Their furtive struggle to stay alive was pretty much an open secret in the industry, but last Friday’s bankruptcy filing by North Carolina’s 71-year old Big Rock Sports formalized an end most of their vendors knew had to be coming.
The Chapter 7 (liquidation) filing spells the end for the company that once bragged it carried more than 200,000 product SKUs and services for more than 20,000 fishing, hunting, camping, taxidermy and marine retailers across the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and other countries.
The voluntary filing was filed in the Bankruptcy Court of Judge Joseph N. Callaway in the Eastern District of North Carolina.
The financial situation for Big Rock was clearly explained as the case (#5:26-bk-00208) lists as a “no asset” case, meaning the estate has limited or no assets available for distribution.
Prior to the U.S. filing, Big Rock's Canadian operations, BRS Canada Acquisition, Inc., were assigned into bankruptcy on December 5, 2025.
With that filing, BRS’s 72 employees were paid their accrued wages and vacation pay before being terminated. The inventory on hand was, according to Insolvency Insider Canada being liquidated, but secured lenders and unsecured creditors were not expected to be fully repaid given the company’s “limited realizable assets.” Those creditors were led by Region’s bank.
The failure of Big Rock seems to only add emphasis to the fact that the brick-and-mortar model of retailing is struggling.
Onetime outdoor juggernaut Orvis, for example, has been shrinking since 2024 when it laid off eight percent of its corporate staff and shut down its catalog business. In 2025 the chain commenced the process of shutting down more than half of its 70 retail locations.
Orvis plans to have 31 retail stores and five outlets shuttered by the end of the first quarter.
Company officials have attributed the failures to tariffs.
The first forecasts of trouble in the world of brick and mortar sporting goods began in 2022 when a McKinsey report first forecasted troubles, saying “recent economic and geopolitical developments are becoming a serious concern for players across the industry.”
For the record, there are fewer “players” around today than in 2022. Since 2020 names that have disappeared from the retail landscape include Olympia Sports, Moosejaw, Public Lands (Dick’s Outdoor brand), Bob’s Stores, Eastern Mountain Sports, Next Adventure, and others.
As always, we’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd
