71-year-old firearms and outdoor brand files Chapter 7 bankruptcy

Sporting goods retailers, including the broader hunting and fishing categories, have struggled over the past few years. That’s at least partly because the Internet cannibalized their sales.

For example, as a recreational tennis player, if I needed tennis balls, I used to have to go to a sporting goods retailer, which created the possibility that I might buy something else. For the retailer, this is a small lost sale, but also a greater opportunity to convert the purchase into a larger item.

A 2017 study written by Stanford University stated that “studies estimate that spending in brick-and-mortar stores will decline by nearly 4% due to the rise of e-commerce.”

According to Census.gov’s December 2025 Quarterly Retail Online Sales Report, online spending roughly doubled to 15.8% in the third quarter of 2025 since the report’s research was conducted.

Retail traffic at entertainment and sporting goods stores also declined 1.4% in 2024, while overall retail traffic across all retail stores increased 0.4%, according to Placer.ai.

Declining foot traffic and a lack of high-end online presence meant the end of many sporting goods and outdoor brands over the past year.

Now, Big Rock Sports has joined that list by filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

While Big Rock Sports isn’t a household name, it is a major player behind the scenes as a distributor. The company shared some of its business model on its now-defunct website, which can be accessed through the Internet Archive.

“With more than 200,000 product SKUs, Big Rock Sports serves more than 20,000 fishing, shooting, camping, taxidermy and marine retailers in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean and eight other countries,” the company said.

The dealership has a long history.

“Big Rock Sports’ history dates back more than 60 years to the founding of All-Sports Supply in Portland, Oregon. Back then, sporting goods was a more personal industry and dealers knew their retailers and their families by name,” it added.

(All Star Sports was founded in 1995, bringing the history of Big Rock Sports back 71 years.)

The company specializes in firearms, firearms accessories and fishing gear.

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Big Rock Sports, LLC Application Chapter 7 Bankruptcy The case is pending in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, BKAlerts.com reported.
According to documents filed on PacerMonitor, Chapter 7 filings are voluntary and handled by a court-appointed trustee.
PacerMonitor added that case number 5:26-bk-00208 is being overseen by Judge Joseph N. Callaway.
As of the time of filing, the case has been listed as “No assets” According to BKAlerts.com, this indicates that there are limited or no estate assets available for distribution.
According to Inforuptcy, Big Rock’s business includes numerous businesses and divisions in the sporting goods and outdoor goods sectors.
Isolvency Insider Canada added that ahead of the Chapter 7 filing, the Canadian operations in question have been liquidated, all employees have been laid off, and inventory is being sold during the liquidation process.
Isolvency Insider Canada added that secured lenders (such as bank agents) and unsecured creditors are not expected to be repaid in full, given the company’s limited realizable assets.

Big Rock Sport (BRS) Canada was separated from the parent brand on April 28, 2011 and incorporated under the laws of British Columbia. It operates as a Canadian sporting goods distributor.

“The company is headquartered in Barrie, Ontario and, as of the allocation date, operates three rental distribution centers in British Columbia, Manitoba and Ontario. The company is a Canadian subsidiary of Big Rock Sports, LLC, a U.S. distributor of sporting and hunting firearms, fishing gear and camping equipment,” Isolvency Insider Canada said.

On the date of bankruptcy, the company laid off all 72 employees and paid accrued wages and vacation time before the layoffs.

While the company has assets worth approximately $65.1 million, preliminary estimates indicate a significant reduction in its realizable value, with inventory, receivables and select intangible assets being the main sources of recovery.

Isolvency Insider Canada added: “Based on projected realizations and outstanding secured debt, the trustee does not anticipate that the proceeds, net of administrative fees, will be sufficient to fully repay the secured lender, Regions Bank (acting as administrative agent for the lending group). The company owes approximately CAD$2.57 million in direct borrowings and CAD$17.7 million in secured debt.”

Many well-known sports and outdoor goods chains have been liquidated over the past few years, including Modell’s, Olympia Sports, Moosejaw and the largest of them all, Sports Authority. Failure to master online sales led to the demise of some of these chains.

“Sports Authority has spent much of its tenure ignoring the undercurrent of a growing e-commerce channel. Given the plethora of industry peers available to consumers to choose from, relatively commoditized, undifferentiated merchandise does not bode well for the chain, which is further exacerbated by the virtual absence of a retail ‘click’ aspect,” Daniel Williams wrote in Retail Touchpoints.

Supply chain issues and consumer confidence are also having a broad impact on the retail industry, McKinsey data shows.

The consultancy said: “For the first time since the global epidemic began to abate, we are seeing consumers becoming more pessimistic than optimistic. Our consumer surveys in the United States and Europe show that concerns about the prospects for economic recovery have increased significantly and are now higher than during the Covid-19 crisis.”

Increased competition also adds to the challenges faced by retailers and distributors.

“The sporting goods market is highly fragmented as more challenger brands and digitally native companies enter the market,” BCG Matrix said.

RELATED: Discount retail chain closes all stores after bankruptcy

This article was originally published by TheStreet on January 30, 2026, and first appeared in the Retail section. Click here to add TheStreet as your preferred source.

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