After six decades, generations of customers, Turlock sports and hunting shop is closing
After 66 years of being the place to go in Turlock for your first baseball mitt, your new varsity letter jacket or your favorite hunting gear, Bilson’s Sports Shop is closing its doors.
The sporting goods and firearms retailer, which was first opened in Ceres by the late Bill Bilson in 1955, starts its going out of business sale this week. The shop moved to Turlock after about a dozen years, and has been in its custom-built, two-story Lander Avenue location since 1979.
The elder Bilson retired in 1997, when his son Brad Bilson and friend Steve Moe bought the business from him. The pair have been running the show for the past 25 years.
Bilson’s is among a dying breed of full-service sports retailers in the region, locally owned and staffed by hunting and sporting enthusiasts who’ve tried almost everything they sell. They’ve served generations of customers and said it’s those interactions they’ll miss the most.
“We never want people to feel like they’re a number here,” Bilson said. “That’s something that’s ingrained in me as part of the community. We’ve built a lot of friendships with customers over the years — a lot of friendships.”
Firearms sales challenging in state
But they said there are other aspects of the business they’ll miss less — and contributed to their decision to close. Bilson said it’s become too challenging to be a firearms retailer in California, which has some of the toughest gun control laws in the nation.
That combined with the hit their school-related sporting goods and apparel sales took during the pandemic and continued competition from big-box retailers signaled it was simply time to stop. Moe said recent supply chain issues have also furthered their headaches.
“Its frustrating when someone wants to buy a product but we just can’t get it,” Moe said. “Every industry has been affected” by the pandemic supply chain issues.
Bilson and Moe said firearms can account for anywhere from 60% to 40% of their sales, which flip-flop with their school athletics sales depending on the season. But recent changes, including fines that run $1,000 to $3,000 for incorrectly filling out paperwork, have made their jobs less fun. That, Bilson said, just ran contrary to their unofficial motto, “We sell fun.”
Bilson’s official motto, “The Store for All Seasons,” meant it was the place to go for everything from new life jackets for boating season to skiing gear, hunting weapons, baseball uniforms, sports shoes and a whole lot more.
Shop thrived on special orders, loyal customers
Bilson said they’ve always prided themselves on hiring people who have deep knowledge in the sports, recreational activities and other gear they are selling. But, he said, increases in the state minimum wage have also increased their labor costs. And they haven’t been able to raise prices to make up for that because of corporate competition. The store used to have a staff of 12 and now has about half that employed.
Like its former Modesto-based counterpart Valley Sporting Goods, which in 2012 closed after 65 years in business, Bilson’s has found that the business of fun has gotten harder. Bilson and Moe attribute their success in today’s Amazon world to their expertise and ability to meet customer needs. That includes completing on time a complicated custom order like for a whole team’s uniforms and gear.
The business partners have vowed to complete all of their existing custom team orders, regardless of where they are in the closing process.
Their huge going out of business sale will start Wednesday, June 22, for invitation-only customers, and then be opened to the general public Thursday. Bilson and Moe have hired a third-party company to run the liquidation sale, and everything down to the fixtures is up for grabs. The discounts will be set to start at up to 50% off.
Because of the outside company’s involvement, Bilson said the best way to find out what’s on sale and when certain items are discounted is to go to bilsonsports.com and register for email updates. Registering also gives customers access to the Wednesday preview event, which will run from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Liquidation sale expected to last ‘weeks’
The rest of the going out of business sale starting Thursday will run 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily (except for Sundays, when they’re closed).
They aren’t sure how long the sale will last, with the best guess at “weeks.” Once completed, they plan to put the 7,200-square-foot building, which the Bilson family owns, up for lease. Both men are also contemplating their next steps.
Moe has already moved to Idaho, and Bilson said he hopes to move to what he considers to be a more “business-friendly” state in the near future. After that, who knows, both men said they might even look into opening small sports shops elsewhere separately.
But before they leave, Bilson said he’s particularly proud that his 14-year-old daughter was able to work in the shop as well, as she was this week sorting through upcoming sales items. Her employment completes three generations of Bilsons who all got their start at the store.
“We’ve always wanted people to feel like family here,” Bilson said. “We know grandmothers who bought her letterman jackets here and their sons bought their letterman jackets here and now their grandkids are buying letterman jackets here. We appreciate everyone who has supported us all these years. We’ve had extremely loyal customers and I’ve gotten so many hugs recently.”
For more information, visit bilsonsports.com or call 209-634-4543.
This story was originally published June 22, 2022 at 12:00 AM.
