Sunny's going out of business

[BubbaBlue]

Too bad. Haven't shopped there lately but was always a good place to pick up cheap camping gear.

Liquidation starts Saturday. May find some deals.





Sunny's Great Outdoors files for bankruptcy

Sunny's Great Outdoors Inc., a retailer with an Annapolis store known for its affordable camping gear and rugged clothing, has filed for bankruptcy.

The company must hold liquidation sales and close its 15 Sunny's Surplus stores, it said in its Chapter 11 filing last week in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Baltimore.

"The unseasonably warm fall and winter seasons wreaked havoc on ... sales," the Elkridge-based company said in the filing. Holiday sales "fell below all levels of reasonable expectation."

Sunny's 2006 sales were about $11 million. Sunny's owes its 20 largest unsecured creditors a total of nearly $1.1 million, according to the bankruptcy filing.

The company's attorney declined to comment.

The liquidation sales are expected to begin by Saturday and end by March 31.

Managers at the Annapolis and Glen Burnie stores said employees were sent letters notifying them of the bankruptcy last weekend.

"It was a shock to everyone," said Andrew Mihm, Annapolis store manager who started his position at the Old Solomons Island Road store in November.

Mr. Mihm said the Annapolis store was known as the go-to place for Cub Scouts to find good deals for camping gear, and construction workers to purchase boots, jackets, and thermal underwear. But Mr. Mihm said he noticed business slow considerably this winter.

"It was like 70 degress outside. Are you going to be thinking you need a heavy jacket?" he said.

Sunny's grew from a store opened in 1948 in Baltimore and named Sunny's Surplus for one of its first managers. It got its start selling military leftovers in the aftermath of World War II.

It has stores in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia and employs 150 full-time and part-time workers. The stores sell camping, sporting and boating equipment, as well as clothing and outerwear. A company official said Sunny's owns its Annapolis building and will either lease the property to another business or possibly open the store back up.

"Once this process is complete, (Sunny's) will determine whether it can revive its business in a smaller format," the bankruptcy filing says.

Sunny's filed in 1997 for Chapter 11 protection and emerged from bankruptcy 13 months later.

An assistant manager of the Glen Burnie store on Ritchie Highway, who declined to give her name, said the bankruptcy wasn't a complete shock.

"I had a feeling it was coming," she said. "I am going to miss Sunny's, and I am going to miss working here."

:(

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[cygnus-x1]

It is sad to see them go. I really miss the time when they were an Army Surplus store. Thats when you could get some good deals on neat stuff. When they transitioned away from being a surplus thats when I stopped going. Even though I was a wee ladd then I remember vividly rummaging through the surplus army gear.

They will be missed

[Talapia]

It is sad to see them go. I really miss the time when they were an Army Surplus store. Thats when you could get some good deals on neat stuff. When they transitioned away from being a surplus thats when I stopped going. Even though I was a wee ladd then I remember vividly rummaging through the surplus army gear.

They will be missed

To bad, they were a good place to go
for hard to find items.

[bryanorosz]

Had some good stuff on things you can't really find (other than on eBay). I didn't shop there too often though since they were a little on the expensive side.

On a side note, when was "spell check" implemented on here...? Way to go!!! :D

[Dae]

It is sad to see them go. I really miss the time when they were an Army Surplus store. Thats when you could get some good deals on neat stuff. When they transitioned away from being a surplus thats when I stopped going. Even though I was a wee ladd then I remember vividly rummaging through the surplus army gear.

They will be missed

I know what you mean. They went from a Surplus store to a outdoors stores. I still miss their surplus days and if/when they come back as a smaller outfit, I hope they go back to their roots as a surplus store again.

- Dae

[drhnter]

I can remember going in the Glen Burnie store when it was in the middle of Glen Burnie (Crain Highway & B&A Blvd) and that was maybe 40-45 years ago, haven't shopped there much lately just don't think of them when I needed something, guess they are another casualty of the big box stores such as Sports Authority, Dicks, Bass Pro, and the catalogs...

[fyremanjef]

Well it was one of the few places you could go to get cub scout and boy scout uniforms..

[BubbaBlue]

Good place to get ski caps, odd ball camping stuff (net bags to be used for chumming) and machete's too. 'Bout the only things I've bought there recently. (The machete is awesome by the way. :cool: )

Yeah, I remember the good old days with the army surplus too. Think I still have a WW2 amo can I got there years ago.

When they started focusing on $60 jeans and high end stuff I think that killed them. They did a lot better job of selling junk. Good junk, but junk.
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[bryanorosz]

Doormat,
I was in scouts about 10 years ago...there was a place in the King of Prussia area (outside if Philly). I dont recall the name/location, but thought I could give you and your family a heads up.
Good luck!

[Talapia]

I can remember going in the Glen Burnie store when it was in the middle of Glen Burnie (Crain Highway & B&A Blvd) and that was maybe 40-45 years ago, haven't shopped there much lately just don't think of them when I needed something, guess they are another casualty of the big box stores such as Sports Authority, Dicks, Bass Pro, and the catalogs...

drhnter, you reside near my old stomping
grounds. I grew up around Fort Meade
and my parents still live in Hanover
near Arundel Mills.

[BLUESMAN]

Cub & Scout Uniforms in South Jersey:
Polski's in Woodbury
Bob's Little Sport Shop in Pitman

Also know the Philadelphia Headquarters has a uniform store and maybe the South Jersey Headquarters on route 49 in Millville

[BubbaBlue]

FYI.

Just came back from the Sunny's in Annapolis. Yeah, they have started their liquidation. :( I picked up a few things, but not much.

Deals? Not really. All the ads say "Up To 30% Off". Yeah, "up to". Most everything is 20%... a couple things 25%... didn't see anything 30%. I feel their normal is 20% overpriced anyhow, so with the discount, it's now priced closer to reasonable. Not a "deal".

I'll probably go back when they're about ready to close the door to see what's left.
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[bryanorosz]

Thanks for the heads up BubbaBlue.
Let us know when the "Sunny's Spring Run" begins!

campNfish

[BubbaBlue]

Received an email from Sunnys saying they are winding down their liquidation. "Up to 70% off". (As usual with these liquidation sales, heavy emphasis is on the "Up to".:rolleyes: )

These stores are closing their doors on 3/4/07:

7906 HARFORD RD - PARKVILLE, MD
THE TRADE CENTER - ALEXANDRIA, VA

Might find some deals there.
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[fyremanjef]

I went to the one in Laurel last Friday. Had tshirts for $4 and jackets for $20. All too small for me. Most of the stuff was gone. They did have some as in hammocks and about 10 pieces ofmilitary surplus stuff. I may have to check out their other stores. Figure they will move stuff to on store as the others close...

[BubbaBlue]

Digging out this old thread to let you guys know that they're back in business again. :confused:

I got this email this morning.
------------------


To: Loyal Sunny's Customer

Due to Customer Demand.......
WE ARE BACK!!!!!
Welcome To The
NEW
Sunny's Surplus

Now open in 3 great locations:

Annapolis
3 Old Solomons Isl. Rd.

Frederick
Frederick County Sq.

Westminster
Westminster Crossing West

Come in & check us out!!!

New Merchandise Arriving Daily!!!

---------------

Haven't been there yet. Might stop by next week to see what's up.
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[okimavich]

Odd. Isn't this like the 3rd or 4th time they've played the "Now you see me, now you don't, or do you?" game?

[BubbaBlue]

Yeah.

There was a rumor back when they were closing that this was just a restructuring and they would re-open with just the stores that had a good profit margin. Guess it came to pass.

The email I got this morning came with a coupon. Have at it:



http://clients2.targetware.com/Sunnys2/Uploads/MyImages/new_sunnys_25_coupon_2.JPG

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[bryanorosz]

ha, I received that email today as well! :D

[stupidjet]

Kmart bought sears when they went bankrupt...

it's just to get out of debt, no?

that place USED to be good.

ranger surplus sucks too now

[jcreamer]

How many times in the past years have they don this?

[BubbaBlue]

Didn't see your post John. Been offline since yesterday afternoon.

Seeing as how this ended up in the open forum, here's some information:



Sunny's Surplus (was Sunny's Great Outdoors and also known as Sunny's The Affordable Outdoor Store before closing) was a chain of 15 surplus stores in Washington, DC, Maryland, Northern Virginia, and Delaware. The chain was founded in 1948 to sell World War II surplus. It later added camping gear, and in 1990 renamed itself.

Sunny's was a Baltimore, Maryland, landmark, and has appeared in Barry Levinson's movie Liberty Heights and show Homicide: Life on the Street. The chain's "dog in the gas mask" commercial was awarded a Clio.

In early January 2007, Sunny's began liquidation sales as it prepared to close down all of its locations after the Elkridge-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in a decade. March 16, 2007, marked the final day in sales in which the company's remaining stores (a handful of stores up until this point had closed) were open for business. During the final weeks, rumors of the company to start back up into either a few small stores, or into one larger store began to circulate through the stores, though nothing has yet to materialize.

== Annapolis and Westminster locations are now open as part of 'The new Sunny's Surplus" as of 30 October 2007. A third store in Frederick, Maryland is expected to open by November 1, 2007. ==
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[RuddeDogg]

But it's sad to see a good tackle shop go.

[BubbaBlue]

Never heard of them or been there..

That right there is why I wondered why this got moved to the open forum. :confused: Anybody outside of Maryland wouldn't know about the company.


But it's sad to see a good tackle shop go.No tackle to speak of. Used to be a real cool Army surplus store but evolved into a outdoor store... like a low end REI with less stuff. Still had some interesting things that were hard to find anywhere else though.
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[BubbaBlue]

Yeah, the original thread sat in the Maryland board since the first of February, but now it gets moved. :rolleyes:

Oh well. If you don't live in Maryland, ignore this thread.

If the boyz needs some help with restaurants in the Annapolis area, I can help ya out. Sunnys isn't far from the new restaurant row on inner West Street. Heads up, traffic can be a real bear there.

To make this fishing related, they used to have a decent selection of cold weather clothing there to keep you warm at KN, like gloves, hats, etc. Yak stuff too.
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