That is a huge financial backing. KKR has a lot of investments in active outdoor sport companies and this should be a good thing. The Rep firm that I have been working with deals with a number of companies backed/owned by KKR and they have been great to work with. I anticipate seeing some significant expansion following this.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. I’ve been a diehard FF-er for a long time, so I hope it’s a good thing for the stores.
That is a huge financial backing. KKR has a lot of investments in active outdoor sport companies and this should be a good thing. The Rep firm that I have been working with deals with a number of companies backed/owned by KKR and they have been great to work with. I anticipate seeing some significant expansion following this.
That’s reassuring as until this statement I have read nothing g positive about them. Nice to hear from someone who has first hand dealings.
It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out. I’ve been a diehard FF-er for a long time, so I hope it’s a good thing for the stores.
I’ll second that sentiment!
The Mills family is selling for a profit and the company buying is expecting a BIG profit. Things will change. I’m not going to stop going there but this news saddens me. Have really liked this store for so many years and used to shop at the Brainerd one all the time. Similar thing over at Cabelas happening. Investment firms dont buy stores to run them.
KKR, being one of the largest private equity firms on Wall Street will be looking for a new buyer before the ink is dried on the first deal. They recently bought capital safety out of Red Wing and sold it to 3m within a few years. It’s not necessarily a bad thing
I hope they expand farther south here in WI. Farm & Fleet down here ticks me off half the time I go there. 
I’m thinking the investment will improve and expand their online sales. I’m certainly not surprised in the Mills’ family decision to need more capital investment when considering they installed self swipe and electronic signature credit card machines just last year at the Baxter store. They seem to be a little behind the times.
I’m not glad to see the sale, but in the big picture I can see where it was kind of inevitable. The combination of expansion and the obvious need to renovate aging stores adds up to the need for huge amounts of capital.
I love Fleet Farm and to be honest, I don’t know what I’d do without them. I might be a dying breed, but I still do a lot of my own mechanic work, I need ag products for my hunting property, and so forth. Plus, of course, the hunting and fishing stuff. There isn’t really any good option that has all the stuff I love Fleet Farm for where it’s still under one roof.
Grouse
Same buyes, same management team, same family still involved, same sales team on the floor, same guys working in distribution centers, same truckers hauling, same manufacturer reps working with them, same major shows attended (ATA,SHOT,ICAST,MIDSTATES,….)
everyone here has/does shops at stores that are backed by KKR and they are stores you don’t hear people griping about. Now instead of being status quo, they’ll have the capital to add SKU’s, add stores, and implement upgrades.
Fleet Farm – The one stop shop for all your needs to build a bullhead holding tank.
I hope with this massive investment they will have more Vibratos, and KastMasters.
Same, same, same…..nothing will change… trust me. 
They can ditch the licorice aisle for sure 
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