depends on cash flow generated by our 
business and, if necessary, the availability of equity or debt capital. We will also need sufficient cash flow to meet our 
obligations under our existing debt agreements. We paid total cash interest on our credit facilities of $13.2 million, $13.7 
million, and $12.0 million, in fiscal years 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively, and our term loan requires us to make 
quarterly principal payments of $2.0 million. 

The amount that we are able to borrow and have outstanding under our revolving credit facility at any given time 
is subject to a borrowing base calculation, which is a contractual calculation equal to roughly (1) 90% of the net orderly 
liquidation value of our eligible inventory, multiplied by (2) 90% of the eligible credit card receivables, less the term 
loan reserve and certain reserves against outstanding gift cards, layaway deposits and amounts outstanding under 
commercial letters of credit, each term as defined in the credit agreement for the revolving credit facility. As a result, our 
ability to borrow is subject to certain risks and uncertainties, such as a deterioration in the quality of our inventory 
(which is the largest asset in our borrowing base), a decline in sales activity and the collection of our receivables, which 
could reduce the funds available to us under our revolving credit facility.  

We cannot assure you that our cash flow from operations or cash available under our revolving credit facility will 

be sufficient to meet our needs. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flows from operations in the future, and if 
availability under our revolving credit facility is not sufficient, we may have to obtain additional financing. If we obtain 
additional capital by issuing equity, the interests of our existing stockholders will be diluted. If we incur additional 
indebtedness, that indebtedness may contain significant financial and other covenants that may significantly restrict our 
operations, and our ability to fund expansion or take advantage of future opportunities. We cannot assure you that we 
could obtain refinancing or additional financing on favorable terms or at all.  

Our revolving credit facility and term loan contain restrictive covenants that may impair our ability to access 
sufficient capital and operate our business.  

Our revolving credit facility and term loan contain various provisions that limit our ability to, among other things:  

• 

• 

incur, create or assume certain indebtedness;  

create, incur or assume certain liens;  

•  make certain investments;  

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•  make sales, transfers and dispositions of certain property;  

• 

• 

• 

undergo certain fundamental changes, including certain mergers, liquidations and consolidations;  

purchase, hold or acquire certain investments; and  

declare or make certain dividends and distributions.  

These covenants may affect our ability to operate and finance our business as we deem appropriate. If we are 

unable to meet our obligations as they become due or to comply with various financial covenants contained in the 
instruments governing our current or future indebtedness, this could constitute an event of default under the instruments 
governing our indebtedness.  

If there were an event of default under the instruments governing our indebtedness, the holders of the affected 

indebtedness could declare all of that indebtedness immediately due and payable, which, in turn, could cause the 
acceleration of the maturity of all of our other indebtedness. We may not have sufficient funds available, or we may not 
have access to sufficient capital from other sources, to repay any accelerated debt. Even if we could obtain additional 
financing, the terms of the financing may not be favorable to us. In addition, substantially all of our assets are subject to 
liens securing our revolving credit facility and term loan. If amounts outstanding under the revolving credit facility or 
term loans were accelerated, our lenders could foreclose on these liens and we could lose substantially all of our assets. 
Any event of default under the instruments governing our indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our 
business, financial condition and results of operations.  

Our same store sales may fluctuate and may not be a meaningful indicator of future performance.  

Our same store sales may vary from quarter to quarter, and an unanticipated decline in net sales or same store sales 

may cause the price of our common stock to fluctuate significantly. A number of factors have historically affected, and 
will continue to affect, our same store sales results, including:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

changes or anticipated changes to regulations related to some of the products we sell; 

consumer preferences, buying trends, including a shift of consumer spending from brick-and-mortar to online, 
and overall economic trends; 

our ability to identify and respond effectively to local and regional trends and customer preferences;  

our ability to provide quality customer service that will increase our conversion of shoppers into paying 
customers;  

the success of our omni-channel strategy and our e-commerce platform 

competition in the regional market of a store;  

atypical weather;  

new product introductions and changes in our product mix; and  

changes in pricing and average ticket sales.  

Our operating results are subject to seasonal fluctuations.  

We experience moderate seasonal fluctuations in our net sales and operating results. On average over the last three 

fiscal years, we have generated 27.0% and 29.0% of our annual net sales in the third and fourth fiscal quarters, 
respectively, which includes the holiday selling season as well as the opening of the fall hunting season. We incur 
additional expenses in the third and fourth fiscal quarters due to higher purchase volumes and increased staffing in our 

25 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
stores. If, for any reason, we miscalculate the demand for our products or our product mix during the third or fourth 
fiscal quarters, our sales in these quarters could decline, resulting in higher labor costs as a percentage of sales, lower 
margins and excess inventory, which could cause our annual operating results to suffer and our stock price to decline. 
Due to our seasonality, the possible adverse impact from other risks associated with our business, including atypical 
weather, consumer spending levels and general economic and business conditions, is potentially greater if any such risks 
occur during our peak sales seasons.  

We currently rely on a single distribution center for our business, and if there is a natural disaster or other 
serious disruption at such facility, we may be unable to deliver merchandise effectively to our stores or customers.  

We currently rely on a single distribution center in Salt Lake City, Utah for our business. Any natural disaster or 
other serious disruption at such facility due to fire, tornado, earthquake, flood or any other cause could damage our on-
site inventory or impair our ability to use such distribution center. While we maintain business interruption insurance, as 
well as general property insurance, the amount of insurance coverage may not be sufficient to cover our losses in such an 
event. Any of these occurrences could impair our ability to adequately stock our stores or fulfill customer orders and 
harm our operating results.  

Any delay or disruption of the supply of products from our vendors could have an adverse impact on our net 
sales and profitability.  

We cannot predict when, or the extent to which, we will experience any delay or disruption in the supply of 

products from our vendors. Any such delay or disruption could negatively impact our ability to market and sell our 
products and serve our customers, which could adversely impact our net sales and profitability. If any of our significant 
vendors were to become subject to bankruptcy, receivership or similar proceedings, we may be unable to arrange for 
alternate or replacement products, transactions or business relationships on terms as favorable terms, or at all, which 
could adversely affect our sales and operating results. For instance, in March 2018, Remington, one of our largest 
vendors, filed for Chapter 11 relief under the United States Bankruptcy Code. Remington’s bankruptcy may impact our 
ability to get products to our customers, result in disruptions to our operations, increase our costs and decrease our 
profitability.  

We depend on merchandise purchased from our vendors to obtain products for our stores. We have no contractual 
arrangements providing for continued supply from our key vendors, and our vendors may discontinue selling to us at any 
time. Changes in commercial practices of our key vendors or manufacturers, such as changes in vendor support and 
incentives or changes in credit or payment terms, could also negatively impact our results. If we lose one or more key 
vendors or are unable to promptly replace a vendor that is unwilling or unable to satisfy our requirements with a vendor 
providing equally appealing products at comparable prices, we may not be able to offer products that are important to 
our merchandise assortment.  

We also are subject to risks, such as the price and availability of raw materials and fabrics, labor disputes, union 
organizing activity, strikes, inclement weather, natural disasters, war and terrorism and adverse general economic and 
political conditions, that might limit our vendors’ ability to provide us with quality merchandise on a timely and cost-
efficient basis. We may not be able to develop relationships with new vendors, and products from alternative sources, if 
any, may be of a lesser quality and more expensive than those we currently purchase. Any delay or failure in offering 
products to our customers could have a material adverse impact on our net sales and profitability.  

Political and economic uncertainty and unrest in foreign countries where our merchandise vendors are located 
and trade restrictions upon imports from these foreign countries could adversely affect our ability to source 
merchandise and operating results.  

In fiscal year 2018, approximately 3.0% of our merchandise was imported directly from vendors located in foreign 

countries, with a substantial portion of the imported merchandise being obtained directly from vendors in China and El 
Salvador. In addition, we believe that a significant portion of our domestic vendors obtain their products from foreign 
countries that may also be subject to political and economic uncertainty. We are subject to risks and uncertainties 
associated with changing economic, political and other conditions in foreign countries where our vendors are located, 
such as:  

• 

increased import duties, tariffs, border-adjusted taxes, trade restrictions and quotas;  

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•  work stoppages;  

• 

• 

economic uncertainties;  

adverse foreign government regulations;  

•  wars, fears of war and terrorist attacks and organizing activities;  

• 

• 

• 

adverse fluctuations of foreign currencies;  

natural disasters; and  

political unrest.  

We cannot predict when, or the extent to which, the countries in which our products are manufactured will 
experience any of the above events. Any event causing a disruption or delay of imports from foreign locations would 
likely increase the cost or reduce the supply of merchandise available to us and would adversely affect our operating 
results.  

In addition, trade restrictions, including increased tariffs or quotas, embargoes, safeguards and customs restrictions 

against clothing and other items, as well as U.S. or foreign labor strikes, work stoppages or boycotts could increase the 
cost or reduce the supply of merchandise available to us or may require us to modify our current business practices, any 
of which could hurt our profitability. For instance, general trade tensions between the U.S. and China began escalating in 
2018, with multiple rounds of U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods taking effect during 2018. Furthermore, China or other 
countries may institute retaliatory trade measures in response to existing or future tariffs imposed by the U.S. that could 
have a negative impact on our business. If any of these events continue as described, we may need to seek alternative 
suppliers or vendors, raise prices, or make changes to our operations, any of which could have a material adverse effect 
on our sales and profitability, results of operations and financial condition.  

Finally, potential changes in federal restrictions on the importation of firearms and ammunition products could 
affect our ability to acquire certain popular brands of firearms and ammunition products from importers and wholesalers, 
which could negatively impact our net sales until replacements in the United States can be obtained, if at all.  

We rely on information technology in our operations and any material failure, inadequacy, interruption or 
security breach or failure of that technology could disrupt our business and lead to reputational damage.  

We rely on information technology networks and systems, including the Internet, to process, transmit and store 
electronic information, and to manage or support a variety of business processes, including financial transactions and 
records, and maintaining personal identifying information and customer data. We rely on commercially available 
systems, software, tools and monitoring to provide security for the processing, transmission and storage of confidential 
tenant and customer data, including individually identifiable information relating to financial accounts. We have taken 
steps to protect the security of our information systems and the data maintained in those systems. It is possible, however, 
that our safety and security measures will not prevent the systems’ improper functioning or damage, or the improper 
access or disclosure of personally identifiable information such as in the event of cyber-attacks. Security breaches, 
including those caused by physical or electronic break-ins, computer viruses, malware, worms, attacks by hackers or 
foreign governments, disruptions from unauthorized access and tampering (including through social engineering such as 
phishing attacks), coordinated denial-of-service attacks and similar breaches, could create system disruptions, shutdowns 
or unauthorized disclosure of confidential information. The risk of security breaches has generally increased as the 
number, intensity and sophistication of attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased. In some cases, it 
may be difficult to anticipate or immediately detect such incidents and the damage they cause. In addition, due to the fast 
pace and unpredictability of cyber threats, long-term implementation plans designed to address cybersecurity risks 
become obsolete quickly. Any failure to maintain proper function, security and availability of our information systems 
and the data maintained in those systems could interrupt our operations, damage our reputation, subject us to liability 
claims or regulatory penalties and could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results 
of operations. 

27 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unauthorized disclosure of sensitive or confidential customer information could harm our business and standing 
with our customers. 

The protection of our customer, employee and company data is critical to us. We rely on commercially available 

systems, software, tools and monitoring to provide security for processing, transmission and storage of confidential 
customer information, such as payment card and personally identifiable information. Despite the security measures we 
have in place, our facilities and systems, and those of our third-party service providers, may be vulnerable to security 
breaches, acts of vandalism, computer viruses, misplaced or lost data, programming or human errors or other similar 
events. Any security breach involving the misappropriation, loss or other unauthorized disclosure of confidential 
information, whether by us or our third party service providers, could damage our reputation, expose us to risk of 
litigation and liability, disrupt our operations and harm our business.  

Our business depends on our ability to meet our labor needs 

Our success depends in part upon our ability to attract, motivate and retain a sufficient number of qualified 
employees, including district managers, store managers, department managers and sales associates, who understand and 
appreciate our outdoor culture and are able to adequately represent this culture to our customers. Qualified individuals of 
the requisite caliber and number needed to fill these positions may be in short supply, especially during times of low 
unemployment rates like we are currently experiencing, and the turnover rate in the retail industry is high. If we are 
unable to hire and retain sales associates capable of consistently providing a high level of customer service, as 
demonstrated by their enthusiasm for our culture and knowledge of our merchandise, our business could be materially 
adversely affected. Although none of our employees are currently covered by collective bargaining agreements, our 
employees may elect to be represented by labor unions in the future, which could increase our labor costs. Additionally, 
competition for qualified employees could require us to pay higher wages to attract a sufficient number of employees. 
An inability to recruit and retain a sufficient number of qualified individuals in the future may delay the planned 
openings of new stores. Any such delays, any material increases in employee turnover rates at existing stores or any 
increases in labor costs could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or operating results.  

Increases in the minimum wage have recently adversely affected our financial results.  

Recently, several states in which we operate have enacted minimum wage increases and it is possible that other 
states or the federal government could also enact minimum wage increases. In fiscal year 2018, 58 of our stores were 
impacted by the minimum wage increases, which increased our selling, general and administrative expenses. Base wage 
rates for some of our employees are at or slightly above the minimum wage. As more state minimum wage rates increase 
or if the federal government enacts a minimum wage increase, we may need to increase not only the wage rates of our 
minimum wage employees, but also the wages paid to our other hourly employees as well. Further, should we fail to 
increase our wages competitively in response to increasing wage rates, the quality of our workforce could decline, 
causing our customer service to suffer. Any increase in the cost of our labor could have an adverse effect on our 
operating costs, financial condition and results of operations. 

We may incur costs from litigation relating to products that we sell, particularly firearms and ammunition, which 
could adversely affect our net sales and profitability.  

We may incur damages due to lawsuits relating to products we sell, including lawsuits relating to firearms, 
ammunition, tree stands and archery equipment. We may incur losses due to lawsuits, including potential class actions, 
relating to our performance of background checks on firearms purchases and compliance with other sales laws as 
mandated by state and federal law. We may also incur losses from lawsuits relating to the improper use of firearms or 
ammunition sold by us, including lawsuits by municipalities or other organizations attempting to recover costs from 
manufacturers and retailers of firearms and ammunition. Our insurance coverage and the insurance provided by our 
vendors for certain products they sell to us may be inadequate to cover claims and liabilities related to products that we 
sell. In addition, claims or lawsuits related to products that we sell, or the unavailability of insurance for product liability 
claims, could result in the elimination of these products from our product line, thereby reducing net sales. If one or more 
successful claims against us are not covered by or exceed our insurance coverage, or if insurance coverage is no longer 
available, our available working capital may be impaired and our operating results could be materially adversely 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
affected. Even unsuccessful claims could result in the expenditure of funds and management time and could have a 
negative impact on our profitability and on future premiums we would be required to pay on our insurance policies. 

Our net sales and profitability could be impacted if the strength of our brand is not maintained, and our sales of 
firearm-related products could present reputational risks and negative publicity.  

Our success depends on the value and strength of the Sportsman’s Warehouse brand. The Sportsman’s Warehouse 

name is integral to our business as well as to the implementation of our strategies for expanding our business. 
Maintaining, promoting and positioning our brand will depend largely on the success of our marketing and 
merchandising efforts and our ability to provide high quality merchandise and a consistent, high quality customer 
experience both in-store and online. Our brand could be adversely affected if we fail to achieve these objectives or if our 
public image or reputation were to be tarnished by negative publicity, any of which could result in decreases in net sales. 
In addition, the sale of firearm-related products also may present reputational risks and negative publicity that could 
affect consumers’ perception of us or willingness to shop with us, which could harm our results of operations and 
financial condition 

Our inability or failure to protect our intellectual property could have a negative impact on our operating results.  

Our trademarks, service marks, copyrights, patents, trade secrets, domain names and other intellectual property are 

valuable assets that are critical to our success. The unauthorized reproduction or other misappropriation of our 
intellectual property could diminish the value of our brands or goodwill and cause a decline in our net sales. Any 
infringement or other intellectual property claim made against us, whether or not it has merit, could be time-consuming, 
result in costly litigation, cause product delays or require us to enter into royalty or licensing agreements. As a result, any 
such claim could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.  

Our computer hardware and software systems are vulnerable to damage that could harm our business.  

Our success, in particular our ability to successfully manage inventory levels, largely depends upon the efficient 

operation of our computer hardware and software systems. We use management information systems to track inventory 
information at the store level, communicate customer information and aggregate daily sales, margin and promotional 
information. These systems are vulnerable to damage or interruption from:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

fire, flood, tornado and other natural disasters;  

power loss, computer system failures, internet and telecommunications or data network failures, operator 
negligence, improper operation by or supervision of employees, physical and electronic loss of data or 
security breaches, misappropriation and similar events;  

hacking by third parties and computer viruses; and  

upgrades, installations of major software releases and integration with new systems.  

Any failure that causes an interruption in our systems processing could disrupt our operations and result in reduced 

sales. We have centralized the majority of our computer systems in our corporate office. It is possible that an event or 
disaster at our corporate office could materially and adversely affect the performance of our company and the ability of 
each of our stores to operate efficiently.  

Our private brand offerings expose us to various risks.  

We expect to continue to grow our exclusive private brand offerings through a combination of brands that we own 

and brands that we license from third parties. We have invested in our development and procurement resources and 
marketing efforts relating to these private brand offerings. Although we believe that our private brand products offer 
value to our customers at each price point and provide us with higher gross margins than comparable third-party branded 
products we sell, the expansion of our private brand offerings also subjects us to certain specific risks in addition to those 
discussed elsewhere in this section, such as:  

• 

potential mandatory or voluntary product recalls;  

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• 

• 

• 

• 

our ability to successfully protect our proprietary rights (including defending against counterfeit, knock offs, 
grey-market, infringing or otherwise unauthorized goods);  

our ability to successfully navigate and avoid claims related to the proprietary rights of third parties;  

our ability to successfully administer and comply with obligations under license agreements that we have with 
the licensors of brands, including, in some instances, certain minimum sales requirements that, if not met, 
could cause us to lose the licensing rights or pay damages; and  

other risks generally encountered by entities that source, sell and market exclusive branded offerings for retail.  

An increase in sales of our private brands may also adversely affect sales of our vendors’ products, which may, in 

turn, adversely affect our relationship with our vendors. Our failure to adequately address some or all of these risks could 
have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.  

We may pursue strategic acquisitions or investments, and the failure of an acquisition or investment to produce 
the anticipated results or the inability to fully integrate the acquired companies could have an adverse impact on 
our business.  

We may from time to time acquire or invest in complementary companies, businesses or assets. The success of 

such acquisitions or investments will be based on our ability to make accurate assumptions regarding the valuation, 
operations, growth potential, integration and other factors relating to the respective business or assets. Our acquisitions 
or investments may not produce the results that we expect at the time we enter into or complete the transaction. For 
example, we may not be able to capitalize on previously anticipated synergies. Furthermore, acquisitions may result in 
dilutive issuances of our equity securities, the incurrence of debt, contingent liabilities, amortization expenses or write-
offs of goodwill or other intangibles, any of which could harm our financial condition or results of operations. We also 
may not be able to successfully integrate operations that we acquire, including their personnel, financial systems, supply 
chain and other operations, which could adversely affect our business. Acquisitions may also result in the diversion of 
our capital and our management’s attention from other business issues and opportunities.  

We may not achieve projected goals and objectives in the time periods that we anticipate or announce publicly, 
which could harm our business and cause the price of our common stock to decline.  

We set targets and timing to accomplish certain objectives regarding our business. We have included some of 
these targets in this filing and may make similar future public statements. For example, we state in this filing that:  

•  we currently plan to open three additional new stores in fiscal year 2019 and, for the next several years 

thereafter, intend to grow our square footage at a rate greater than 5% annually; and  

•  we target a minimum 10% four-wall Adjusted EBITDA margin and a minimum return on invested capital of 
50% excluding initial inventory cost (or 20% including initial inventory cost) in the first twelve months of 
operation for a new store.  

This filing also includes other forecasts and targets. These forecasts and targets are based on our current 

expectations. We may not achieve these forecasts and targets, and the actual achievement and timing of these events can 
vary due to a number of factors, including currently unforeseen matters and matters beyond our control. You should not 
unduly rely on these forecasts or targets in deciding whether to invest in our common stock. 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Risks Related to Our Common Stock  

Our bylaws, our certificate of incorporation and Delaware law contain provisions that could discourage another 
company from acquiring us and may prevent attempts by our stockholders to replace or remove our current 
management.  

Provisions of our bylaws, our certificate of incorporation and Delaware law may discourage, delay or prevent a 

merger or acquisition that stockholders may consider favorable, including transactions in which our stockholders might 
otherwise receive a premium for their shares. In addition, these provisions may frustrate or prevent any attempts by our 
stockholders to replace or remove our current management by making it more difficult for stockholders to replace or 
remove our board of directors. These provisions include:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

establishing a classified board of directors;  

providing that directors may be removed only for cause;  

not providing for cumulative voting in the election of directors;  

requiring at least a supermajority vote of our stockholders to amend our bylaws or certain provisions of our 
certificate of incorporation;  

eliminating the ability of stockholders to call special meetings of stockholders;  

establishing advance notice requirements for nominations for election to the board of directors or for 
proposing matters that can be acted on by stockholders at stockholder meetings;  

authorizing the issuance of “blank check” preferred stock without any need for action by stockholders.  

In addition, we are subject to Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law. In general, subject to some 

exceptions, Section 203 prohibits a Delaware corporation from engaging in any “business combination” with any 
“interested stockholder” (which is generally defined as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and 
associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did 
own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation), for a three-year period following the date that the 
stockholder became an interested stockholder. Section 203 could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a 
change in control that our stockholders might consider to be in their best interests.  

Further, our certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to limited exceptions, the Court of Chancery of the 

State of Delaware will be, to the fullest extent permitted by law, the exclusive forum for any derivative action or 
proceeding brought on our behalf; any action asserting a breach of fiduciary duty; any action asserting a claim against us 
arising pursuant to the Delaware General Corporation Law; or any action asserting a claim against us that is governed by 
the internal affairs doctrine. This exclusive forum provision may limit a stockholder’s ability to bring a claim in a 
judicial forum that it finds favorable for disputes with us or our directors, officers or other employees and agents, which 
may discourage such lawsuits against us and our directors, officers, employees and agents.  

Together, these charter and statutory provisions could make the removal of management more difficult and may 

discourage transactions that otherwise could involve payment of a premium over prevailing market prices for our 
common stock. The existence of the foregoing provisions and anti-takeover measures could limit the price that investors 
might be willing to pay in the future for shares of our common stock. They could also deter potential acquirers of our 
company, thereby potentially reducing the likelihood that our stockholders could receive a premium for their common 
stock in an acquisition.  

We expect that the price of our common stock will fluctuate.  

The price of our common stock is volatile and may fluctuate significantly. During our fiscal year ended February 

2, 2019, the closing price of our stock ranged from a high of $6.29 per share to a low of $3.71 per share. Volatility in the 

31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
market price of our common stock may prevent our stockholders from being able to sell their common stock at or above 
the prices they paid for their common stock. The market price for our common stock could fluctuate significantly for 
various reasons, including:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

our operating and financial performance and prospects, including seasonal fluctuations in our financial 
performance;  

conditions that impact demand for our products;  

the public’s reaction to our press releases, other public announcements and filings with the SEC;  

changes in earnings estimates or recommendations by securities analysts who track our common stock;  

•  market and industry perception of our success, or lack thereof, in pursuing our growth strategy;  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

strategic actions by us or our competitors, such as acquisitions, store closures, or restructurings;  

actual or anticipated changes in federal and state government regulation, including regulations related to the 
sale of firearms and ammunition;  

changes in accounting standards, policies, guidance, interpretations or principles;  

arrival or departure of key personnel;  

sales of common stock by us or members of our management team; and  

changes in general market, economic and political conditions in the United States and global economies or 
financial markets, including those resulting from natural disasters, terrorist attacks, acts of war and responses 
to such events.  

In addition, if the market for stocks in our industry, or the stock market in general, experiences a loss of investor 

confidence, the trading price of our common stock could decline for reasons unrelated to our business, financial 
condition or results of operations. If any of the foregoing occurs, it could cause our stock price to fall and may expose us 
to lawsuits that, even if unsuccessful, could be costly to defend and distract our management.  

We are currently an emerging growth company (“EGC”) within the meaning of The Jumpstart our Business 
Startups Act (“JOBS Act”), and the reduced reporting requirements applicable to EGCs may make our common 
stock less attractive to investors.  

Because we currently qualify as an EGC under the JOBS Act, we have elected to comply with some of the reduced 

disclosure and other reporting requirements available to us as an EGC for a period of up to five years following our 
initial public offering if we remain an EGC. For example, for as long as we remain an EGC, we are not subject to certain 
governance requirements, such as holding a “say-on-pay” and “say-on-golden-parachute” advisory votes, we are not 
required to include a “Compensation Discussion and Analysis” section in our proxy statements and reports filed under 
the Exchange Act, and we do not need to obtain an annual attestation report on our internal control over financial 
reporting from a registered public accounting firm pursuant to Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the 
“Sarbanes-Oxley Act”). We could be an EGC for a period up to the end of the fifth fiscal year after our initial public 
offering, which is February 1, 2020,, although we will cease to be an EGC earlier than this five-year period if our total 
annual gross revenues equal or exceed $1 billion in a fiscal year, if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt 
over a three-year period or if we become a “large accelerated filer” (which requires, among other things, the market 
value of our common stock held by non-affiliates to be at least $700 million as of the last business day of our second 
fiscal quarter of any fiscal year).  

Accordingly, our stockholders may not receive the same level of disclosure that is afforded to stockholders of a 

non-EGC. It is possible that investors will find our common stock to be less attractive because we have elected to 
comply with the reduced disclosure and other reporting requirements available to us as an EGC, which could adversely 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
affect the trading market for our common stock and the prices at which stockholders may be able to sell their common 
stock.  

The requirements of being a public company may strain our resources and divert management’s attention, and 
management will be required to devote substantial time to new compliance initiatives as a result of transitioning 
out of EGC status.  

As a public company, we are subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, 

the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 and other applicable securities rules and 
regulations. Compliance with these rules and regulations have increased our legal and financial compliance costs, make 
some activities more difficult, time-consuming or costly and increase demand on our systems and resources. The 
Exchange Act requires, among other things, that we file annual, quarterly and current reports with respect to our business 
and results of operations and proxy or information statements in connection with matters upon which our stockholders 
may vote. As a result of our public disclosure of information in filings required of a public company, our business and 
financial condition have become more visible, which could result in threatened or actual litigation, or other adverse 
actions taken by competitors and other third parties. The time and resources necessary to comply with the requirements 
of being a public company and contend with any action that might be brought against us as a result of publicly available 
information could divert our resources and the attention of our management and adversely affect our business, financial 
condition and results of operations.  

In addition, we currently expect that we will cease to be an EGC at the end of the fifth fiscal year after our initial 

public offering, which is February 1, 2020. As a result, we will become subject to the additional regulatory requirements 
described above (unless we are able to rely on other exemptions), including the requirement to have our independent 
registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial 
reporting so long as we qualify as an accelerated filer under Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. In order to maintain and 
improve the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting we have 
expended, and anticipate that we will continue to expend, significant resources, including accounting-related costs and 
significant management oversight. We expect that the requirements of these rules and regulations will continue to 
increase our legal, accounting and financial compliance costs, make some activities more difficult, time consuming and 
costly, and place significant strain on our personnel, systems and resources. 

If we are unable to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting, investors may lose 
confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports, and the market price of our common stock 
may be adversely affected.  

As a public company, we are required to implement and maintain effective internal control over financial reporting 

and to disclose any material weaknesses identified in our internal controls. Our management is required to furnish an 
annual report regarding the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting pursuant to Section 404 of the 
Sarbanes-Oxley Act (“Section 404”). We have refined, implemented, and tested the internal controls required to comply 
with Section 404. If we identify material weaknesses in our internal control over financial reporting, if we fail to comply 
with the requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or if we are unable to assert that our internal control over 
financial reporting is effective, investors may lose confidence in the accuracy and completeness of our financial reports 
and the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected. We could also become subject to investigations 
by The Nasdaq Stock Market, the SEC or other regulatory authorities, which could require additional financial and 
management resources.  

Additionally, beginning with our first Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending February 2, 2020, 
our independent registered public accounting firm will be required pursuant to Section 404 to attest to the effectiveness 
of our internal control over financial reporting on an annual basis so long as we qualify as an accelerated filer under Rule 
12b-2 of the Exchange Act. Even if management finds such controls to be effective, our independent registered public 
accounting firm may decline to attest to the effectiveness of such internal controls. If our independent registered public 
accounting firm cannot provide an unqualified attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over 
financial reporting, investor confidence and, in turn, the market price of our common stock could decline. 

33 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
We do not expect to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future.  

We currently expect to retain all available funds and future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and growth of 
our business and do not anticipate paying any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay 
dividends will be at the discretion of our board of directors, subject to compliance with applicable law and any 
contractual provisions, including under the credit agreements governing our term loan and revolving credit facility and 
agreements governing any additional indebtedness we may incur in the future, that restrict or limit our ability to pay 
dividends, and will depend upon, among other factors, our results of operations, financial condition, earnings, capital 
requirements and other factors that our board of directors deems relevant. Further, because we are a holding company, 
our ability to pay dividends depends on our receipt of cash dividends from our operating subsidiaries, which may further 
restrict our ability to pay dividends as a result of the laws of their jurisdiction of organization, agreements of our 
subsidiaries or covenants under our existing or future indebtedness. All of our business operations are conducted through 
our wholly owned subsidiaries, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc. and Minnesota Merchandising Corporation and their 
subsidiaries. The ability of Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc. and Minnesota Merchandising Corporation to pay dividends to 
us, and our ability to pay dividends on our capital stock, is limited by our term loan. Our revolving credit facility also 
limits our ability to pay dividends on our capital stock. Our ability to pay dividends may also be restricted by the terms 
of any future credit agreement or any future debt or preferred equity securities of ours or of our subsidiaries.  

If securities or industry analysts publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, our stock price and trading 
volume could decline.  

The trading market for our common stock will depend in part on the research reports that securities or industry 

analysts publish about us, our business and our industry. Assuming we obtain securities or industry analyst coverage, if 
one or more of the analysts who cover us downgrade our stock or publish inaccurate or unfavorable research about us, 
our business or our industry, our stock price would likely decline. If one or more of these analysts cease coverage of our 
company or fail to publish reports on us regularly, demand for our stock could decrease, which might cause our stock 
price and trading volume to decline.  

ITEM 1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS  

None. 

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES  

We do not plan to own any material real property, but rather intend to lease all of our store locations. From time to 

time we will self-develop one of our properties with the intention to enter into a sale-leaseback transaction with a third 
party. Depending upon where we are in the process of completing the sale-leaseback transaction, we may legally own 
real property at any particular balance sheet date. Our corporate headquarters is located in an approximately 60,000 
square foot building in Midvale, Utah. The building is leased under an agreement expiring on December 31, 2019. 

Our distribution center is located in a 507,000 square foot facility in Salt Lake City, Utah. The building is leased 

under an agreement expiring on December 31, 2023, with three options that each allow us to extend for an additional 
five years. We believe that our distribution center is of sufficient scale to support a network of 100 or more stores.  

We currently operate 92 retail stores in 23 states. See above under “Business – Our Stores” for a breakdown of our 
stores by state. In total we have approximately 3.6 million gross square feet across all of our stores. All of our stores are 
leased from third parties with lease terms typically ranging from five to fifteen years, and many of our lease agreements 
have additional five-year renewal options. All of our leases provide for additional payments associated with common 
area maintenance, real estate, taxes and insurance. In addition, many of our lease agreements have defined escalating 
rent provisions over the initial term and extensions. 

ITEM 3. LEGAL PROCEEDINGS  

When we become aware of a claim or potential claim, we assess the likelihood of any loss or exposure. If a loss 
contingency is probable and the amount of the loss can be reasonably estimated, we record an accrual for the loss. In 
such cases, there may be an exposure to potential loss in excess of the amount accrued. Where a loss is not probable but 
is reasonably possible or where a loss in excess of the amount accrued is reasonably possible, we disclose an estimate of 

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
the amount of the loss or range of possible losses for the claim if a reasonable estimate can be made, unless the amount 
of such reasonably possible losses is not material to our financial position, results of operations or cash flows. The ability 
to predict the ultimate outcome of such matter involves judgments and inherent uncertainties. The actual outcome could 
differ.  

We are subject to various legal proceedings and claims, including employment claims, wage and hour claims, 

intellectual property claims, contractual and commercial disputes and other matters that arise in the ordinary course of 
our business. While the outcome of these and other claims cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not believe that the 
outcome of these matters individually or in the aggregate will have a material adverse effect on our business, results of 
operations or financial condition. 

ITEM 4. MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES 

Not Applicable. 

PART II 

ITEM 5. MARKET FOR REGISTRANT’S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS 
AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES 

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity 

Our common stock is listed on the Nasdaq under the symbol “SPWH.” As of March 1, 2019, there were 134 

holders of record of our common stock. This number does not include persons who hold our common stock in nominee 
or “street name” accounts through brokers or banks. 

Dividend Policy 

We did not pay any dividends in fiscal year 2018 or fiscal year 2017. We currently expect to retain all available 

funds and future earnings, if any, for use in the operation and growth of our business and do not anticipate paying any 
cash dividends in the foreseeable future. Any future determination to pay dividends will be at the discretion of our board 
of directors, subject to compliance with applicable law and any applicable contractual provisions. 

35 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 6. SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA.  

February 2,  
2019 

February 3,  
2018 

Fiscal Year Ended 
January 28,  
2017 
(in thousands, except per share amounts) 

January 30,  
2016 

January 31,  
2015 

Consolidated Statements of Income Data: 
Net sales (1) (2) 
Cost of goods sold (1) 
Gross profit  
Selling, general and administrative expenses  
Income from operations  
Interest expense  
Income before income taxes  
Income tax expense 
Net income  

Earnings per share: 
Basic  
Diluted  

Weighted average shares outstanding: 
Basic shares  
Diluted shares  

  $  849,129   $  809,671   $  779,956   $  706,764   $   639,869 
 424,662 
 215,207 
 170,315 
 44,892 
 (22,480)
 22,412 
 8,628 
 13,784 

 516,726  
 263,230  
 202,543  
 60,687  
 (13,402) 
 47,285  
 17,616  
 29,669   $ 

 535,811  
 273,860  
 227,292  
 46,568  
 (13,738) 
 32,830  
 15,088  
 17,742   $ 

 468,234  
 238,530  
 179,218  
 59,312  
 (14,156) 
 45,156  
 17,385  
 27,771   $ 

 564,199  
 284,930  
 240,911  
 44,019  
 (13,206) 
 30,813  
 7,063  
 23,750   $ 

  $ 

$ 0.55  
$ 0.55  

$ 0.42   $ 
$ 0.42   $ 

 0.70   $ 
 0.70   $ 

 0.66   $ 
 0.66   $ 

 0.34 
 0.34 

 42,878  
 42,979  

 42,496  
 42,522  

 42,187  
 42,485  

 41,966  
 42,334  

 39,961 
 40,141 

Fiscal Year Ended 

  February 2,   February 3,   January 28,   January 30,   January 31, 
2019 
2015 
2017 
(in thousands, except number of stores and per share amounts) 

2016 

2018 

Consolidated Balance Sheet Data: 
Total current assets  
Total assets  
Long-term debt (including current portion), net of discount 
Total liabilities  
Total stockholders’ equity/(deficit) 
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity 

  $  293,570   $  280,755   $  255,924   $  232,710   $  203,339 
   268,784 
   346,248  
   156,107 
   134,704  
   300,116 
   316,247  
   (31,332) 
   30,001   
   268,784 
   346,248  

   301,328  
   155,016  
   303,387  
   (2,059)   
   301,328  

   379,661  
   133,339  
   329,863  
   49,798   
   379,661  

   388,897  
   35,632   
   310,237  
   78,660   
   388,897  

Other Data: 
Adjusted EBITDA (3)  
Adjusted EBITDA margin (3)  
Number of stores open at end of period  
Same store sales growth/(decline) for period (4) 

  $  68,496   $   72,799   $   82,254   $   73,024   $   66,252 
10.0% 
55 
(8.4)% 

9.0%  
87  
(6.5)%  

11.0%  
75  
(0.8)%  

10.0%  
64  
1.1%  

8.1%  
92  
1.5%  

(1)  Prior to fiscal year 2016, we presented our sales and costs of state fish and game licenses, duck stamps, and state 
government-mandated firearm background checks in net sales and cost of goods sold under the gross method. In 
fiscal year 2016, our management determined that the revenue from these transactions should have been presented 
under the net method, thereby recognizing only the commission received in net sales for acting as the agent under 
the principal versus agent model.  Net sales and cost of goods sold for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 shown above have 
been revised to reflect this revision.  This revision did not have any impact upon gross profit, net income or earnings 
per share. 

(2)  Fiscal year 2017 contained 53 weeks of operations 

36 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
     
     
    
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(3)  Adjusted EBITDA has been presented in this filing as a supplemental measure of financial performance that is not 
required by, or presented in accordance with, generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP. We define 
Adjusted EBITDA as net income plus interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization, stock-
based compensation expense, pre-opening expenses, and other gains, losses, and expenses that we do not believe are 
indicative of our ongoing expenses. In addition, Adjusted EBITDA excludes pre-opening expenses because we do 
not believe these expenses are indicative of the underlying operating performance of our stores. The amount and 
timing of pre-opening expenses are dependent on, among other things, the size of the new stores opened and the 
number of new stores opened during any given period. Adjusted EBITDA margin means, for any period, the 
Adjusted EBITDA for that period divided by the net sales for that period. 

Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin are included in this filing because they are key metrics used by 
management and our board of directors to assess our financial performance. Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted 
EBITDA margin are frequently used by analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of 
companies in our industry. In addition to assessing our financial performance, we use Adjusted EBITDA and 
Adjusted EBITDA margin as additional measurement tools for purposes of business decision-making, including 
evaluating store performance, developing budgets and managing expenditures.  

Adjusted EBITDA is not a GAAP measure of our financial performance or liquidity and should not be considered as 
an alternative to net income as a measure of financial performance or cash flows from operations as a measure of 
liquidity, or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP, and it should not be construed as an 
inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items. Additionally, Adjusted 
EBITDA is not intended to be a measure of free cash flow for management’s discretionary use, as it does not reflect 
certain cash requirements such as tax payments, debt service requirements, capital expenditures, store openings and 
certain other cash costs that may recur in the future. Adjusted EBITDA contains certain other limitations, including 
the failure to reflect our cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or contractual 
commitments. In evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that, in the future, we will incur expenses that 
are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments reflected in this presentation, such as income tax expense 
(benefit), interest expense, depreciation and amortization and pre-opening expenses. Our presentation of Adjusted 
EBITDA should not be construed to imply that our future results will be unaffected by any such adjustments. 
Management compensates for these limitations by relying on our GAAP results in addition to using Adjusted 
EBITDA supplementally. Our measures of Adjusted EBITDA are not necessarily comparable to other similarly 
titled captions of other companies due to different methods of calculation. See below for a reconciliation of net 
income to Adjusted EBITDA. 

(4)  Fiscal years 2016 and 2015 do not include sales from e-commerce but would not differ had e-commerce sales been 

included in the same store sales calculation. 

37 

 
 
 
 
 
 
A reconciliation of net income to Adjusted EBITDA is set forth below: 

February 2,  
2019 

February 3,  
2018 

Fiscal Year Ended 
January 28,  
2017 

January 30,  
2016 

  January 31,  
2015 

Net income  
Plus: 

Interest expense  
Income tax expense 
Depreciation and amortization  
Stock-based compensation expense (a) 
Pre-opening expenses (b)  
CEO retirement (c) 
IPO bonus (d) 
Litigation accrual (reversal) (e) 
Secondary offering expenses (f)  
Acquisition expenses (g) 
Asset write-off (h) 
Adjusted EBITDA  

  $   23,750   $   17,742   $   29,669   $   27,771   $ 

 13,784  

(in thousands) 

 13,206  
 7,063  
 18,250  
 1,742  
 1,838  
 2,647  
 —  
 —  
 —  
 —  
 —  

 13,738  
 15,088  
 17,706  
 2,294  
 3,971  
 —  
 —  
 —  
 —  
 1,744  
 516  

 13,402  
 17,616  
 13,974  
 3,186  
 4,264  
 —  
 —  
 —  
 143  
 —  
 —  

 14,156  
 17,385  
 11,569  
 2,257  
 3,159  
 —  
 —  
 (4,000) 
 727  
 —  
 —  

  $   68,496   $   72,799   $   82,254   $   73,024   $ 

 22,480  
 8,628  
 9,150  
 3,293  
 2,717  
 —  
 2,200  
 4,000  
 —  
 —  
 —  
 66,252  

Adjusted EBITDA Margin 

8.1%   

9.0%   

11.0%  

10.0%  

10.0%  

(a)  Stock-based compensation expense represents non-cash expenses related to equity instruments granted to 

employees under our 2013 Performance Incentive Plan and Employee Stock Purchase Plan. 

(b)  Pre-opening expenses include expenses incurred in the preparation and opening of a new store location, such as 

payroll, travel and supplies, but do not include the cost of the initial inventory or capital expenditures required 
to open a location. 

(c)  Payroll and stock compensation expenses incurred in conjunction with the retirement of our former CEO. 

(d)  As a result of the completion of our initial public offering and pursuant to the terms of the employment 
agreements with our executive officers, we paid $2.2 million in bonuses to our executive officers. 

(e)  In fiscal year 2014, we accrued $4.0 million for a pending litigation matter in which a jury trial assessed 

damages against us.  In fiscal year 2015, a court reversed the damages assessed against us and granted a motion 
for judgment as a matter of law in our favor.  As a result of that judgment, in fiscal year 2015, we reversed our 
previous accrual of $4.0 million.  On December 21, 2017, after appeal of the judgment in our favor, the appeals 
court ruled there to be no judgment against us. 

(f)  We incurred certain costs related to secondary offerings of our common stock by affiliates of Seidler Equity 
Partners III, L.P. on September 15, 2015 and April 18, 2016. These costs were expensed as incurred.  

(g)  Professional fees for fiscal year 2017 relate to fees incurred in connection with the evaluation of a strategic 

acquisition.  

(h)  We identified certain assets relating to our e-commerce platform that were no longer planned to be placed into 
service. These assets were expensed through selling, general, and administrative expenses during fiscal year 
2017.  

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS 
OF OPERATIONS  

The discussion below contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Our actual results 

could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, 
including those which are discussed in the “Risk Factors” section in Part I, Item 1A of this 10-K. Also see “Statement 
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements” preceding Part I.  

The following discussion and analysis should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements 

and the notes thereto included in this 10-K.  

Overview  

We are an outdoor sporting goods retailer focused on meeting the everyday needs of the seasoned outdoor veteran, 

the first-time participant and every enthusiast in between. Our mission is to provide an omni-channel shopping 
experience that equips our customers with the right quality, brand name hunting, shooting, fishing and camping gear to 
maximize their enjoyment of the outdoors.  

Our business was founded in 1986 as a single retail store in Midvale, Utah. Today, we operate 92 stores in 23 
states, totaling approximately 3.6 million gross square feet. During fiscal year 2018, we increased our gross square 
footage by 3.9% through the opening of five stores in the following locations: 

•  Sheridan, Wyoming on March 8, 2018 
•  Walla Walla, Washington on April 19, 2018 
•  Anderson, South Carolina on June 21, 2018 
•  Coon Rapids, Minnesota on August 2, 2018 
•  Milpitas, California on August 16, 2018 

Individual stores are aggregated into one operating and reportable segment.  

Fiscal Year  

We operate using a 52/53 week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31. Fiscal years 2018, 2017 
and 2016 ended on February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017, respectively. Fiscal years 2018 and 2016 
contained 52 weeks of operations. Fiscal year 2017 contained 53 weeks of operations. 

How We Assess the Performance of Our Business  

In assessing the performance of our business, we consider a variety of performance and financial measures. The 

key measures for determining how our business is performing are net sales, same store sales, gross margin, selling, 
general and administrative expenses, income from operations and Adjusted EBITDA. 

Net Sales and Same Store Sales  

Our net sales are primarily received from revenue generated in our stores and also include sales generated through 
our e-commerce platform. When measuring revenue generated from our stores, we review our same store sales as well as 
the performance of our stores that have not operated for a sufficient amount of time to be included in same store sales. 
We include net sales from a store in same store sales on the first day of the 13th full fiscal month following the store’s 
opening or acquisition by us. We have historically excluded e-Commerce from our calculation of same store sales, 
However, beginning with fiscal year 2017 and for subsequent periods, same store sales results will include our e-
commerce sales. For fiscal years consisting of 53 weeks, such as fiscal year 2017, we exclude net sales during the 53rd 
week from our calculation of same store sales. Some of our competitors and other retailers may calculate same store 

39 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
sales differently than we do. As a result, data regarding our same store sales may not be comparable to similar data made 
available by other retailers. 

Measuring the change in year-over-year same store sales allows us to evaluate how our retail store base is 

performing. Various factors affect same store sales, including:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

changes or anticipated changes to regulations related to some of the products we sell;  

consumer preferences, buying trends and overall economic trends;  

our ability to identify and respond effectively to local and regional trends and customer preferences;  

our ability to provide quality customer service that will increase our conversion of shoppers into paying 
customers;  

the success of our omni-channel strategy and our e-commerce platform 

competition in the regional market of a store;  

atypical weather;  

changes in our product mix; and  

changes in pricing and average ticket sales.  

Opening new stores is also an important part of our growth strategy. For fiscal year 2018 we opened 5 stores and 

plan to open 3 locations in fiscal year 2019. While our target is to grow square footage at a rate of greater than 5% 
annually, we expect we will grow our square footage approximately 3% for fiscal year 2019 as we continue to shift some 
of our cash use to reducing our debt balance. 

For our new locations, we measure our investment by reviewing the new store’s four-wall Adjusted EBITDA margin 

and pre-tax return on invested capital (“ROIC”). We target a minimum 10% four-wall Adjusted EBITDA margin and a 
minimum ROIC of 50% excluding initial inventory costs (or 20% including initial inventory cost) for the first full twelve 
months of operation for a new store. The 52 new stores that we have opened since 2010 and that have been open for a full 
twelve months (excluding the 10 acquired stores) have achieved an average four-wall Adjusted EBITDA margin of 12.0% 
and an average ROIC of 63.3% excluding initial inventory cost (and 24.6% including initial inventory cost) during their 
first full twelve months of operations. Four-wall Adjusted EBITDA means, for any period, a particular store’s Adjusted 
EBITDA, excluding any allocations of corporate selling, general and administrative expenses allocated to that store. Four-
wall Adjusted EBITDA margin means, for any period, a store’s four-wall Adjusted EBITDA divided by that store’s net 
sales. For a definition of Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin and a reconciliation of net income to Adjusted 
EBITDA, see “—Non-GAAP Measures.” ROIC means a store’s four-wall Adjusted EBITDA for a given period divided by 
our initial cash investment in the store. We calculate ROIC both including and excluding the initial inventory cost.  

We also have been scaling our e-commerce platform and increasing sales through our website, 
www.sportsmans.com.  

We believe the key drivers to increasing our total net sales will be:  

• 

• 

• 

• 

increasing our total gross square footage by opening new stores;  

continuing to increase and improve same store sales in our existing markets;  

increasing customer visits to our stores and improving our conversion rate through focused marketing efforts 
and continually high standards of customer service;  

increasing the average ticket sale per customer; and  

40 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
• 

expanding our e-commerce platform.  

Gross Margin  

Gross profit is our net sales less cost of goods sold. Gross margin measures our gross profit as a percentage of net 

sales. Our cost of goods sold primarily consists of merchandise acquisition costs, including freight-in costs, shipping 
costs, payment term discounts received from the vendor and vendor allowances and rebates associated directly with 
merchandise and shipping costs related to e-commerce sales.  

We believe the key drivers to improving our gross margin are increasing the product mix to higher margin 
products, particularly clothing and footwear, increasing foot traffic within our stores, improving buying opportunities 
with our vendor partners and coordinating pricing strategies among our stores and our merchandise group. Our ability to 
properly manage our inventory can also impact our gross profit. Successful inventory management ensures we have 
sufficient high margin products in stock at all times to meet customer demand, while overstocking of items could lead to 
markdowns in order to help a product sell. We believe that the overall growth of our business will allow us to generally 
maintain or increase our gross margins, because increased merchandise volumes will enable us to maintain our strong 
relationships with our vendors.  

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses  

We closely manage our selling, general and administrative expenses. Our selling, general and administrative 
expenses are comprised of payroll, rent and occupancy, depreciation and amortization, acquisition expenses, pre-opening 
expenses and other operating expenses, including stock-based compensation expense. Pre-opening expenses include 
expenses incurred in the preparation and opening of a new store location, such as payroll, travel and supplies, but do not 
include the cost of the initial inventory or capital expenditures required to open a location.  

Our selling, general and administrative expenses are primarily influenced by the volume of net sales of our 
locations, except for our corporate payroll, rent and occupancy and depreciation and amortization, which are generally 
fixed in nature. We control our selling, general and administrative expenses through a budgeting and reporting process 
that allows our personnel to adjust our expenses as trends in net sales activity are identified.  

We expect that our selling, general and administrative expenses will increase in future periods due to our 

continuing growth and expansion of employee benefits. In fiscal year 2018, 58 of our stores were impacted by minimum 
wage increases that increased our selling, general and administrative expenses during fiscal year 2018.  

Income from Operations  

Income from operations is gross profit less selling, general and administrative expenses. We use income from 

operations as an indicator of the productivity of our business and our ability to manage selling, general and 
administrative expenses.  

Adjusted EBITDA  

We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income plus interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and 

amortization, stock-based compensation expense, pre-opening expenses, and other gains, losses, and expenses that we do 
not believe are indicative of our ongoing expenses. In evaluating our business, we use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted 
EBITDA margin as an additional measurement tool for purposes of business decision-making, including evaluating store 
performance, developing budgets and managing expenditures. See “—Non-GAAP Measures.”  

41 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The following table summarizes key components of our results of operations as a percentage of net sales for the 

periods indicated (prior year numbers have been revised): 

Results of Operations  

Percentage of net sales: 
Net sales 
Cost of goods sold 
Gross profit 
Selling, general, and administrative expenses 
Income from operations 
Interest expense 
Income before income taxes 
Income tax expense 
Net income 
Adjusted EBITDA 

Fiscal Year Ended 

February 2, 

February 3, 

January 28, 

2019 

2018 

2017 

100.0%  
 66.4  
 33.6  
 28.4  
 5.2  
 1.6  
 3.6  
 0.8  
2.8%  
8.1%  

100.0%  
 66.2  
 33.8  
 28.1  
 5.7  
 1.7  
 4.0  
 1.9  
2.1%  
9.0%  

100.0% 
 66.3 
 33.7 
 26.0 
 7.7 
 1.7 
 6.0 
 2.3 
3.7% 
11.0% 

The following table shows our sales during the periods presented by department:  

Department 
Camping 

Clothing 

Fishing 

Footwear 

Hunting and Shooting 

Optics, Electronics, 
Accessories, and Other 

Product Offerings 

Backpacks, camp essentials, canoes and 
kayaks, coolers, outdoor cooking equipment, 
sleeping bags, tents and tools 
Camouflage, jackets, hats, outerwear, 
sportswear, technical gear and work wear 
Bait, electronics, fishing rods, flotation 
items, fly fishing, lines, lures, reels, tackle 
and small boats 
Hiking boots, socks, sport sandals, technical 
footwear, trail shoes, casual shoes, waders 
and work boots 
Ammunition, archery items, ATV 
accessories, blinds and tree stands, decoys, 
firearms, reloading equipment and shooting 
gear 
Gift items, GPS devices, knives, lighting, 
optics (e.g. binoculars), two-way radios, and 
other license revenue, net of revenue 
discounts 

Fiscal Year Ended 

February 2, 
2019 

February 3, 
2018 

January 28, 
2017 

14.2% 

15.1% 

14.6% 

8.9% 

9.3% 

8.7% 

10.6% 

10.7% 

10.0% 

7.3% 

7.4% 

7.1% 

48.3% 

48.7% 

50.9% 

10.6% 

8.8% 

8.7% 

Total 

100.0%  

100.0%  

100.0%  

42 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
           
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
    
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fiscal Year 2018 Compared to Fiscal Year 2017 

Net Sales. Net sales increased by $39.5 million, or 4.9%, to $849.1 million in fiscal year 2018 compared to $809.7 

million in fiscal year 2017. Net sales increased due to $36.8 million in incremental sales from our new stores and stores 
not yet included in same store sales, partially offset by $10.6 million in sales from an additional week in fiscal year 2017 
that did not occur in fiscal year 2018. Our five new stores opened in fiscal 2018 generated net sales of $16.0 million 
during this period. Existing stores that were not included in same store sales generated $20.8 million in additional net 
sales in fiscal year 2018 over fiscal year 2017. Our increase in net sales was also positively impacted by a 1.5% increase 
in same store sales. 

With respect to same store sales, our footwear, fishing, optics, electronics, accessories, and other, and hunting 
departments realized an increase in same store sales of 3.3%, 2.6%, 2.4% and 1.8%, respectively. Our camping and 
clothing departments incurred decreases in same store sales of 0.6% and 0.4%, respectively. Firearms same store sales 
increased by 5.8% and ammunition same store sales decreased by 0.3% during fiscal year 2018 compared to fiscal year 
2017. We had increased sales in our hunting category as we are continuing to gain increased market share in firearms. 
We experienced a decrease in demand for camping and clothing gear as the fall was warmer than normal and due to the 
extensive forest fires seen in the Western United States, which had an impact on several key recreational areas in our 
markets. As of February 2, 2019, we had 87 stores included in our same store sales calculation. As fiscal year 2017 
contained 53 weeks of operations, we exclude net sales during the 53rd week from our calculation of same store sales.  

Gross Profit. Gross profit increased by $11.0 million, or 4.0%, to $284.9 million for fiscal year 2018 from $273.9 

million for fiscal year 2017. As a percentage of net sales, gross profit decreased to 33.6% compared to gross profit of 
33.8% in the prior year. Gross margin was negatively impacted by increased freight charges and a sales mix change 
compared to fiscal year 2017 from our high margin product categories (clothing, fishing and camping) to our lower 
margin product categories (hunting and shooting). 

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $13.6 

million, or 6.0%, to $240.9 million for fiscal year 2018 from $227.3 million for fiscal year 2017. Selling, general and 
administrative expenses were 28.4% of net sales in fiscal year 2018 compared to 28.1% of net sales in fiscal year 2017. 
A large contributor to the increase in Selling, general, and administrative expenses during fiscal year 2018 relates to $2.6 
million of compensation expense for our former Chief Executive Office that was recognized during the first quarter of 
fiscal year 2018. We also incurred additional payroll, rent, depreciation and amortization and other operating expenses of 
$9.9 million, $4.2 million, $0.5 million and $2.9 million, respectively, during fiscal year 2018 compared to fiscal year 
2017, which were caused by the opening of new stores, our planned e-commerce investment, and the impact of 
minimum wage increases across most of our stores. These increases were partially offset by decreases of $2.1 million in 
pre-opening expenses, $1.7 million of professional fees incurred in connection with our bid for certain inventory and 
other assets of Gander Mountain Company in fiscal year 2017, $0.5 million in relation to the write-off of IT related 
assets in fiscal year 2017, and $0.9 million in a one-time bonus expense paid to non-executive employees in connection 
with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) in fiscal year 2017. 

Interest Expense. Interest expense decreased by $0.5 million, or 3.9%, to $13.2 million in fiscal year 2018 from 

$13.7 million for fiscal year 2017. Interest expense decreased primarily as a result of  the refinancing of our credit 
facility in May 2018, which resulted in lower interest rates than our prior term loan, combined with a reduction in our 
total debt balance during the year. This decrease was partially offset by the write-off of $1.6 million in deferred 
financing fees and debt discount associated with our prior term loan. 

Income Taxes. We recorded an income tax expense of $7.1 million for fiscal year 2018 compared to income tax 

expense of $15.1 million for fiscal year 2017. Our effective tax rate changed from 46.0% in 2017 to 22.9% in 2018 
primarily due to the Tax Act enacted on December 22, 2017. For the year ended February 2, 2019, the Company 
recorded a discrete net benefit of $1.3M related to Tax Reform.  This was a result of certain accounting method changes 
and other permitted timing adjustments that were ultimately reflected on the Company’s fiscal 2017 tax return filed in 
fiscal 2018 resulting in a net benefit due to changes in the federal tax rates under the Tax Act. 

The Tax Act significantly revised the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering the statutory 

corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. We recognized an additional $2.6 million in tax expense associated with U.S. tax 
reform in fiscal year 2017. This amount was primarily comprised of the remeasurement of federal net deferred tax 
liabilities resulting from the permanent reduction in the U.S. statutory corporate tax rate from 35% to 21%. In addition to 

43 

 
 
 
  
  
 
 
the reduction of the corporate tax rate due to the Tax Act the change in our effective tax rate from fiscal year 2017 to 
fiscal year 2018 was impacted by limitations on the deductibility of certain executive compensation and a discrete item 
relating to a change in tax depreciation methods filed with the fiscal year 2017 federal tax return in fiscal year 2018 for 
specific classes of fixed assets which accelerated taxable depreciation.   

On December 22, 2017, the SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 ("SAB 118"), which provided 
guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Act. Pursuant to SAB 118, we were allowed a measurement period 
of up to one year after the enactment date of the Tax Act to finalize the recording of the related tax impacts. However, 
we did not have any provisional estimates associated with the Tax Act and, therefore, did not record any adjustments 
relating to the Tax Act.  

Fiscal Year 2017 Compared to Fiscal Year 2016 

Net Sales. Net sales increased by $29.7 million, or 3.8%, to $809.7 million in fiscal year 2017 compared to $780.0 

million in fiscal year 2016. Net sales increased due to $72.1 million in incremental sales from our new stores and stores 
not yet included in same store sales and $10.6 million in sales from an additional week in fiscal year 2017.  Our increase 
in net sales was partially offset by a 6.5% decrease in same store sales, including an 11.5% decrease in same store sales 
for our hunting department. Our twelve new stores opened in fiscal 2017 generated net sales of $48.6 million during this 
period. Existing stores that were not included in same store sales generated $23.6 million in additional net sales in fiscal 
year 2017 over fiscal year 2016.   

With respect to same store sales, our clothing department realized an increase in same store sales of 1.4%. Our 

other 5 departments (camping, fishing, hunting, footwear, and optics, electronics, and accessories) incurred decreases in 
same store sales. In particular, we saw decreases of 2.5%, 0.6%, 11.5%, 0.2% and 4.7%, respectively in these 
departments. The main contributing factor to the decrease in these departments was a decrease in foot traffic in our 
stores, which was a result of a decreased demand in firearms and ammunition. Firearms and ammunitions decreased by 
9.4% and 15.8%, respectively, during fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 2016.  We experienced a decrease in 
demand for firearms and ammunition due in part to the change in the U.S. government administration and anticipated 
less regulation being put forward to tighten restrictions on gun ownership. As of February 3, 2018, we had 75 stores 
included in our same store sales calculation. As fiscal year 2017 contained 53 weeks of operations, we exclude net sales 
during the 53rd week from our calculation of same store sales. 

Gross Profit. Gross profit increased by $10.6 million, or 4.0%, to $273.9 million for fiscal year 2017 from $263.2 

million for fiscal year 2016. As a percentage of net sales, gross profit increased to 33.8% compared to gross profit of 
33.7% in the prior year.  

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses. Selling, general and administrative expenses increased by $24.8 
million, or 12.2%, to $227.3 million for fiscal year 2017 from $202.5 million for fiscal year 2016. Selling, general and 
administrative expenses were 28.1% of net sales in fiscal year 2017 compared to 26.0% of net sales in fiscal year 2016. 
Specifically, we incurred additional payroll, rent, depreciation and amortization and other operating expenses of $8.9 
million, $5.5 million, $3.7 million and $5.3 million, respectively, during fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 2016, 
which were caused by the increase in the number of stores open during the year as compared to the prior year. We also 
incurred an additional $1.7 million of professional fees incurred in connection with our bid for certain inventory and 
other assets of Gander Mountain Company. Gander Mountain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and we 
participated in a bankruptcy auction for the assets, but we ultimately chose not to continue in the auction. We also 
incurred $0.5 million in relation to the write-off of IT related assets. Additionally, we incurred $0.9 million in a one-time 
bonus expense paid to non-executive employees in connection with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. These increases were 
offset slightly by a reduction in preopening expenses of $0.3 million during fiscal year 2017 compared to fiscal year 
2016. Overall selling, general, and administrative expenses were lower on a per-store basis when compared to 2016.  

Interest Expense. Interest expense increased by $0.3 million, or 2.5%, to $13.7 million in fiscal year 2017 from 

$13.4 million for fiscal year 2016. Interest expense increased primarily as a result of rate increases by the Federal 
Reserve that impacted the rate of interest paid on our line of credit and term loan facilities.  

Income Taxes. We recorded an income tax expense of $15.1 million for fiscal year 2017 compared to income tax 
expense of $17.6 million for fiscal year 2016. Our effective tax rate changed from fiscal year 2016 of 37.3% to 46.0% in 
2017 due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”) enacted on December 22, 2017. We recognized an additional 

44 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
$2.6 million in tax expense associated with U.S. tax reform. The 2017 effective tax rate before U.S. tax reform 
adjustments would have been 39.2%. The increase compared with 2016 is primarily due to tax shortfalls relating to the 
vesting of restricted stock units during 2017. 

On December 22, 2017, the SEC staff issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 ("SAB 118"), which provides 
guidance on accounting for the tax effects of the Tax Act. SAB 118 provides for a measurement period that may not 
extend beyond one year from the Tax Act enactment date for companies to complete the required accounting under ASC 
740. In accordance with SAB 118, a company must reflect, as of the end of the accounting period that includes the date 
of enactment of the Tax Act, only those income tax effects of the Tax Act for which the accounting under ASC 740 is 
complete. To the extent that the company's accounting for certain income tax effects of the Tax Act is incomplete, but 
the company is able to determine a reasonable estimate, the company must record a provisional estimate in the financial 
statements. If the company cannot determine a provisional estimate, it must continue to apply ASC 740 on the basis of 
the provisions of the tax law that were in effect immediately before the enactment of the Tax Act. 

Pursuant to SAB 118, the Company is allowed a measurement period of up to one year after the enactment date of the 
Tax Act to finalize the recording of the related tax impacts. However, the Company does not have any provisional 
estimates associated with the Tax Act and has recorded a tax expense related to the net change in deferred tax assets of 
$2,600 for 2017. 

Additional information pertaining to the Tax Act can be found in Note 14 to the Consolidated Financial Statements 

included in this report 

Seasonality  

Due to holiday buying patterns and the openings of hunting season across the country, net sales are typically 

higher in the third and fourth fiscal quarters than in the first and second fiscal quarters. We also incur additional 
expenses in the third and fourth fiscal quarters due to higher volume and increased staffing in our stores. We anticipate 
our net sales will continue to reflect this seasonal pattern.  

The timing of our new retail store openings also may have an impact on our quarterly results. First, we incur 
certain one-time expenses related to opening each new retail store, all of which are expensed as they are incurred. 
Second, most store expenses generally vary proportionately with net sales, but there is also a fixed cost component, 
which includes occupancy costs. These fixed costs typically result in lower store profitability during the initial period 
after a new retail store opens. Due to both of these factors, new retail store openings may result in a temporary decline in 
operating profit, in dollars and/or as a percentage of net sales.  

Weather conditions affect outdoor activities and the demand for related clothing and equipment. Customers’ 
demand for our products, and, therefore, our net sales, can be significantly impacted by weather patterns on a local, 
regional and national basis.  

Quarterly Results of Operations 

The following table sets forth unaudited financial and operating data for each fiscal quarter of fiscal years 2018 
and 2017. This quarterly information has been prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and 
includes all normal recurring adjustments that we consider necessary for a fair presentation of the information shown. 
This information should be read in conjunction with “Part II, Item 6. Selected Financial Data” and “Part II, Item 8. 
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this 10-K. Our quarterly operating results may fluctuate significantly 
as a result of the factors described above and a variety of other factors, and operating results for any fiscal quarter are not 
necessarily indicative of results for a full fiscal year. 

45 

  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Fiscal Year 2018 

Fiscal Year 2017 

Fourth 
Quarter 

Third 
Quarter 

Second 
Quarter 

First 
Quarter 

Fourth 
Quarter 
(2) 

Third 
Quarter 

Second 
Quarter 

First 
Quarter 

(unaudited) 
(in thousands, except per share data, percentages and number of stores) 

$ 

242,683 
 79,506 
 16,969 
 10,629 
 0.25 

$ 

223,099 
 77,581 
 17,511 
 12,398 
 0.29 

$ 

203,288 
 72,277 
 13,189 
 6,551 
 0.15 

$ 

180,059 
 55,566 
 (3,557)
 (5,828)
 (0.14)

$ 

243,165 
 79,664 
 16,581 
 5,888 
 0.14 

$ 

218,115 
 76,963 
 19,520 
 9,808 
 0.23 

$ 

191,493 
 68,618 
 14,236 
 6,554 
 0.15 

$ 

156,898 
 48,615 
 (3,769)
 (4,508)
 (0.11)

28.6% 
9.4% 
2.0% 
1.3% 

26.3% 
9.1% 
2.1% 
1.5% 

23.9% 
8.5% 
1.6% 
0.8% 

21.2% 
6.5% 
(0.4)%
(0.7)%

30.0% 
9.8% 
2.0% 
0.7% 

26.9% 
9.5% 
2.4% 
1.2% 

23.7% 
8.5% 
1.8% 
0.8% 

19.4% 
6.0% 
(0.5)%
(0.6)%

92 

92 

91 

89 

87 

86 

83 

79   

Net sales  
Gross profit  
Income (loss) from operations (1) 
Net income (loss) (1) 
Diluted earnings (loss) per share  
As a percentage of full year results: 
Net sales  
Gross profit  
Income (loss) from operations  
Net income (loss) 
Operating data: 
Number of stores open at end of period  

(1) 

(2) 

This line includes $2.6 million of severance paid to our former Chief Executive Officer in the first quarter of 2018. This line includes for the 
first quarter of 2017, $1.7 million, of professional fees incurred in connection with our bid for certain inventory and other assets of Gander 
Mountain Company. Gander Mountain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and we participated in a bankruptcy auction for the assets, 
but we ultimately chose not to continue in the auction. 
Contains 14 weeks of operations. 

Liquidity and Capital Resources  

Our primary capital requirements are for seasonal working capital needs and capital expenditures related to 
opening new stores. Our sources of liquidity to meet these needs have primarily been borrowings under our revolving 
credit facility, operating cash flows and short and long-term debt financings from banks and financial institutions. We 
believe that our cash on hand, cash generated by operating activities and funds available under our revolving credit 
facility will be sufficient to finance our operating activities for at least the next twelve months.  

For fiscal year 2018, we incurred approximately $17.2 million in gross capital expenditures. We also received $1.7 
million from deemed sale-leaseback transactions. We expect gross capital expenditures between $18.0 million and $23.0 
million for fiscal year 2019. We intend to fund these capital expenditures with our operating cash flows and funds 
available under our revolving credit facility. Other investment opportunities, such as potential strategic acquisitions or 
store expansion rates in excess of those presently planned, may require additional funding. 

Cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities are shown in the following table: 

Cash flows provided by operating activities 
Cash flows used in investing activities 
Cash flows (used in) provided by financing activities 
Cash at end of period 

Fiscal Year Ended 

February 2, 
2019 

  February 3,  

2018 

  $ 

(in thousands) 

 32,173      $ 
 (16,252) 
 (16,143) 
 1,547  

 30,775  
 (32,136)  
 1,219  
 1,769  

Net cash provided by operating activities was $32.2 million for fiscal year 2018, compared to $30.8 million for 

fiscal year 2017. Our net cash provided by operating activities increased primarily due to decreased inventory purchases 
as we continue to manage our in-store inventory more efficiently as well as an increase in accounts payable, partially 
offset by an increase in net income.  

Net cash used in investing activities was $16.3 million for fiscal year 2018 compared to $32.1 million for fiscal 

year 2017. The decrease in cash used in investing activities was primarily a result of fewer store openings in fiscal year 
2018 where we only opened 5 stores in fiscal year 2018 compared to 12 stores in fiscal year 2017.    

46 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Net cash used in financing activities was $16.1 million for fiscal year 2018 compared to net cash provided by 

financing activities of $1.2 million for fiscal year 2017.  The increase in net cash used in financing in fiscal year 2018 
compared to the net cash provided by financing activities in fiscal year 2017 is primarily due to the repayment of our 
prior term loan in May 2018 from the cash flows we generated and borrowings under our revolving credit facility. 

Amended and Restated Credit Facility. On May 23, 2018, we amended and restated our credit agreement with a 
consortium of banks led by Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”). The amended credit agreement, 
among other things, increased our available borrowing capacity under our revolving credit facility from $150.0 million 
to $250.0 million, subject to a borrowing base calculation, and provided for a new $40.0 million term loan. Both the 
revolving credit facility and new term loan will mature on May 23, 2023. On May 23, 2018, we borrowed $135.4 million 
under the revolving credit facility and used the proceeds from the new term loan and the revolving credit facility to repay 
our prior term loan that had an outstanding principal balance of $134.7 million and was scheduled to mature on 
December 3, 2020. As of February 2, 2019, we had $151.3 million outstanding under the revolving credit facility, with 
$19.3 million available for borrowing and $1.7 million in stand-by commercial letters of credit. 

Each of the subsidiaries of Holdings is a borrower under the revolving credit facility, and all obligations under the 
revolving credit facility are guaranteed by Holdings. All of our obligations under the revolving credit facility are secured 
by a lien on substantially all of Holdings’ tangible and intangible assets and the tangible and intangible assets of all of 
our subsidiaries, including a pledge of all capital stock of each of our subsidiaries. The lien securing the obligations 
under the revolving credit facility is a first priority lien as to certain liquid assets, including cash, accounts receivable, 
deposit accounts and inventory. In addition, the credit agreement contains provisions that enable Wells Fargo to require 
us to maintain a lock-box, or similar arrangement, for the collection of all receipts.  

Borrowings under the revolving credit facility bear interest based on either, at our option, the base rate or LIBOR, 
in each case plus an applicable margin. The base rate is the higher of (1) Wells Fargo’s prime rate, (2) the federal funds 
rate (as defined in the credit agreement) plus 0.50% and (3) the one-month LIBOR (as defined in the credit agreement) 
plus 1.00%. The applicable margin for loans under the revolving credit facility, which varies based on the average daily 
availability, ranges from 0.25% to 0.75% per year for base rate loans and from 1.25% to 1.75% per year for LIBOR 
loans. The weighted average interest rate on the amount outstanding under the revolving credit facility as of February 2, 
2019 was 4.18%.  

Interest on the revolving credit facility or base rate loans is payable monthly in arrears and interest on LIBOR 
loans is payable based on the LIBOR interest period selected by us, which can be 7, 30, 60 or 90 days. All amounts that 
are not paid when due under our revolving credit facility, or base rate loans, will accrue interest at the rate otherwise 
applicable plus 2.00% until such amounts are paid in full. 

Our new term loan was issued at a price of 100% of the $40.0 million aggregate principal amount and has a 
maturity date of May 23, 2023. The new term loan will bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 5.75%.  The new term loan 
requires quarterly principal payments of $2.0 million which began on November 1, 2018 and continues up to and 
including May 23, 2023, at which time the remaining balance is due in full. Each of the subsidiaries of Holdings is a 
borrower under the revolving credit facility and the new term loan, Holdings guarantees all obligations under the 
revolving credit facility and new term loan. All obligations under the revolving credit facility and new term loan are 
secured by a lien on substantially all of Holdings’ tangible and intangible assets and the tangible and intangible assets of 
all of Holdings’ subsidiaries, including a pledge of all capital stock of each of the Holdings’ subsidiaries. The lien 
securing the obligations under the revolving credit facility and new term loan is a first priority lien as to certain liquid 
assets, including cash, accounts receivable, deposit accounts and inventory. In addition, our credit agreement contains 
provisions that enable Wells Fargo to require us to maintain a lock-box, or similar arrangement, for the collection of all 
receipts. As of February 2, 2019, the balance remaining on our term loan was $36 million. 

We may be required to make mandatory prepayments under the revolving credit facility in the event of a 

disposition of certain property or assets, in the event of receipt of certain insurance or condemnation proceeds, upon the 
issuance of certain debt or equity securities, upon the incurrence of certain indebtedness for borrowed money or upon the 
receipt of certain payments not received in the ordinary course of business.  

The credit agreement governing our revolving credit facility and new term loan contains customary affirmative 

and negative covenants, including covenants that limit our ability to incur, create or assume certain indebtedness, to 
create, incur or assume certain liens, to make certain investments, to make sales, transfers and dispositions of certain 

47 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
property and to undergo certain fundamental changes, including certain mergers, liquidations and consolidations. The 
credit agreement also contains customary events of default. As of February 2, 2019, we were in compliance with all 
covenants under the revolving credit facility. 

Prior Term Loan. Prior to May 23, 2018, we had a $160.0 million senior secured term loan facility with a 
financial institution. The term loan was issued at a price of 99% of the aggregate principal amount and had a maturity 
date of December 3, 2020. The term loan required quarterly principal payments of $0.4 million payable on the last 
business day of each fiscal quarter continuing up to and including October 30, 2020, with the final installment payment 
consisting of the remaining unpaid balance due on December 3, 2020. 

The prior term loan bore interest at a rate per annum equal to the one-, two-, three-, or six-month LIBOR (or, the 
nine- or 12-month LIBOR), as defined in the term loan agreement, at our election, which could not be less than 1.25%, 
plus an applicable margin of 6.25%. 

On May 23, 2018, we repaid the term loan in full with proceeds from our revolving credit facility and new term 

loan. 

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates  

Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP. In connection with the preparation of the 
financial statements, we are required to make assumptions, make estimates and apply judgment that affect the reported 
amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue, expenses and the related disclosures. We base our assumptions, estimates and 
judgments on historical experience, current trends and other factors that we believe to be relevant at the time the 
consolidated financial statements are prepared. On a regular basis, we review the accounting policies, assumptions, 
estimates and judgments to ensure that our financial statements are presented fairly and in accordance with GAAP. 
However, because future events and their effects cannot be determined with certainty, actual results could differ from 
our assumptions and estimates, and such differences could be material.  

Our significant accounting policies are discussed in Note 2 of the Notes to our consolidated financial statements. 
We believe that the following accounting policies are the most critical to aid in fully understanding and evaluating our 
reported financial results.  

Revenue Recognition 

Accounting Standard Codification Topic 606 (“Topic 606”) has required changes to how our revenue is 
recognized. Updates to our accounting policies have been made as part of the adoption of this new standard. The changes 
to our accounting policies and procedures under the new standard have most significantly impacted the method that we 
use to record breakage for gift cards and loyalty reward points associated with the our loyalty reward programs. The new 
breakage calculations for these items apply assumptions allowable under Topic 606, which require judgments. In 
applying these new assumptions, and in the application of Topic 606, we have determined that the updated accounting 
policies, to ensure compliance under Topic 606, continue to be critical accounting policies. 

Revenue recognition accounting policy 

We operate solely as an outdoor retailer, which includes both retail stores and an e-commerce platform, that 

offers a broad range of products in the United States and online. Generally, all revenues are recognized when control of 
the promised goods is transferred to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration in exchange for those goods. 
Accordingly, we implicitly enter into a contract with customers to deliver merchandise inventory at the point of sale. 
Collectability is reasonably assured since we only extend immaterial credit purchases to certain municipalities. 

Substantially all of our revenue is for single performance obligations for the following distinct items: 

• 

• 

 Retail store sales 

 E-commerce sales 

48 

 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
• 

 Gift cards and loyalty reward program 

For performance obligations related to retail store and e-commerce sales contracts, we typically transfer control, 

for retail stores, upon consummation of the sale when the product is paid for and taken by the customer and, for e-
commerce sales, when the products are tendered for delivery to the common carrier. 

The transaction price for each contract is the stated price on the product, reduced by any stated discounts at that 

point in time. We do not engage in sales of products that attach a future material right which could result in a separate 
performance obligation for the purchase of goods in the future at a material discount. The implicit point-of-sale contract 
with the customer, as reflected in the transaction receipt, states the final terms of the sale, including the description, 
quantity, and price of each product purchased. Payment for our contracts is due in full upon delivery. The customer 
agrees to a stated price implicit in the contract that does not vary over the contract. 

The transaction price relative to sales subject to a right of return reflects the amount of estimated consideration 

to which we expect to be entitled. This amount of variable consideration included in the transaction price, and 
measurement of net sales, is included in net sales only to the extent that it is probable that there will be no significant 
reversal in a future period. Actual amounts of consideration ultimately received may differ from our estimates. The 
allowance for sales returns is estimated based upon historical experience and a provision for estimated returns is 
recorded as a reduction in sales in the relevant period. The estimated merchandise inventory cost related to the sales 
returns is recorded in prepaid expenses and other. If actual results in the future vary from our estimates, we adjust these 
estimates, which would affect net sales and earnings in the period such variances become known. 

Contract liabilities are recognized primarily for gift card sales and our loyalty reward program. Cash received 

from the sale of gift cards is recorded as a contract liability in accrued expenses, and we recognize revenue upon the 
customer’s redemption of the gift card. Gift card breakage is recognized as revenue in proportion to the pattern of 
customer redemptions by applying a historical breakage rate of 3.0% when no escheat liability to relevant jurisdictions 
exists. We do not sell or provide gift cards that carry expiration dates. We recognized revenue for the breakage of loyalty 
reward points as revenue in proportion to the pattern of customer redemption of the points by applying a historical 
breakage rate of 30% when no escheat liability to relevant jurisdictions exists. 

Taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-

producing transaction, that are collected by us from a customer, are excluded from revenue. 

Sales returns 

We estimate a reserve for sales returns and record the respective reserve amounts, including a right to return 

asset when a product is expected to be returned and resold. Historical experience of actual returns, and customer return 
rights are the key factors used in determining the estimated sales returns. 

Inventory Valuation 

Inventory is measured at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined using the weighted average 

cost method. We estimate a provision for inventory shrinkage based on our historical inventory accuracy rates as 
determined by periodic cycle counts. The allowance for damaged goods from returns is based upon our historical 
experience. We also adjust inventory for obsolete or slow moving inventory based on inventory productivity reports and 
by specific identification of obsolete or slow moving inventory. Had our estimated inventory reserves been lower or 
higher by 10% as of February 2, 2019, our cost of sales would have been correspondingly lower or higher by 
approximately $0.7 million. 

Valuation of Long-Lived Assets  

We review our long-lived assets with definite lives for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances 
may indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. We use an estimate of the future undiscounted 
net cash flows of the related asset or group of assets over their remaining useful lives in measuring whether the assets are 
recoverable. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is 

49 

  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
 
  
  
 
 
 
 
recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the estimated fair value of the asset. Impairment of 
long-lived assets is assessed at the lowest levels for which there are identifiable cash flows that are independent of other 
groups of assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value, less the 
estimated costs to sell. No impairment charge to long-lived assets was recorded during the fiscal year ended February 2, 
2019 or February 3, 2018.  

We are not party to any off balance sheet arrangements.  

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements  

Non-GAAP Measures  

In evaluating our business, we use Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin as supplemental measures of 

our operating performance. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income plus interest expense, income tax expense, 
depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation expense, pre-opening expenses, and other gains/losses, and 
expenses that we do not believe are indicative of our ongoing expenses. Adjusted EBITDA excludes pre-opening 
expenses because we do not believe these expenses are indicative of the underlying operating performance of our stores. 
The amount and timing of pre-opening expenses are dependent on, among other things, the size of new stores opened 
and the number of new stores opened during any given period. Adjusted EBITDA margin means, for any period, the 
Adjusted EBITDA for that period divided by the net sales for that period. We consider Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted 
EBITDA margin important supplemental measures of our operating performance and believe they are frequently used by 
analysts, investors and other interested parties in the evaluation of companies in our industry. Other companies in our 
industry, however, may calculate Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin differently than we do. Management 
also uses Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin as additional measurement tools for purposes of business 
decision-making, including evaluating store performance, developing budgets and managing expenditures. Management 
believes Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA margin allow investors to evaluate our operating performance and 
compare our results of operations from period to period on a consistent basis by excluding items that management does 
not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. 

Adjusted EBITDA is not defined under GAAP and is not a measure of operating income, operating performance 

or liquidity presented in accordance with GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, and when 
assessing our operating performance, you should not consider Adjusted EBITDA in isolation or as a substitute for net 
income or other consolidated income statement data prepared in accordance with GAAP. Some of these limitations 
include, but are not limited to:  

•  Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our cash expenditures or future requirements for capital expenditures or 

contractual commitments;  

•  Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;  

•  Adjusted EBITDA may be defined differently by other companies, and, therefore, it may not be directly 

comparable to the results of other companies in our industry;  

•  Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect the interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest 

or principal payments, on our debt; and  

•  Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect income taxes or the cash requirements for any tax payments.  

For a reconciliation of net income, the most directly comparable financial measure presented in accordance with 

GAAP, to Adjusted EBITDA, see “Item 6. Selected Financial Data” included elsewhere in this 10-K.  

Recent Accounting Pronouncements  

For a description of recent accounting pronouncements, see Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements 

included elsewhere in this 10-K. Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startup Act, “emerging growth companies” 

50 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(“EGCs”) can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply to private 
companies. We have irrevocably elected not to avail ourselves of this exemption from new or revised accounting 
standards, and, therefore, we will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies 
that are not EGCs. 

We will continue to be an EGC for a period up to the end of the fifth fiscal year after our initial public offering, 

which is February 2, 2020. We could cease to be an EGC earlier than this five-year period if our total annual gross 
revenues equal or exceed $1 billion in a fiscal year, if we issue more than $1 billion in non-convertible debt over a three-
year period or if we become a “large accelerated filer” (which requires, among other things, the market value of our 
common stock held by non-affiliates to be at least $700 million as of the last business day of our second fiscal quarter of 
any fiscal year). For further information, see Part I, Item 1A. “Risk Factors—We are an EGC within the meaning of the 
JOBS Act and we cannot be certain if the reduced reporting requirements applicable to EGCs will make our common 
stock less attractive to investors.” 

ITEM 7A. QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DISCLOSURES ABOUT MARKET RISK 

We are a smaller reporting company as defined by Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended 

(the “Exchange Act”), and are not required to provide the information under this item. 

51 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 8. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTARY DATA 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM 

CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: 

Consolidated Balance Sheets 

Consolidated Statements of Income 

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) 

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows 

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

Page 
53 

54 

55 

56 

57 

58 

52 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm  

To the Stockholders and Board of Directors 
Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc.: 

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements 

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. 
(and subsidiaries) (the Company) as of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, the related consolidated statements of 
income, stockholders’ equity (deficit), and cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period ended February 2, 
2019, and the related notes (collectively, the consolidated financial statements). In our opinion, the consolidated 
financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of February 2, 2019 
and February 3, 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the three-year period 
ended February 2, 2019, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. 

Basis for Opinion 

These consolidated financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to 
express an opinion on these consolidated financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm 
registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB) and are required to be 
independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and 
regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB. 

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and 
perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the consolidated financial statements are free of material 
misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an 
audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of 
internal control over financial reporting but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the 
Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. 

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the consolidated financial 
statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures 
included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the consolidated financial 
statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by 
management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the consolidated financial statements. We believe that our 
audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. 

. 

/s/ KPMG LLP  

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2002. 

Salt Lake City, Utah 
March 29, 2019 

53 

 
 
 
 
 
 
SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES  

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS  
Amounts in Thousands, Except Per Share Data  

Assets 

Current assets: 

Cash 
Accounts receivable, net 
Merchandise inventories 
Prepaid expenses and other 

Total current assets 
Property and equipment, net 
Deferred income taxes 
Definite lived intangibles, net 

Total assets 

Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity 
Current liabilities: 

Accounts payable 
Accrued expenses 
Income taxes payable 
Revolving line of credit 
Current portion of long-term debt, net of discount and debt issuance costs 
Current portion of deferred rent 

Total current liabilities 

Long-term liabilities: 

Long-term debt, net of discount, debt issuance costs, and current portion 
Deferred rent, noncurrent 

Total long-term liabilities 
Total liabilities 

Commitments and contingencies 
Stockholders' equity: 

February 2, 
2019 

February 3, 
2018 

$ 

$ 

$ 

 1,547  
 249  
 276,600  
 15,174  
 293,570  
 92,084  
 2,997  
 246  
 388,897  

 24,953  
 56,384  
 1,838  
 144,306  
 7,915  
 5,270  
 240,666  

 27,717  
 41,854  
 69,571  
 310,237  

 1,769  
 319  
 270,594  
 8,073  
 280,755  
 94,035  
 4,595  
 276  
 379,661  

 36,788  
 50,602  
 2,586  
 59,992  
 990  
 4,593  
 155,551  

 132,349  
 41,963  
 174,312  
 329,863  

Preferred stock, $.01 par value; 20,000 shares authorized; 0 shares issued and outstanding 
Common stock, $.01 par value; 100,000 shares authorized; 42,978 and 42,617 shares 
issued and outstanding, respectively 
Additional paid-in capital 
Accumulated deficit 

Total stockholders' equity 
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity 

 —  

 —  

 430  
 84,671  
 (6,441) 
 78,660  
 388,897  

$ 

 426  
 82,197  
 (32,825) 
 49,798  
 379,661  

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements 

54 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES  

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME 
Amounts in Thousands, Except Per Share Data  

Net sales 
Cost of goods sold 

Gross profit 

Selling, general, and administrative expenses 

Income from operations 

Interest expense 

Income before income taxes 

Income tax expense 

Net income 

Income per share: 

Basic 
Diluted 

Weighted average shares outstanding: 

Basic 
Diluted 

February 2, 
2019 
 849,129   $ 
 564,199  
 284,930  

Fiscal Year Ended 
February 3,    
2018 
 809,671   $ 
 535,811  
 273,860  

January 28,  
2017 
 779,956 
 516,726 
 263,230 

  $ 

 240,911  
 44,019  
 (13,206) 
 30,813  
 7,063  
 23,750   $ 

 227,292  
 46,568  
 (13,738) 
 32,830  
 15,088  
 17,742   $ 

 202,543 
 60,687 
 (13,402)
 47,285 
 17,616 
 29,669 

 0.55   $ 
 0.55   $ 

 0.42   $ 
 0.42   $ 

 0.70 
 0.70 

 42,878  
 42,979  

 42,496  
 42,522  

 42,187 
 42,485 

  $ 

  $ 
  $ 

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements 

55 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES  

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT) 
Amounts in Thousands  

Common Stock 

Restricted nonvoting 
common stock 

Additional 
paid-in- 
capital 

Accumulated 
deficit 

Total 
stockholders' 
(deficit)equity 

      Shares       Amount       Shares       Amount       Amount       Amount 

     Amount 

Balance at January 30, 2016 

Vesting of restricted stock units 
Payment of withholdings on restricted stock units 
Issuance of common stock for cash per employee 
stock purchase plan 
Stock based compensation  
Net income  

Balance at January 28, 2017 

Vesting of restricted stock units 
Payment of withholdings on restricted stock units 
Issuance of common stock for cash per employee 
stock purchase plan 
Stock based compensation  
Net income  

Balance at February 3, 2018 

Impact of change for ASC 606 adoption 
Vesting of restricted stock units 
Payment of withholdings on restricted stock units 
Issuance of common stock for cash per employee 
stock purchase plan 
Stock based compensation  
Net income  

Balance at February 2, 2019 

 42,004   $   420  
 2  
 —  

 207  
 —  

 58  
 —  
 —  

 —  
 —  
 —  
 42,269   $   422  
 3  
 —  

 260  
 —  

 88  
 —  
 —  

 1  
 —  
 —  
 42,617   $   426  
 —  
 3  
 —  

 —  
 275  
 —  

 86  
 —  
 —  

 1  
 —  
 —  
 42,978   $   430  

 —   $ 
 —  
 —  

 —  
 —  
 —  
 —   $ 
 —  
 —  

 —  
 —  
 —  
 —   $ 
 —  
 —  
 —  

 —  
 —  
 —  
 —   $ 

 —   $  77,757   $   (80,236)  $ 
 —  
 —  

 (2) 
   (1,228) 

 —  
 —  

 433  
 3,186  
 —  

 —  
 —  
 29,669  

 —  
 —  
 —  
 —   $  80,146   $   (50,567)  $ 
 —  
 —  

 (3) 
 (635) 

 —  
 —  

 395  
 2,294  
 —  

 —  
 —  
 17,742  

 —  
 —  
 —  
 —   $  82,197   $   (32,825)  $ 
 —  
 —  
 —  

 2,634  
 —  
 —  

 —  
 (3) 
 (703) 

 (2,059)
 — 
 (1,228)

 433 
 3,186 
 29,669 
 30,001 
 — 
 (635)

 396 
 2,294 
 17,742 
 49,798 
 2,634 
 — 
 (703)

 351  
 2,829  
 —  

 —  
 —  
 —  
 —   $  84,671   $ 

 —  
 —  
 23,750  
 (6,441)  $ 

 352 
 2,829 
 23,750 
 78,660 

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements 

56 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES  

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS 
Amounts in Thousands 

Fifty-two/Fifty-three Weeks Ended 
  February 3 
2018 

  January 28, 
2017 

  February 2 
2019 

Cash flows from operating activities: 

Net Income 
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: 

Depreciation of property and equipment 
Amortization and write-off of discount on debt and deferred financing fees 
Amortization of definite lived intangible 
Change in deferred rent 
Loss on asset dispositions 
Deferred income taxes 
Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation arrangements 
Stock-based compensation 
Change in operating assets and liabilities: 

Accounts receivable, net 
Merchandise inventories 
Prepaid expenses and other 
Accounts payable 
Accrued expenses 
Income taxes payable and receivable 

Net cash provided by operating activities 

Cash flows from investing activities: 

Purchase of property and equipment 
Purchase of intangible asset 
Proceeds from deemed sale-leaseback transactions 
Proceeds from sale of property and equipment 

Net cash used in investing activities 

Cash flows from financing activities: 
Net borrowings on line of credit 
Increase in book overdraft 
Proceeds from issuance of common stock per employee stock purchase plan 
Payment of withholdings on restricted stock units 
Borrowings on term loan 
Payment of deferred financing costs 
Principal payments on long-term debt 

Net cash (used in) provided by financing activities 

Net change in cash 
Cash at beginning of period 
Cash at end of period 

Supplemental disclosures of cash flow information: 
Cash paid during the period for: 

Interest, net of amounts capitalized 
Income taxes, net of refunds 

Supplemental schedule of noncash investing activities: 

 $

 23,750  $ 

 17,742   $   29,669 

 17,961   
 2,043   
 289   
 568   
 30   
 714   
 —   
 2,829   

 70   
 (6,006)  
 (5,339)  
 (11,726)  
 7,739   
 (749)  
 32,173   

 (17,936)  
 (259)  
 1,717   
 226   
 (16,252)  

 15,864  
 708  
 1,842  
 8,098  
 516  
 502  
 —  
 2,294  

 92  
 (24,305) 
 (681) 
 7,536  
 (1,040) 
 1,607  
 30,775  

 (41,172) 
 —  
 9,022  
 14  
 (32,136) 

 12,169 
 1,122 
 1,805 
 6,307 
 — 
 167 
 (449)
 3,186 

 58 
 (28,495)
 (1,064)
 (15,530)
 6,888 
 (351)
 15,482 

 (39,417)
 — 
 11,923 
 — 
 (27,494)

 84,314   
 353   
 351   
 (703)  
 40,000   
 (1,331)  
 (139,127)  
 (16,143)  
 (222)  
 1,769   
 1,547  $ 

 (980) 
 4,589  
 396  
 (635) 
 —  
 (551) 
 (1,600) 
 1,219  
 (142) 
 1,911  
 1,769   $ 

 35,709 
 (1,827)
 433 
 (1,228)
 — 
 — 
 (21,273)
 11,814 
 (198)
 2,109 
 1,911 

 13,240   
 7,094   

 13,532  
 12,839  

 11,965 
 18,444 

 $

 $

Purchases of property and equipment included in accounts payable and accrued expenses

 $

 1,189   

 1,142  

 5,972 

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements 

57 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
     
 
    
    
 
   
 
 
    
    
 
   
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
    
    
 
   
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
    
    
 
   
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
    
    
 
   
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
    
    
 
   
 
    
    
 
   
 
    
    
 
   
 
  
 
 
 
    
    
 
   
 
    
    
 
   
 
 
 
 
SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES  

Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements  
Dollars in Thousands, except per share amounts  

(1) Nature of Business  

Description of Business  

Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. (“Holdings”), a Delaware Corporation, and subsidiaries (collectively, the 
“Company”) operate retail sporting goods stores. As of February 2, 2019, the Company operated 92 stores in 23 states.   

(2) Summary of Significant Accounting Policies 

Principles of Consolidation 

The consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally 
accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and include the accounts of its four wholly owned subsidiaries, Sportsman’s 
Warehouse, Inc. (“Sportsman’s Warehouse”), Pacific Flyway Wholesale, LLC (“Pacific Flyway”), Sportsman’s 
Warehouse Southwest, Inc., and Minnesota Merchandising Corporation. All intercompany transactions and accounts 
have been eliminated in consolidation. 

Fiscal Year 

The Company operates using a 52/53 week fiscal year ending on the Saturday closest to January 31. Fiscal year 

2018 ended February 2, 2019 and contained 52 weeks of operation. Fiscal year 2017 ended February 3, 2018 and 
contained 53 weeks of operations. Fiscal year 2016 ended January 28, 2017 and contained 52 weeks of operations. 

Seasonality  

The Company’s business is generally seasonal, with a significant portion of total sales occurring during the third 

and fourth quarters of the fiscal year. 

Use of Estimates in the Preparation of Consolidated Financial Statements  

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make 

estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets 
and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses 
during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. 

Segment Reporting  

The Company operates solely as a sporting goods retailer whose Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”) is 

the Chief Executive Officer. The CODM reviews financial information presented on a consolidated and individual store 
and cost center basis, for purposes of allocating resources and evaluating financial performance. The Company’s stores 
typically have similar square footage and offer essentially the same general product mix. The Company’s core customer 
demographic remains similar chainwide, as does the Company’s process for the procurement and marketing of its 
product mix. Furthermore, the Company distributes its product mix chainwide from a single distribution center. Given 
that the stores have the same economic characteristics, the individual stores are aggregated into one single operating and 
reportable segment. 

Cash 

The Company considers cash on hand in stores and highly liquid investments with an initial maturity of three 

months or less as cash. Checks issued pending bank clearance that result in overdraft balances for accounting purposes 
are classified as accrued expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.  

58 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
In accordance with the terms of a financing agreement (Note 7), the Company maintains depository accounts with 
two banks in a lock-box or similar arrangement. Deposits into these accounts are used to reduce the outstanding balance 
on the line of credit as soon as the respective bank allows the funds to be transferred to the financing company. At 
February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, the combined balance in these accounts were $7,035 and $6,629, respectively. 
Accordingly, these amounts have been classified as a reduction in the line of credit as if the transfers had occurred on 
February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively. 

Accounts Receivable  

The Company offers credit terms on the sale of products to certain government and corporate retail customers and 

requires no collateral from these customers. The Company performs ongoing credit evaluations of its customers’ 
financial condition and maintains an allowance for doubtful accounts receivable based upon historical experience and a 
specific review of accounts receivable at the end of each period. Actual bad debts may differ from these estimates and 
the difference could be significant. At February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, the Company had no allowance for 
doubtful accounts receivable. 

Merchandise Inventories  

The Company measures its inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Cost is determined using the 

weighted average cost method. The Company estimates a provision for inventory shrinkage based on its historical 
inventory accuracy rates as determined by periodic cycle counts. The Company also adjusts inventory for obsolete, slow 
moving, or damaged inventory based on inventory activity thresholds and by specific identification of slow moving or 
obsolete inventory. The inventory write downs for shrinkage, damaged, or obsolescence totaled $7,012 and $7,139 at 
February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively. 

Property and Equipment 

Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Leasehold improvements primarily include the cost of improvements 

funded by landlord incentives or allowances. Maintenance, repairs, minor renewals, and betterments are expensed as 
incurred. Major renewals and betterments are capitalized. Upon retirement or disposal of assets, the cost and 
accumulated depreciation and amortization are eliminated from the respective accounts and the related gains or losses 
are credited or charged to earnings.  

Depreciation and amortization of property and equipment is computed using the straight-line method over the 
estimated useful lives of the related assets. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the useful lives of 
the improvements or the term of the lease. Furniture, fixtures, and equipment, are depreciated over useful lives ranging 
from 3 to 10 years. 

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets  

The Company reviews its long-lived assets with definite lives for impairment whenever events or changes in 
circumstances may indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company uses an estimate of 
the future undiscounted net cash flows of the related asset or group of assets over their remaining useful lives in 
measuring whether the assets are recoverable. If the carrying amount of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, 
an impairment charge is recognized for the amount by which the carrying amount exceeds the estimated fair value of the 
asset. Impairment of long-lived assets is assessed at the lowest levels for which there are identifiable cash flows that are 
independent of other groups of assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair 
value, less the estimated costs to sell. No impairment charge to long-lived assets was recorded during the fiscal years 
ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017. 

Prepaid Expenses and Other  

Prepaid expenses and other primarily consists of prepaid expenses, vendor rebates receivable, vendor advertising 

receivables and miscellaneous deposits. 

59 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Revenue Recognition  

The Company adopted Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) Topic 606 on February 4, 2018, using the 

modified retrospective approach to all open contracts, with the cumulative effect of adopting the new standard being 
recognized in retained earnings at February 4, 2018. Therefore, the prior periods comparative information has not been 
adjusted and continues to be reported under Topic 605. The adoption of Topic 606 resulted in an increase in prepaid 
expenses and other assets of $1,054 for the recognition of the right of return assets; an increase in accrued expenses 
relating to the sales return liability of $1,054 for the recognition of the sales return liability on a gross basis; a decrease in 
accrued expenses of $3,521 relating to the breakage of loyalty rewards and gift cards in order to adjust the breakage 
pattern of the loyalty program and gift cards to match the usage; a decrease of $884 in deferred tax assets relating to the 
tax impact of the entries recorded for the gift card and loyalty program liabilities; and a decrease in accumulated deficit 
of $2,634 as a cumulative effect of the adoption.  

The largest driver of changes for the adoption of Topic 606 was the change in the method of estimating breakage 
for the Company’s outstanding gift cards and loyalty reward liabilities. Under Topic 605, this breakage was historically 
recorded when it was determined that the gift cards or loyalty reward points were not going to be redeemed, which was 
after two years for gift cards and 18 months for loyalty reward points. Topic 606, the breakage recognized for the loyalty 
reward program and gift cards is now estimated based off of historical breakage percentages, and is recognized in-line 
with the expected usage of the loyalty points and gift cards.  

The accounts that changed under the adoption of Topic 606 for the condensed consolidated balance sheet as of and 

for the fiscal year ended February 2, 2019 have been outlined as follows: 

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Changes  As Reported  

Adjustments 

 Balances without adoption of Topic 606

Prepaids expenses and other 
Accrued expenses 
Deferred income taxes 
Accumulated deficit 

$ 15,174 
 56,384 
 2,997 
 (6,441) 

$ (1,496) 
 2,025 
 884 
 (2,634) 

$ 13,678 
 58,409 
 3,881 
 (9,075) 

Revenue recognition accounting policy 

The Company operates solely as an outdoor retailer, which includes both retail stores and an e-commerce 

platform, that offers a broad range of products in the United States and online. Generally, all revenues are recognized 
when control of the promised goods is transferred to customers, in an amount that reflects the consideration in exchange 
for those goods. Accordingly, the Company implicitly enters into a contract with customers to deliver merchandise 
inventory at the point of sale. Collectability is reasonably assured since the Company only extends immaterial credit 
purchases to certain municipalities. 

Substantially all of the Company’s revenue is for single performance obligations for the following distinct items:  

•  Retail store sales  

•  E-commerce sales  

•  Gift cards and loyalty rewards program 

For performance obligations related to retail store and e-commerce sales contracts, the Company typically transfers 
control, for retail stores, upon consummation of the sale when the product is paid for and taken by the customer and, for 
e-commerce sales, when the products are tendered for delivery to the common carrier.  

The transaction price for each contract is the stated price on the product, reduced by any stated discounts at that 
point in time. The Company does not engage in sales of products that attach a future material right which could result in 
a separate performance obligation for the purchase of goods in the future at a material discount. The implicit point-of-
sale contract with the customer, as reflected in the transaction receipt, states the final terms of the sale, including the 
description, quantity, and price of each product purchased. Payment for the Company’s contracts is due in full upon 
delivery. The customer agrees to a stated price implicit in the contract that does not vary over the contract. 

60 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The transaction price relative to sales subject to a right of return reflects the amount of estimated consideration to 
which the Company expects to be entitled. This amount of variable consideration included in the transaction price, and 
measurement of net sales, is included in net sales only to the extent that it is probable that there will be no significant 
reversal in a future period. Actual amounts of consideration ultimately received may differ from the Company’s 
estimates. The allowance for sales returns is estimated based upon historical experience and a provision for estimated 
returns is recorded as a reduction in sales in the relevant period. The estimated merchandise inventory cost related to the 
sales returns is recorded in prepaid expenses and other. The estimated refund liabilities are recorded in accrued expenses.  
If actual results in the future vary from the Company’s estimates, the Company adjusts these estimates, which would 
affect net sales and earnings in the period such variances become known. 

Contract liabilities are recognized primarily for gift card sales and our loyalty reward program. Cash received from 
the sale of gift cards is recorded as a contract liability in accrued expenses, and the Company recognizes revenue upon 
the customer’s redemption of the gift card. Gift card breakage is recognized as revenue in proportion to the pattern of 
customer redemptions by applying a historical breakage rate of 3.0% when no escheat liability to relevant jurisdictions 
exists. Based upon historical experience, gift cards are predominantly redeemed in the first two years following their 
issuance date. The Company does not sell or provide gift cards that carry expiration dates. ASC 606 requires the 
Company to allocate the transaction price between the goods and the loyalty reward points based on the relative stand-
alone selling price. The Company recognized revenue for the breakage of loyalty reward points as revenue in proportion 
to the pattern of customer redemption of the points by applying a historical breakage rate of 30% when no escheat 
liability to relevant jurisdictions exists.  

Taxes assessed by a governmental authority that are both imposed on and concurrent with a specific revenue-

producing transaction, that are collected by the Company from a customer, are excluded from revenue.  

Sales returns 

The Company allows customers to return items purchased within 30 days provided the merchandise is in 

resaleable condition with original packaging and the original sales/gift receipt is presented. We estimate a reserve for 
sales returns and record the respective reserve amounts, including a right to return asset when a product is expected to be 
returned and resold. Historical experience of actual returns and customer return rights are the key factors used in 
determining the estimated sales returns.  

Contract Balances 

The following table provides information about right of return assets, contract liabilities, and sales return liabilities 

with customers as of fiscal year ended February 2, 2019: 

Right of return assets, which are included in prepaid expenses and other 
Estimated contract liabilities, net of breakage 
Sales return liabilities, which are included in accrued expenses 

February 2, 2019 
$ 1,496 
 (20,298)
 2,233 

For the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017 the Company recognized 

$1,007, $1,337, and $347 in gift card breakage, respectively. For the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 
2018, and January 28, 2017, the Company recognized $1,439, $1,022, and $611 in loyalty reward breakage, respectively. 
The impact of these adjustments on the statement of cash flow for the year ended February 2, 2019 were recorded in 
cash provided by in operating activities.  

The current balance of the right of return assets is the expected amount of inventory to be returned that is 

expected to be resold. The current balance of the contract liabilities primarily relates to the gift card and loyalty reward 
program liabilities. The Company expects the revenue associated with these liabilities to be recognized in proportion to 
the pattern of customer redemptions over the next two years. The current balance of sales return liabilities is the 
expected amount of sales returns from sales that have occurred.  

Practical expedients and policy elections 

The Company applies the following practical expedients in its application for Topic 606: 

61 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
•  The Company elected to apply the practical expedient, relative to e-commerce sales, which allows an entity 
to account for shipping and handling as fulfillment activities, and not a separate performance obligation. 
Accordingly, the Company recognizes revenue for only one performance obligation, the sale of the 
product, at the shipping point (when the customer gains control). Revenue associated with shipping and 
handling is not material. The costs associated with fulfillment are recorded in costs of goods sold.  

•  The Company elected to apply the practical expedient, relative to sales tax collected, which allows an 

entity to exclude from its transaction price any amounts collected from customers for all sales (and other 
similar) taxes. 

Disaggregation of revenue from contracts with customers 

In the following table, revenue from contracts with customers is disaggregated by department. The percentage 

of net sales related to our departments for the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 
2017 were as follows: 

Product Offerings 

Backpacks, camp essentials, canoes and 
kayaks, coolers, outdoor cooking equipment, 
sleeping bags, tents and tools 
Camouflage, jackets, hats, outerwear, 
sportswear, technical gear and work wear 
Bait, electronics, fishing rods, flotation 
items, fly fishing, lines, lures, reels, tackle 
and small boats 
Hiking boots, socks, sport sandals, technical 
footwear, trail shoes, casual shoes, waders 
and work boots 
Ammunition, archery items, ATV 
accessories, blinds and tree stands, decoys, 
firearms, reloading equipment and shooting 
gear 
Gift items, GPS devices, knives, lighting, 
optics (e.g. binoculars), two-way radios, and 
other license revenue, net of revenue 
discounts 

Fiscal Year Ended 

February 2, 
2019 

February 3, 
2018 

January 28, 
2017 

14.2% 

15.1% 

14.6% 

8.9% 

9.3% 

8.7% 

10.6% 

10.7% 

10.0% 

7.3% 

7.4% 

7.1% 

48.3% 

48.7% 

50.9% 

10.6% 

8.8% 

8.7% 

100.0%  

100.0%  

100.0%  

Department 
Camping 

Clothing 

Fishing 

Footwear 

Hunting and Shooting 

Optics, Electronics, 
Accessories, and Other 

Total 

Cost of Goods Sold  

Cost of goods sold primarily consists of merchandise acquisition costs, including freight-in costs, shipping costs, 

terms discounts received from the vendor and vendor allowances and rebates associated directly with merchandise. 
Vendor allowances include allowances and rebates received from vendors. The Company records an estimate of earned 
allowances based on purchase volumes. These funds are determined for each fiscal year, and the majority is based on 
various quantitative contract terms. Amounts expected to be received from vendors relating to purchase of merchandise 
inventories are recognized as a reduction of cost of goods sold as the merchandise is sold. Historical program results and 
current purchase volumes are reviewed when establishing the estimate for earned allowances. 

Shipping and Handling Fees and Costs  

All shipping and handling fees billed to customers are recorded as a component of net sales. All costs incurred 

related to the shipping and handling of products are recorded in cost of sales. 

62 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
    
 
    
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Vendor Allowances  

Vendor allowances include price allowances, volume rebates, store opening costs reimbursements, marketing 
participation and advertising reimbursements received from vendors under the terms of specific arrangements with 
certain vendors. Vendor allowances related to merchandise are recognized as a reduction of the costs of merchandise as 
sold. Vendor reimbursements of costs are recorded as a reduction to expense in the period the related cost is incurred 
based on actual costs incurred. Any cost reimbursements exceeding expenses incurred are recognized as a reduction of 
the cost of merchandise sold. Volume allowances may be estimated based on historical purchases and estimates of 
projected purchases. 

Operating Leases and Deferred Rent  

The Company has various operating lease commitments on its store locations. Certain leases contain rent 

escalation clauses that require higher rental payments in later years. Leases may also contain rent holidays, or free rents, 
during the lease term. Rent expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Rent expense in excess of 
rental payments is recorded as deferred rent on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. 

Tenant Allowances  

The Company enters into various types of lease agreements in the operation of its stores, including remodel and 

build-to-suit arrangements. Under any type of lease agreement, the Company may receive reimbursement from a 
landlord for some of the costs related to occupancy or tenant improvements per lease provisions. These reimbursements 
may be referred to as tenant allowances or landlord reimbursements. Reimbursement from a landlord for occupancy or 
tenant improvements is treated differently depending on the type of arrangement. Under most of the Company’s lease 
agreements, tenant allowances are included within deferred rent on the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The 
deferred rent credit is amortized as rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Landlord 
reimbursements from these transactions are included in cash flows from operating activities as a change in deferred rent. 

In lease agreements where the Company is the deemed owner of the building during the construction period, a 
deemed sale-leaseback of the building occurs when construction is complete and the lease term begins. Under these lease 
agreements, as the tenant allowances are received, the value of the Company’s construction-in-progress or leasehold 
improvements is reduced accordingly. The proceeds from deemed sale-leaseback transactions are included in cash flows 
from investing activities. 

Health Insurance  

The Company maintains for its employees a partially self-funded health insurance plan. The Company maintains 

stop-loss insurance through an insurance company with a $100 per person deductible and aggregate claims limit above a 
predetermined threshold. The Company intends to maintain this plan indefinitely. However, the plan may be terminated, 
modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time for any reason specified by the Company.  

The Company has established reserve amounts based upon claims history and estimates of claims that have been 

incurred but not reported (“IBNR”) for this plan. As of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018, the Company estimated 
the IBNR for this plan to be $900 and $922, respectively. Actual claims may differ from the estimate and such difference 
could be significant. These reserves are included in accrued expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. 

Workers Compensation Insurance 

The Company maintains for its employees a high-deductible workers compensation plan. The Company maintains 
stop-loss insurance through an insurance company with a $150 per claim deductible and aggregate claims limit above a 
predetermined threshold. The Company intends to maintain this plan indefinitely. However, the plan may be terminated, 
modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time for any reason specified by the Company.  

The Company has established reserve amounts based upon claims history and estimates of IBNR for this plan. As 

of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018, the Company estimated the IBNR for this plan to be $1,045 and $659, 
respectively, related to the workers compensation plan. Actual claims may differ from the estimate and such difference 
could be significant. These reserves are included in accrued expenses in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. 

63 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Advertising  

Costs for newspaper, television, radio, and other advertising are expensed in the period in which the advertising 

occurs. The Company participates in various advertising and marketing cooperative programs with its vendors, who, 
under these programs, reimburse the Company for certain costs incurred. Payments received under these cooperative 
programs are recorded as a decrease to expense in the period that the advertising occurred. For the fiscal years ended 
February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017, net advertising expenses totaled $8,437, $7,760, and $7,513, 
respectively. These amounts are included in selling, general and administrative expenses in the accompanying 
consolidated statements of income. 

Stock-Based Compensation  

Compensation expense is estimated based on grant date fair value on a straight-line basis over the requisite service 

or offering period. Costs associated with awards are included in compensation expense as a component of selling, 
general, and administrative expenses.  

Income Taxes  

The Company recognizes a deferred income tax liability or deferred income tax asset for the future tax 

consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement basis of existing assets and liabilities and their 
respective tax basis. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to 
taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. A valuation 
allowance is provided against deferred income tax assets when it is more likely than not that all or some portion of the 
deferred income tax assets will not be realized.  

The Company recognizes the tax benefit from an uncertain tax position only if it is more likely than not that the 

tax position will be sustained on examination by the relevant tax authorities, based on the technical merits of the 
position. Interest and potential penalties are accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in the provision for income 
taxes. 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments  

As of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018 the carrying amounts of financial instruments except for long-term 
debt approximate fair value because of the general short-term nature of these instruments. The carrying amounts of long-
term variable rate debt approximate fair value as the terms are consistent with market terms for similar debt instruments. 

Earnings Per Share  

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted-average shares of common stock 

outstanding, reduced by shares repurchased and held in treasury, during the period. Diluted earnings per share represents 
basic earnings per share adjusted to include the potentially dilutive effect of outstanding share option awards, nonvested 
share awards and nonvested share unit awards. 

Comprehensive Income  

The Company has no components of income that would require classification as other comprehensive income for 

the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017. 

Recently Adopted Accounting Updates 

In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Updated 

(“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which was further clarified and amended in 
2015 and 2016 and supersedes most preexisting revenue recognition guidance with a comprehensive new revenue 
recognition model. The core principle is that an entity recognizes revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or 
services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange 
for those goods or services. The guidance also requires disclosures regarding the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty 

64 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. The Company adopted this standard on February 4, 
2018 using the modified retrospective approach. Further disclosures relative to the adoption of this standard are provided 
in the Revenue Recognition section of this Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements.  

Recent Accounting Pronouncements 

Lease Accounting 

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which requires lessees to recognize 

on the balance sheet assets and liabilities for leases with lease terms of more than 12 months. Consistent with current 
accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), the recognition, measurement, and 
presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease by a lessee will depend primarily on its classification as a 
finance or operating lease. However, unlike current GAAP—which requires only capital leases to be recognized on the 
balance sheet—the new ASU will require both types of leases to be recognized on the balance sheet. The ASU will take 
effect for public companies for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 
2018. This ASU can be applied at the beginning of the earliest period presented using the modified retrospective 
approach, which includes certain practical expedients that an entity may elect to apply, including an election to use 
certain transition relief. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-10, Codification Improvements to Topic 842, 
Leases and ASU No. 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, which make improvements to Accounting 
Standards Codification (“ASC”) 842 and allow entities to not restate comparative periods in transition to ASC 842 and 
instead report the comparative periods under ASC 840. 

The Company plans to adopt ASU No. 2016-02 using the modified retrospective approach at the beginning of 
the first quarter of fiscal 2019, coinciding with the standard’s effective date. Adoption of the standard will result in the 
initial recognition of right-of-use assets of approximately $175 to $195 million and lease liabilities for operating leases 
of approximately $205 to $225 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. These amounts are based on the present value 
of such commitments using the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. The adoption of this standard will have a 
material impact on the Company’s consolidated statement of income, stockholders’ equity(deficit) and cash flows, with a 
$9.3 million dollar net adjustment recorded to beginning retained earnings in fiscal 2019 due to the acceleration of 
recognition of a deferred gain and derecognition of related deferred tax asset the Company was amortizing relating to the 
historical sale of owned properties. At the time of adoption, the deferred gain had a remaining amortization period of 7 
years. The Company has implemented new lease administration and accounting software. In addition, the Company has 
completed its evaluation of the practical expedients offered and enhanced disclosures required in the ASU, as well as 
identified arrangements that contain embedded leases, among other activities, to account for this standard upon adoption. 
The Company plans to elect the transition package of practical expedients permitted within the new standard which, 
among other things, allows it to carryforward the historical lease classification. The Company does not plan to elect the 
practical expedient to use hindsight in determining the lease term and in assessing impairment of right-of-use assets. In 
accordance with ASU No. 2018-11, the Company will not restate comparative periods in transition to ASC 842 and 
instead will report comparative periods under ASC 840. 

(3) Secondary Offering 

On April 18, 2016, 6,000 shares of common stock were sold in a secondary offering by Seidler Equity Partners 

III, L.P. On April 22, 2016, the underwriters of the secondary offering fully exercised the option granted at the time of 
the secondary offering to purchase an additional 900 shares of common stock at the secondary offering price of $11.25 
per share, less underwriting discounts and commissions, which consisted solely of shares sold by affiliates of Seidler 
Equity Partners III, L.P. The Company received no proceeds from the secondary offering or full exercise of the option. 
Total expenses incurred related to the secondary offering and the exercise of the option were $143 and are recorded in 
selling, general, and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of income. 

65 

 
 
 
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
(4) Property and Equipment  

Property and equipment as of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018 are as follows: 

Furniture, fixtures, and equipment 
Leasehold improvements 
Construction in progress 
Total property and equipment, gross 
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization 
Total property and equipment, net 

  February 3, 

February 2, 
2019 
 71,820   $ 
 94,573  
 1,743  
 168,136  
 (76,052) 
 92,084   $ 

2018 
 65,437  
 84,345  
 2,434  
 152,216  
 (58,181) 
 94,035  

  $ 

  $ 

Depreciation expense was $17,961, $15,864, and $12,169, for the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 

2018, and January 28, 2017, respectively. 

(5) Definite Lived Intangible Asset  

The following table summarizes the definite lived intangible assets: 

Amortizing intangible assets: 
Non-compete agreement  
Domain Name 

Total  

Amortizing intangible assets: 
Non-compete agreement  

Total  

Amortization 
period 

Gross carrying 
amount 

Accumulated 
amortization       

Net carrying 
amount 

February 2, 2019 

5 years  
10 years 

  $ 

  $ 

 9,063  
 257  
 9,320  

 (9,063) 
 (11) 
 (9,074) 

 -  
 246  
 246  

Amortization 
period 

Gross carrying 
amount 

Accumulated 
amortization       

Net carrying 
amount 

February 3, 2018 

5 years  

  $ 
   $ 

 9,063  
 9,063  

 (8,787) 
 (8,787) 

 276  
 276  

Amortization expense for definite lived intangible asset was $289, $1,842, and $1,805 for the fiscal years ended 

February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017. 

(6) Accrued Expenses and Other Liabilities  

Accrued expenses and other liabilities consist of the following at February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018:  

Book overdraft 
Unearned revenue 
Accrued payroll and related expenses 
Sales and use tax payable 
Accrued construction costs 
Other 
Total Accrued Expenses 

(7) Revolving Line of Credit 

February 2,    
2019 
 10,297   $ 
 21,836  
 11,590  
 4,250  
 760  
 7,651  
 56,384   $ 

  $ 

  $ 

February 3,  
2018 

 9,944 
 22,874 
 8,004 
 3,277 
 605 
 5,898 
 50,602 

The Company has a senior secured revolving credit facility (“Revolving Line of Credit”) with Wells Fargo Bank, 

National Association (“Wells Fargo”). On May 23, 2018, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc. (“SWI”), a wholly owned 
subsidiary of the Company, as borrower, and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association (“Wells Fargo”), with a 
consortium of banks led by Wells Fargo, entered into an Amended and Restated Credit Agreement (as amended, 

66 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
  
 
  
 
 
 
   
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
  
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
restated, supplemented or otherwise modified, the “Amended Credit Agreement”). The Amended Credit Agreement 
amended and restated in its entirety that certain Credit Agreement, dated as of May 28, 2010, by and among SWI, as 
borrower, and Wells Fargo, as lender, and the other parties listed on the signature pages thereto. 

The Amended Credit Agreement increased the amount available to borrow under the Company’s Revolving Line 

of Credit from $150,000 to $250,000, subject to a borrowing base calculation, and provided for a new $40,000 term loan 
(the “Term Loan”). 

In conjunction with the Amended Credit Agreement, the Company incurred $1,331 of fees paid to various parties 

which were capitalized. Fees associated with the Revolving Line of Credit were recorded in prepaid and other assets. 
Fees associated with the Term Loan offset the loan balance on the condensed consolidated balance sheet of the 
Company. 

Each of the subsidiaries of the Company is a borrower under the revolving credit facility, and all obligations under 
the revolving credit facility are guaranteed by the Company. All of the Company’s obligations under the revolving credit 
facility are secured by a lien on substantially all of the Company’s tangible and intangible assets and the tangible and 
intangible assets of all of the Company’s subsidiaries, including a pledge of all capital stock of each of the Company’s 
subsidiaries. The lien securing the obligations under the revolving credit facility is a first priority lien as to certain liquid 
assets, including cash, accounts receivable, deposit accounts and inventory. In addition, the credit agreement contains 
provisions that enable Wells Fargo to require the Company to maintain a lock-box type arrangement for the collection of 
all receipts. 

As of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018, the Company had $151,341 and $66,621, respectively, in 
outstanding revolving loans under the Revolving Line of Credit. Amounts outstanding are offset on the consolidated 
balance sheets by amounts in depository accounts under lock-box type arrangements, which were $7,035 and $6,629 as 
of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively. As of February 2, 2019, the Company had stand-by commercial 
letters of credit of $1,705 under the terms of the Revolving Line of Credit. 

Borrowings under the Revolving Line of Credit bear interest based on either, at the Company’s option, the base 
rate or LIBOR, in each case plus an applicable margin. The base rate is the higher of (1) Wells Fargo’s prime rate, (2) 
the federal funds rate (as defined in the credit agreement) plus 0.50% and (3) the one-month LIBOR (as defined in the 
Amended Credit Agreement) plus 1.00%. The applicable margin for loans under the Revolving Line of Credit, which 
varies based on the average daily availability, ranges from 0.25% to 0.75% per year for base rate loans and from 1.25% 
to 1.75% per year for LIBOR loans. The weighted average interest rate on the amount outstanding under the Revolving 
Line of Credit as of February 2, 2019 was 4.18%.  

The Company may be required to make mandatory prepayments under the Revolving Line of Credit in the event 

of a disposition of certain property or assets, in the event of receipt of certain insurance or condemnation proceeds, upon 
the issuance of certain debt or equity securities, upon the incurrence of certain indebtedness for borrowed money or upon 
the receipt of certain payments not received in the ordinary course of business. 

The Amended Credit Agreement contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that 

limit the Company’s ability to incur, create or assume certain indebtedness, to create, incur or assume certain liens, to 
make certain investments, to make sales, transfers and dispositions of certain property and to undergo certain 
fundamental changes, including certain mergers, liquidations and consolidations. The Amended Credit Agreement also 
requires us to maintain a minimum availability at all times of not less than 10% of the gross borrowing base. The 
Amended Credit Agreement also contains customary events of default. The Revolving Line of Credit matures on May 
23, 2023. 

As of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018 the Amended Credit Agreement had $1,085 and $393, respectively 
in outstanding deferred financing fees. During the 52 weeks ended February 2, 2019, the Company recognized $195 of 
non-cash interest expense with respect to the amortization of deferred financing fees. During the 53 weeks ended 
February 3, 2018, the Company recognized $131 of non-cash interest expense with respect to the amortization of 
deferred financing fees. 

67 

  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As of February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017 gross borrowings under the revolving line of 
credit were $1,023,983, $909,180, and $904,518 respectively. As of February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 
2017 gross paydowns under the revolving line of credit were $950,143, $912,792, $870,417, respectively. 

(8) Long-Term Debt  

Long-term debt consisted of the following as of February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018:  

February 2,    
2019 

Prior Term Loan 
New Term loan 
Less discount 
Less debt issuance costs 

Less current portion, net of discount and debt issuance costs 
Long-term portion 

Term Loan  

  $ 

  $ 

February 3,    
2018 
 135,127  
 —  
 (678)  
 (1,110) 
 133,339  
 (990) 
 132,349  

 —   $ 

 36,000  
 —  
 (368) 
 35,632  
 (7,915) 
 27,717   $ 

On May 23, 2018, the Company entered into the New Term Loan, which was issued at a price of 100% of the 

aggregate principal amount of $40,000 and has a maturity date of May 23, 2023. 

Also, on May 23, 2018, the Company borrowed $135,400 under the Revolving Line of Credit and used the 
proceeds from the Term Loan and the Revolving Line of Credit to repay the Company’s prior term loan with a financial 
institution that had an outstanding principal balance of $134,700 and was scheduled to mature on December 3, 2020. 

The Term Loan bears interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 5.75%. The effective rate for the New Term Loan as of 

February 2, 2019 was 8.16% 

All of Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc.’s obligations under the Term Loan are guaranteed by Holdings, Minnesota 

Merchandising Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdings, and each of Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc.’s 
subsidiaries. 

The Term Loan is secured by a lien on substantially all of the Company’s tangible and intangible assets. The lien 
securing the obligations under the Term Loan is a first priority lien as to certain non-liquid assets, including equipment, 
intellectual property, proceeds of assets sales and other personal property. 

The Term Loan requires quarterly principal payments of $2,000 which began November 1, 2018 and continues 

until the loan is paid in full. 

The Term Loan contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including covenants that limit the 
Company’s ability to incur, create or assume certain indebtedness, to incur or assume certain liens, to purchase, hold or 
acquire certain investments, to declare or make certain dividends and distributions and to engage in certain mergers, 
consolidations and asset sales. As of February 2, 2019, the Company was in compliance with all of the covenants of the 
Term Loan.  

As of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018, the Term Loan and prior Term Loan, respectively had an 

outstanding balance of $36,000 and $135,127, respectively. The outstanding amounts as of February 2, 2019 and 
February 3, 2018 are offset on the consolidated balance sheets by an unamortized discount of $0 and $678, respectively, 
and debt issuance costs of $368 and $1,110, respectively. 

During fiscal year 2018, the Company recognized $678 and $1,173 of non-cash interest expense with respect to 

the amortization of the discount and deferred financing fees. During fiscal year 2017, the Company recognized $199 and 
$411 of non-cash interest expense with respect to the amortization of the discount and deferred financing fees on the 
prior term loan. 

68 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
Restricted Net Assets  

The provisions of the Term Loan and the Revolving Line of Credit restrict all of the net assets of the Company’s 

consolidated subsidiaries, which constitute all of the net assets on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of 
February 2, 2019, from being used to pay any dividends without prior written consent from the financial institutions 
party to the Company’s Term Loan and Revolving Line of Credit. 

(9) Sale Leaseback Transactions  

During the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017, the Company 
completed deemed sale-leaseback transactions of the land and buildings associated with one, four, and four store 
locations, respectively. In each of the related lease agreements for these store locations, the Company was required to 
pay all construction costs directly with the right of reimbursement up to a pre-determined tenant allowance. Also, the 
Company indemnified the landlords with respect to costs arising from third-party damage arising from the acts or 
omission of employees, sub-lessees, assignees, agent, and/or contractors arising during construction. As a result, and, 
based on appropriate accounting guidance, the Company was deemed the owner of the land and building during the 
construction period. The deemed sale occurred when the construction of the assets was complete and the lease terms 
began. At the time of sale, any assets, up to the value of each pre-determined tenant allowance, were written off the 
Company’s books, and any remaining amounts were considered leasehold improvements.  The total value of tenant 
allowances received under these transactions during fiscal years 2018, 2017, and 2016 was $1,717, $9,022, and $11,923 
respectively. 

(10) Common Stock 

Holders of common stock are entitled to one vote per share, and to receive dividends and, upon liquidation or 
dissolution, are entitled to receive all assets available for distribution to stockholders on a proportional basis with the 
restricted nonvoting common stockholders. The holders have no preemptive or other subscription rights, and there are no 
redemption or sinking fund provisions with respect to such shares. 

(11) Earnings Per Share 

Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of shares of 
common stock outstanding, reduced by the number of shares repurchased and held in treasury, during the period. Diluted 
earnings per share represents basic earnings per share adjusted to include the potentially dilutive effect of outstanding 
share option awards, nonvested share awards and nonvested share unit awards.  

The following table sets forth the computation of basic and diluted earnings per common share: 

  February 2,   
2019 
 23,750   $ 

$

Fiscal Year Ended 
  February 3,   
2018 
 17,742   $ 

  January 28, 
2017 
 29,669 

 42,878  
 101  
 42,979  

 42,496  
 26  
 42,522  

 42,187 
 298 
 42,485 
 0.70 
 0.70 
 — 

Net Income 
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding: 

Basic 
Dilutive effect of common stock equivalents 
Diluted 

Basic income per share 
Diluted income per share 
Restricted stock units considered anti-dilutive and excluded in the calculation 

$
$

 0.55   $ 
 0.55   $ 
 56  

 0.42   $ 
 0.42   $ 
 191  

69 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
       
      
      
 
 
   
 
   
 
   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(12) Stock-Based Compensation  

Stock-Based Compensation 

The Company recognized total stock-based compensation expense, including expense relating to the employee 

stock purchase plan, of $2,826, $2,294, and $3,186, during fiscal years 2018, 2017, and 2016, respectively. 
Compensation expense related to the Company's stock-based payment awards is recognized in selling, general, and 
administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of income. As of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018, 
respectively, the Company had $2,692 and $3,963 remaining in unrecognized compensation costs, respectively. 

Employee Stock Plans 

As of February 2, 2019, the number of shares available for awards under the 2013 Performance Incentive Plan 
(the “2013 Plan”) was 422. As of February 2, 2019, there were 505 awards outstanding under the 2013 Plan. All shares 
granted during the current year were newly issued shares. All subsequent awards were, and all future awards are 
expected to be, granted under the 2013 Plan.   

Nonvested Restricted Stock Awards 

During the fiscal years 2018 and 2017, the Company did not issue any nonvested restricted stock awards to 

employees.  

The following table sets forth the rollforward of outstanding nonvested stock awards (per share amounts are not 

in thousands): 

Balance at February 3, 2018 
Grants 
Forfeitures 
Vested 
Balance at February 2, 2019 

Balance at January 28, 2017 
Grants 
Forfeitures 
Vested 
Balance at February 3, 2018 

Weighted 
average 
grant-date 
fair value 

Shares 

 108   $ 

 —  
 2  
 80  
 26   $ 

 11.25  
 —  
 11.25  
 11.25  
 11.25  

Weighted 
average 
grant-date 
fair value 

Shares 

 162   $ 

 —  
 —  
 54  

 108   $ 

 11.25  
 —  
 —  
 11.25  
 11.25  

Nonvested Performance-Based Stock Awards 

During fiscal year 2018, the Company issued 163 nonvested performance-based stock awards to employees at a 

weighted average grant date fair value of $4.91 per share. The nonvested performance-based stock awards issued to 
employees vest at the end of three years. The number of shares issued is contingent on management achieving a fiscal 
year 2018 performance target for same store sales and gross margin. Based on the performance conditions met for 2018, 
the finalized granted awards were 36 as presented in the table below. 

During fiscal year 2017 the Company did not issue any nonvested performance-based stock awards to 

employees. 

70 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The following table sets forth the rollforward of outstanding nonvested performance-based stock awards (per 

share amounts are not in thousands): 

Balance at February 3, 2018 
Grants 
Forfeitures 
Vested 
Balance at February 2, 2019 

Balance at January 28, 2017 
Grants 
Forfeitures 
Vested 
Balance at February 3, 2018 

Nonvested Stock Unit Awards 

Weighted 
average 
grant-date 
fair value 

Shares 

 49   $ 
 36  
 5  
 46  
 34   $ 

 11.25  
 4.91  
 5.36  
 11.25  
 6.07  

Weighted 
average 
grant-date 
fair value 

Shares 

 73   $ 
 —  
 —  
 24  
 49   $ 

 11.25  
 —  
 —  
 11.25  
 11.25  

During the fiscal year 2018, the Company issued 330 nonvested stock units to employees of the Company and 

independent members of the Board of Directors at a weighted average grant date fair value of $4.89 per share. The 
shares issued to the independent members of the Board of Directors vest over 12 months with one twelfth vesting each 
month from the grant date. The shares issued to employees of the Company vest over a three year period with one third 
of the shares vesting on each grant date anniversary.    

During the fiscal year 2017, the Company issued 456 nonvested stock units to employees of the Company and 

independent members of the Board of Directors at a weighted average grant date fair value of $5.09 per share. The 
shares issued to the independent members of the Board of Directors vest over 12 months with one twelfth vesting each 
month from the grant date. The shares issued to employees of the Company vest over a three year period with one third 
of the shares vesting on each grant date anniversary.    

The following table sets forth the rollforward of outstanding nonvested stock units: 

Balance at February 3, 2018 
Grants 
Forfeitures 
Vested 
Balance at February 2, 2019 

Balance at January 28, 2017 
Grants 
Forfeitures 
Vested 
Balance at February 3, 2018 

71 

Weighted 
average 
grant-date 
fair value 

 5.15  
 4.89  
 4.91  
 5.23  
 4.92  

Weighted 
average 
grant-date 
fair value 

 7.17  
 5.09  
 7.06  
 6.87  
 5.15  

Shares 

 419   $ 
 330  
 8  
 300  
 441   $ 

Shares 

 301   $ 
 456  
 1  
 337  
 419   $ 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
As of February 2, 2019, and February 3, 2018, the weighted average grant date fair value of the outstanding 

shares was $4.92 and $5.15, respectively.  

(13) Employee Stock Purchase Plan 

In June 2015, the Company’s stockholders approved the Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock 
Purchase Plan (“ESPP”), which provides for the granting of up to 800 shares of the Company’s common stock to eligible 
employees. The ESPP period is semi-annual and allows participants to purchase the Company’s stock at 85% of the 
lower of (i) the market value per share of the common stock on the first day of the offering period or (ii) the market 
value per share of the common stock on the purchase date. The first plan period began on January 1, 2016. Stock-based 
compensation expense related to the ESPP in fiscal year 2018, 2017, and 2016 was $143, $160, and $165, respectively. 

The Company uses the Black-Scholes model to estimate the fair value of shares to be issued as of the grant date 

using the following weighted average assumptions: 

Risk-free interest rate 
Expected life (in years) 
Expected volatility 
Dividend yield 

(14) Income Taxes  

  Fiscal Year Ended   Fiscal Year Ended 
      February 2, 2019    February 3, 2018 
1.53% 
 0.5 
45.3% 
 — 

2.56%  
 0.5  
32.2%  
 —  

For the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017, the income tax provision 

consisted of the following:  

February 
2, 
2019 

February 
3, 
2018 

January 
28, 
2017 

Current: 

Federal  
State  

Total current 
Deferred: 
Federal  
State  
Total deferred 

Total income tax provision 

    $  4,630   $  12,718   $  14,919  
 2,530  
   17,449  

 1,868  
   14,586  

 1,719  
 6,349  

 598  
 116  
 714  

 164  
 3  
 167  
$  7,063   $  15,088   $  17,616  

 780  
 (278) 
 502  

The provision for income taxes differs from the amounts computed by applying the federal statutory rate as 

follows for the following periods: 

Federal statutory rate  
State tax, net of federal benefit  
Permanent items  
Other items  
Tax reform adjustment 
Effective income tax rate  

  February 2, 
2019 

  February 3, 
2018 

  January 28, 
2017 

 21.0 %    
 4.1  
 2.5  
 (0.4) 
 (4.3) 
 22.9 %    

 33.7 %    
 3.8  
 2.0  
 (0.2) 
 6.7  
 46.0 %    

 35 %  
 3.6  
 (0.4) 
 (0.9) 
 —  
 37.3 %  

72 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
    
     
    
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
     
     
  
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
The tax effects of temporary differences that give rise to significant portions of the deferred tax assets and deferred 

tax liabilities at February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, respectively, are presented below: 

February 2,   
2019 

February 3, 
2018 

Deferred tax assets: 
Accrued liabilities  
Deferred rent  
Intangible asset 
Inventories  
Sales return reserve  
Capital loss carryforward 
Stock-based compensation 
Loyalty program 
Total gross deferred tax assets  

Deferred tax liabilities: 

Depreciation  
Prepaid expenses  
Gift card escheatment 

Total gross deferred tax liabilities  
Net deferred tax asset  

$ 

 453   $ 

 11,835  
 1,374  
 1,940  
 185  
 39  
 290  
 2,191  

 18,307   $ 

 369 
 11,703 
 1,456 
 1,906 
 175 
 41 
 304 
 1,374 
 17,328 

 (14,670)   $ 
 (553)  
 (87)  
 (15,310)   $ 
 2,997   $ 

 (11,999)
 (603)
 (131)
 (12,733)
 4,595 

$ 

$ 

  $ 
  $ 

On December 22, 2017 the U.S. Government enacted comprehensive tax legislation commonly referred to as the 

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the “Tax Act”). The Tax Act made broad and complex changes to existing U.S. tax laws that 
impact the Company. Most notably, the Tax Act reduced the U.S. Federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 
percent effective January 1, 2018. The Tax Act also provides for the acceleration of depreciation for certain assets placed 
in service after September 27, 2017. The Tax Act also established prospective changes beginning in 2018 including the 
limitations on the deductibility of certain executive compensation and interest expense. The Company does not expect 
these limitations to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.  

As a result of the Tax Act, the Company recorded a discrete net tax expense of $2,153 in the period ending 
February 3, 2018. The primary components of this tax expense include $2,600 for the revaluation of U.S deferred tax 
assets and liabilities at the new corporate tax rate of 21 percent, offset by a tax benefit of $447 due to the reduction in 
effective rate based on the time of enactment of the tax law and our fiscal year-end. 

Pursuant to SAB 118, the Company is was allowed a measurement period of up to one year after the enactment 

date of the Tax Act to finalize the recording of the related tax impacts. However, the Company did not have any 
provisional estimates associated with the Tax Act and therefore, did not record any adjustments relating to the Tax Act. 

For the year ended February 2, 2019, the Company recorded a discrete net benefit of $1.3M related to Tax 

Reform.  This was a result of certain accounting method changes and other permitted timing adjustments that were 
ultimately reflected on the Company’s fiscal 2017 tax return filed in fiscal 2018 resulting in a net benefit due to changes 
in the federal tax rates under the Tax Act. 

Deferred tax assets have resulted primarily from the Company’s future deductible temporary differences. In 

assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, management considers whether it is more likely than not that some 
portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. The Company’s ability to realize its deferred tax assets 
depends upon the generation of sufficient future taxable income as well as the ability to use historical taxable income to 
allow for the utilization of its deductible temporary differences.  

Management evaluates the realizability of the deferred tax assets and the need for additional valuation allowances 

quarterly. At February 2, 2019, based on current facts and circumstances, management believes that it is more likely than 
not that the Company will realize benefit for its deferred tax assets.  

As of February 2, 2019, the Company had no unrecognized tax benefits. The Company does not anticipate that 
unrecognized tax benefits will significantly increase or decrease within 12 months of the reporting date. Federal and 
state tax years that remain subject to examination are periods ended February 1, 2014 through February 3, 2018.  

73 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
    
     
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   
The Company’s policy is to accrue interest expense, and penalties as appropriate, on estimated unrecognized tax 

benefits as a charge to interest expense in the consolidated statements of income. During fiscal year 2017, the Company 
accrued interest and penalties of $95. No interest or penalties were accrued for fiscal years 2018 or 2016.  

(15) Commitments and Contingencies 

Operating Leases 

The Company leases its retail store, office space, and warehouse locations under non-cancelable operating leases. 

Certain of these leases include tenant allowances that are amortized over the life of the lease. In 2018, 2017 and 2016, 
the Company received tenant allowances of $4,405, $10,696, and $16,718, respectively. The Company expects to 
receive $2,389 in tenant allowances under leases during fiscal year 2019. Certain leases require the Company to pay 
contingent rental amounts based on a percentage of sales, in addition to real estate taxes, insurance, maintenance and 
other operating expenses associated with the leased premises. These agreements expire at various dates through July 
2030 and generally contain three, five-year renewal options. Rent expense under these leases totaled $54,027, $49,860, 
and $37,132, for the fiscal years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017, respectively. 

Future minimum lease payments for non-cancelable operating leases by fiscal year, as of February 2, 2019 are as 

follows: 

Fiscal Year: 

2019 
2020 
2021 
2022 
2023 
Thereafter  

Legal Matters 

 47,551   
 46,824  
 43,070  
 38,160  
 33,246  
 74,821  
 283,672  

$ 

The Company is involved in various legal matters generally incidental to its business. After discussion with 
legal counsel, management is not aware of any matters for which the likelihood of a loss is probable and reasonably 
estimable and which could have a material impact on its consolidated financial condition, liquidity, or results of 
operations. 

(16) Related-Party Transactions  

On August 14, 2009, the Company entered into a reimbursement agreement with Seidler Equity Partners III, L.P. 
Under the terms of this agreement, the Company agreed to reimburse Seidler Equity Partners III, L.P. for various out-of-
pocket costs and expenses related to the Company up to a maximum of $150 annually. During the fiscal years ended 
February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017, the Company made no significant payments to these related 
parties. At February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018, there were no amounts payable under the terms of this agreement.  

(17) Retirement Plan  

The Company sponsors a profit sharing plan (the “Plan”) for which Company contributions are based upon wages 

paid. As approved by the Board of Directors, the Company makes discretionary contributions to the Plan at rates 
determined by management. The Company made contributions of $572, $390, and $351, for the fiscal years ended 
February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 28, 2017, respectively. 

74 

   
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 9. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND 
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE 

None. 

ITEM 9A. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES  

Disclosure Controls and Procedures  

As of the end of the period covered by this report, management, including our chief executive officer and chief 

financial officer, evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures pursuant to Rules 13a-15(e) and 
15d-15(e) under the Act. Based upon the evaluation, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer concluded that 
our disclosure controls and procedures were effective as of February 2, 2019 to ensure that information required to be 
disclosed in the reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act of 1934 is recorded, processed, summarized and 
reported within the time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures include, 
without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by us in the 
reports we file or submit under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our 
chief executive officer and our chief financial officer, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required 
disclosure. 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting 

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting 
as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) under the Exchange Act for us. Internal control over financial reporting is a 
process to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of our financial reporting for external purposes in 
accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. 

With the participation of our Chief Executive Officer and our Chief Financial Officer, management evaluated the 
effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of February 2, 2019, based on the criteria established in 
Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway 
Commission. Based on this evaluation, management concluded that our internal control over financial reporting was 
effective as of February 2, 2019. 

Exemption from Attestation Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 

This 10-K does not include an attestation report from our registered public accounting firm regarding internal 
control over financial reporting. Management’s report was not subject to attestation by our registered public accounting 
firm pursuant to rules of the SEC that permit emerging growth companies, which we currently are, to provide only 
management’s report in this 10-K. 

Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting  

There were no changes in our internal control over financial reporting during the 13 weeks ended February 2, 2019 

that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.  

ITEM 9B. OTHER INFORMATION  

None. 

75 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PART III 

ITEM 10. DIRECTORS, EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE  

The Company has adopted a Code of Conduct and Ethics applicable to our employees, directors, and officers. This 

Code of Conduct and Ethics is applicable to our principal executive officer, principal financial officer, principal 
accounting officer and controller, or persons performing similar functions. The code is available on the Company’s 
website at investors.sportsmanswarehouse.com. To the extent required by rules adopted by the SEC and Nasdaq, we 
intend to promptly disclose future amendments to certain provisions of the code, or waivers of such provisions granted to 
executive officers and directors on our website at investors.sportsmanswarehouse.com. 

The remaining information required by this Item 10 will be included in our proxy statement for our 2019 annual 

meeting of stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”) and is incorporated herein by reference. 

ITEM 11. EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION  

The information required by this Item 11 will be included in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by 

reference. 

ITEM 12. SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT 
RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS  

The information required by this Item 12 will be included in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by 

reference. 

ITEM 13. CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED TRANSACTIONS, AND DIRECTOR 
INDEPENDENCE  

The information required by this Item 13 will be included in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by 

reference. 

ITEM 14. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES  

The information required by this Item 14 will be included in our Proxy Statement and is incorporated herein by 

reference. 

76 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
ITEM 15. EXHIBITS AND FINANCIAL STATEMENT SCHEDULES  

(a)  The following documents are filed as part of this report: 

PART IV 

1. 

Financial Statements: The following financial statements are included in Part II, Item 8 of this Annual 
Report on Form 10-K. 

• 
• 
• 

• 

• 

• 

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm 
Consolidated Balance Sheets – February 2, 2019 and February 3, 2018 
Consolidated Statements of Income – Years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and January 
28, 2017 
Consolidated Statements of Stockholders’ Equity (Deficit) – Years ended February 2, 2019, February 
3, 2018, and January 28, 2017 
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows – Years ended February 2, 2019, February 3, 2018, and 
January 28, 2017 
Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements 

2. 
3. 

Financial Statement Schedules 
Exhibits: See Item 15(b) below. 

(b)  Exhibits 

Exhibit 
Number 

Description 

3.1 

3.2 

4.1 

Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on June 
11, 2014). 

Amended and Restated Bylaws of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. (incorporated by reference to 
Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on June 11, 2014). 

Form of Specimen Common Stock of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. (incorporated by reference 
to Exhibit 4.1 to Amendment No. 1 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration 
No. 333.1944421) filed on March 24, 2014). 

10.1 

  Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of May 23, 2018, Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc., as 

Lead Borrower, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Administrative Agents, Collateral Agent, and 
Swing Line Lender, and the other parties listed on the signature pages thereto. (incorporated by reference 
to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 25, 2018). 

10.2 

  Guaranty, dated as of May 23, 2018, by Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc., as Guarantor, in favor of 
Wells Fargo Retail Finance, LLC, as Administrative Agent and Collateral Agent, and the Credit Parties 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 
25, 2018). 

10.3 

  Security Agreement, dated as of May 23, 2018, by Sportsman’s Warehouse, Inc., Minnesota 

Merchandising Corp., Sportsman’s Warehouse Southwest, Inc. and Pacific Flyway, LLC, as Borrowers, 
and Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc., as Guarantor, in favor of Wells Fargo Retail Finance, LLC, as 
Collateral Agent (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 
10-Q (Registration No. 333-1944421) filed on May 25, 2018). 

10.4 

  Form of Agreement between holders of restricted nonvoting common stock and Sportsman’s Warehouse 
Holdings, Inc. (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.6 to the Company’s Registration Statement on 
Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-1944421) filed on March 7, 2014). 

77 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Exhibit 
Number 

10.5* 

  Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. 2013 Performance Incentive Plan. (incorporated by reference to 

Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-1944421) filed 
on March 7, 2014). 

Description 

10.6 

  Sportsman's Warehouse Holdings, Inc. Employee Stock Purchase Plan (incorporated by reference to 

Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on August 28, 2015). 

10.7* 

  Form of Restricted Stock Unit Award Agreement (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.8 to the 

Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-1944421) filed on March 7, 2014). 

10.8* 

  Form of Indemnification Agreement for Directors and Executive Officers (incorporated by reference to 

Exhibit 10.9 to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-1944421) filed 
on March 7, 2014).  

10.9* 

  Employment Agreement, dated January 21, 2014, between Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. and 

Kevan P. Talbot (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.11 to the Company’s Registration Statement on 
Form S-1 (Registration No. 333-1944421) filed on March 7, 2014). 

10.10† 

  Letter Agreement, dated December 6, 2016, between Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. and Kevan 
P. Talbot (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K 
(Registration No. 333-1944421) filed on December 7, 2016. 

10.11* 

  Employment Agreement, May 11, 2018, between Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. and Jon Barker 
(incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Current Report on Form 8-K filed on May 
17, 2018). 

21.1** 

  Subsidiaries of Sportsman’s Warehouse Holdings, Inc. 

23.1** 

  Consent of KPMG LLP. 

31.1** 

  Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

31.2** 

  Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

32.1*** 

  Certification of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 1350, as 

created by Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. 

101.INS**   XBRL Instance Document. 

101.SCH**   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema Document. 

101.CAL**   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase Document. 

101.DEF**   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase Document. 

101.LAB**   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase Document. 

101.PRE**   XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase Document. 

*  Management contract or compensatory plan or arrangement 
**  Filed herewith 
***  Furnished herewith 
† 

Indicates that certain information contained herein has been omitted and confidentially submitted separately with 
the Securities and Exchange Commission. Confidential treatment has been requested with respect to the omitted 
portions. 

ITEM 16. Form 10-K Summary 

Not Applicable 

78 

     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the 

Registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized. 

SIGNATURES 

Date: March 29, 2019 

Date: March 29, 2019 

SPORTSMAN’S WAREHOUSE HOLDINGS, INC. 

By: 

By: 

/s/    Jon Barker 
Jon Barker 
President and Chief Executive Officer 
(Principal Executive Officer) 

/s/    Kevan P. Talbot 
Kevan P. Talbot 
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary 
(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer) 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following 
persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated: 

Signature 

/s/Jon Barker 
Jon Barker 

/s/ Kevan P. Talbot 
Kevan P. Talbot 

/s/ Christopher Eastland 
Christopher Eastland 

/s/ Kent V. Graham 
Kent V. Graham 

/s/ Gregory P. Hickey 
Gregory P. Hickey 

/s/ Joseph P. Schneider 
Joseph P. Schneider 

/s/ Rich McBee 
Rich McBee 

/s/ Martha Bejar 
Martha Bejar 

Title 
Chief Executive 
Officer and Director 
(Principal Executive Officer) 
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary 
(Principal Financial and 
Accounting Officer) 
Director 

Date 
March 29, 2019  

March 29, 2019 

March 29, 2019 

Director 

March 29, 2019 

Director 

March 29, 2019 

Director 

March 29, 2019 

Director 

Director 

March 29, 2019 

March 29, 2019 

79 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
     
     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
(This page has been left blank intentionally.)

CORPORATE DIRECTORY 

Stockholder Information 

Board of Directors 

Independent Accounting Firm 
KPMG, LLP 
Salt Lake City, Utah 

Listing 
Equiniti 
PO Box 64945  
St, Paul, MN 55164-0945 
(651)-450-4064 

Annual Meeting 
The annual meeting of Stock holders will be 
held on May 29, 2019 

Corporate Investor 
Please direct inquiries to: 
ICR. Inc. 
Farah Soi/Rachel Schacter 
(203) 682-8200 
Investors@sportsmanswarehouse.com 

Corporate Officers 
Jon Barker 
President, Chief Executive Officer, and 
Director 

Kevan P. Talbot 
Chief Financial Officer and Secretary 

Joseph P. Schneider (2) 
Chairman of the Board of Directors and 
Retired 

Christopher Eastland 
Director and Partner at Seidler Equity 
Partners 

Kent V. Graham (1)(2) 
Director and Retired 

Gregory P. Hickey (1)(3) 
Director and Retired 

Jon Barker 
Director 

Kay Toolson (2)(3) 
Director and Retired 

Richard McBee (2)(3) 
Director and President and CEO of Mitel 
Networks Corporation 

Martha Bejar (1)(3) 
Director and Co-Founder of Red Bison 
Advisory Group, LLC 

(1)  Member of the Nominating and Governance 

Committee 

(2)  Member of the Compensation Committee 
(3)  Member of the Audit Committee