Why is my local Fleet Farm never stocked anymore??

I understand the seasonal changes, but my local (Blaine) Fleet Farm has been really disappointing for months now.

Went to get a few things for an ice fishing trip. Yes I understand lots of stores are winding down ice fishing stuff. Not impressed at all with their tackle bag selection. Oh well, move on to fishing line. Both the ice lines and main line areas extremely picked over. Nothing I want. Oh well, move on to get some slip bobbers. Hardly any. Well, I’ll at least get a couple bags of split shot…. nope! Seriously nothing but empty spaces in the split shot area. This basic terminal tackle stuff is not even seasonal it should be stocked at all times. Fed up I walked out disappointed for like the 10th time in a row.

I noticed this year at Rochester fleet farm is kind of unorganized. A lot of stuff I noticed isn’t even priced and a lot of things out of stock. I hope this doesn’t continue to get worse.

They were my first stop for hunting/fishing things. Scheels is starting to become the favorite of mine lately, they seem to be more organized, bigger selection and they will price match ANYTHING you find cheaper online no questions asked.

It’s not just Blaine. Cambridge fleet farm is very disappointing also. I went in two weeks ago for a new reel, a vexilar battery, and a new spool of 6# mono.
I left with nothing.
They get one shipment of ice fishing stuff per season, when it’s gone it’s gone.

Coletrain27 wrote:

I noticed this year at Rochester fleet farm is kind of unorganized. A lot of stuff I noticed isn’t even priced and a lot of things out of stock. I hope this doesn’t continue to get worse.

They were my first stop for hunting/fishing things. Scheels is starting to become the favorite of mine lately, they seem to be more organized, bigger selection and they will price match ANYTHING you find cheaper online no questions asked.

Scheels does a pretty good job at keeping things stocked and organized. You definitely need to take advantage of their price matching though. Without it, their products are considerably more expensive than at Fleet Farm. I was able to price match a pistol a few months ago that was not “on sale” at either place, yet it was $60 cheaper at Fleet Farm.

Noticed the same at Mankato. They said they do not do any of their own ordering, it all comes from headquarters so they do not know what will be on each delivery truck, or when/if something might be in stock. Ran into a bit of a problem earlier this month when trying to get a Strike Master Lite Flite Auger. Had $200 of FF money, so I really only wanted to buy it from there. It was never in stock, for 2 weeks they told me to call each morning to see if one was on the most recent delivery truck.

Ive noticed a lack of restocking locally also and not on seasonal items.
Amsoil and headlight bulbs.
The amsoil factory is 10 miles away and they don’t restock, figure that out…

I was there last week as well. I would say the fishing line and reel areas had maybe 25% of the peg hooks occupied. Someone at that company needs to figure out how to stock a sales floor.
I did notice their grocery section was well stocked, because no one buys anything from that section.

It’s getting to the point where it’s a waste of my time to even stop there. Last waterfowl season, shotgun shells were very limited even before opener. I used to buy my dog bones there and after weeks and weeks of stopping and finding the empty rack I found them at Menards and changed that routine. For Christmas I wanted to buy my step Dad some basic walleye jigs and slip bobber stuff, all empty shelves. I could keep going…..

And I like Fleet Farm… hope they figure it out.

Same at the FF in Waite Park. If they only sold sporting goods they would be out of business in a year. They are taking the Gander and Cabela’s model and we know how well that worked for them. I just don’t understand why these places can not figure it out. Far to many Book smart accounting Types now in charge of decision making, Purchasing, and ordering. Most of them would not know the correct end of a gun to point or the difference between a spinning and a baitcasting rod. Years ago when places like Holiday sports, Burger brothers, and early years of Gander Mountain were doing really well they were managed by people who were avid hunters and fishermen. Each manager was responsible for doing his own ordering and knew what products his location would sell well. They only hired employee’s who knew and understood the products they sold. They did a ton of product training to keep their employees up to date on all the latest gear. I guess I must be getting old – Because I find myself saying things like ” in the good old days “

lindyrig79 wrote:

And I like Fleet Farm… hope they figure it out.

Same here, but the Brooklyn Park store has been going downhill, too.

FF in Carver is always fully stocked with the fishing stuff no one wants. I always wondered why they stock the same amount of every color but 95% of what they sell is 2 or 3 of the colors. Like said above when its gone its gone. Last summer all I wanted was white 3″ twister tails they didn’t have them all summer. Kid in fishing dept said they sold out right away. God forbid order more white and less blue and pink and other weird schit colors that never even have one missing of the peg.

Carver Fleet Farm is that way as well, even with dog food. I’m looking forward to the new Scheels to open in EP as the options for outdoors stuff are disappointing and diminishing in the SW metro.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>lindyrig79 wrote:</div>
And I like Fleet Farm… hope they figure it out.

Same here, but the Brooklyn Park store has been going downhill, too.

Seems like a recurring theme, these stores are bought out by a bigger corporation, consolidate purchasing to some central location that can’t or won’t figure out their shelves are empty. I’d like to think it’s just some algorithm or monitoring system that is slow to catch up, but I’m not holding my breath….

BigWerm wrote:

won’t figure out their shelves are empty

My guess is their new philosophy is that an empty shelf costs them less than a shelf with unsold inventory.

I think when you start seeing bargain bins at the end of every aisle like gander was notorious for, it’s probably becoming a losing operation.

It is my understanding that when they sold, restocking got left to the supplier of the items. I have been in the Waite Park store multiple times and saw non Mills people stocking different items. Is it on all items? I can’t say that for sure but it seems like more of the tools, auto, hunting and fishing are the things that are not stocked very well. Or those are the only things I really go there for and that’s why I notice them.

I’m from Nebraska where we aren’t fortunate enough to have stores like Fleet Farm or Runnings. I travel and fish through South Dakota and heard of the Fleet stores selection and thought i would stop in a couple towns and check them out. First store had a selection that rivaled some gas stations, and i thought well its maybe too far south to carry alot. Next one was farther north and centered in the states heart of ice fishing, still no more than the other. Then i went to Runnings in the same town. Wow. I was impressed with selection and prices. They literally carried everything. I see no need to ever stop at any Fleet Farms unless i need a truck battery.

Over the years I’ve noticed that the fishing department at the Oakdale FF gets restocked twice during the ice season. This is about the time things start looking bare.

My brother works there. They are understaffed and do not treat the employees the greatest. Many of the folks that were there when it was sold are gone. The “Now Hiring” signs when you walk in never comes down. They have inventory issues as well. When they do their auditing things get even worse. I was in the Lakeville store a couple of weeks ago. Long lines and 3 tills running. I walked out and left the merchandise behind.

We have a Runnings coming to Saint Cloud later this year or early next year. I cant wait. I hear they do a really nice job with sporting goods – Lets hope so anyway

Short answer is they want guaranteed sales and not sit on inventory while more people buy online

Think ice fish tackle is slim try finding some crankbaits right now.

on my way home from fargo today I stopped at the fleet farm in Alexandria. I wandered through the fishing dept and I think they had a fair amount of stuff. I dint look real hard as I need really don’t need any fishing stuff…yea I said that. I did pick up a new transom saver though!!!!!

what I found odd was all the tables of “clearance” stuff. never seen that at a fleet farm that I recall!!!!!

“what I found odd was all the tables of “clearance” stuff. never seen that at a fleet farm that I recall!!!!!”

They had a big clearance sale last week.

A lot of these retail places simply can’t keep up with demand and their current amount of employees. Ever wonder why just about every place like this has a NOW HIRING sign posted? They need more help. Problem is that it’s hard to find reliable employees willing and able at this point.

It is almost February. When is the season closed? Yonkers, Fleet Farm made their money and now their transitioning to other things. They have been doing this forever. SADLY The left over stuff gets thrown away if it’s not in sale bin. Yeah, I worked there for a bit. poop I was asked to dump pesticides and fertilizers in the yard that were returns. Oakdale Mn.

Interesting that it seems to be a common theme across multiple stores/regions? I was at the Rochester store this week and the empty spots on the shelves were almost equal to the space with inventory and ‘20% off CLEARANCE’ signs everywhere. And it was not just a couple of departments as some have previously mentioned – it was end to end.
Makes ya think that ‘something’ is going on….

Monticello same thing, jigging raps out of stock all summer. Running’s in Monticello superior for fishing, bonus complete live bait selection. Superior help as well.

Heck, I was at the Blain store, they had more crankbaits that ice fishing stuff.

Fleet Farm went way down hill when it was sold by the Mills Family to a private equity company. These private equity companies come in and try to reduce expenses and increase profits for stock holders. They treat employees like garbage and and customer service quickly goes down hill. Support your local bait and tackle shop or hardware store and you will probably have a better experience. I live within 5 minutes of Carver Fleet Farm and it is embarrassing to see how bad it is in there.

Menomonie has went down the toilet. Out of stock on everything. Tons of tan painted deck hardware though… lumber stock is also worthless. Sad after the Mills sold.