EMS Burlington to close

[Bobby]

EMS in Burlington MA is closing. An extra 10% off in stock items available until 12-31-07. Sounds good, if you have any money left after holiday shopping

 

[Peaks]

Couldn't take the competition from LL Bean? And REI isn't that far away in Reading.

 

[bignslow]

Those local should keep their eyes out, Eventually after all the "mainstream" stuff gets bought out they keep discounting. Nicole & I got a bunch of stuff at 50% and 80% from the one in Smithaven Mall in NY.

 

[ADKdremn]

Is EMS struggling overall? The store at my local mall down in PA closed around a year ago. It was really the only store in my area that provided some of the more technical gear. I need some stuff from EMS, so tonight headed out with the wife and kids to the next closest EMS 40 minutes away only to find out that they just closed too! Talk about a let down.

 

[una_dogger]

Perfect timing for me to spend the EMS giftcard I received for Christmas!

Although, what is thier motivation? Seems EMS has really saturated the Greater Boston Area market with stores...now are they consolidating ? Wonder if our local Acton EMS-the-size-of-a-postage-stamp is close behind this trend???

More customers for REI, I suppose...Peaks, the LL Bean in Burlington is largely a clothing store.

 

[bikehikeskifish]

And yet they just built that huge new store in Portsmouth. Clearly they cannot survive 100% on "just us" (the technical gear heads) and hence the fleece/hats/socks/jackets at the mall stores do support them overall.

Tim

 

[caleb]

My observation is that EMS is a tightly run business which responds quickly to changing markets and the to the effects on profit/loss of its various decisions. I shop with them a lot, almost exclusively, for my outdoor needs. Lately though, I have run afoul of its its merchandising policy that prohibits shipping products between stores. If you go to a particular EMS store and they don't have your size or if an item isn't stocked (which happens a lot in the smaller stores) they absolutely will not ship store-store for you. According to customer service, doing so was unprofitable as only 1/3 of product was actually purchased by the requestee. To me though, this policy is unsatisfying and even downright unfriendly. This insistence for profit in every decision, at the expense, IMO, of good and reasonable customer service, has already got me thinking more in terms of shopping REI in Reading MA than in going to the spankin new EMS store ten minutes away from me in Portsmouth.

 

[Peaks]

Well, it's certainly not the first EMS to close. A few years ago, the Greendale Mall store closed after the Solomon Pond Mall store opened in Marlboro and the Blackstone store opened in Millbury.

 

[Maddy]

Well, it's certainly not the first EMS to close. A few years ago, the Greendale Mall store closed after the Solomon Pond Mall store opened in Marlboro and the Blackstone store opened in Millbury.

Yes indeed! And the EMS store at Ingleside also closed.
I love REI and have never once had a bad experience there. They even took back a pair of one year old hiking boots that I never even asked them to take back. They did not fit me properly. The closest one to me is Natick and that is a 140 mile round trip but it's certainly worth it.

 

[smitty77]

I'm sure it's all part of the new ownerships' master plan for future growth. I ran into a guy driving an EMS-logo'd Escape at a local gas station (just off Rt.2) about a year ago and we got into a chat about EMS gear while pumping gas. I believe the guy worked in the marketing department and informed me of the purchase of EMS by a European firm. He told me gear heads like myself would be pleased with the new direction EMS would be heading, away from the fleece-y, yuppie, sit-by-the-fire-wear and more into technical gear designed for outdoor use. Shortly thereafter I noticed the website logo changed, they stopped carrying kids clothing, and they closed the Greendale store. The closing at Burlington looks like another step in the master plan, right behind the closing in Holyoke.

 

[Grandaddy]

The North Attleboro EMS was closed about 6 months ago. I spoke with a sales associate during there everything-must-go fire sale. He indicated that they were opening a larger (seemingly REI-inspired) freestanding store in Canton, MA.

I recently stopped by the new LL Bean in Mansfield, MA. This store is definitely geared towards the sit-by-the-fire yuppy types. REI seems to lead the way in technical gear.

Has EMS lost its niche?

 

[Bobby]

The latest e-mail (today) from EMS shows the discount is now 20%

 

[DrJJFate]

Interesting discussion. EMS recently opened a new, large location in Newton, MA right on the Needham line, just off 128.

Perhaps they are simply moving away from both the in-mall and smaller, less tech gear footprints.

I know two of the reasons that L.L. Bean slammed on the brakes to their retail store development back in 2000 was that the in-mall stores they had (in Northern Virginia) were 1) stocking only random sizes/styles of certain items, and 2) people were not purchasing large items due to access [i.e: carrying a canoe through a mall after you purchase it].

After five years of rethinking and tweaking, they have their new model: Outdoor access in and our of their new locations; and, they may not stock everything in their catalog, but what they do stock, they have in all colors/styles/sizes. This is what is in Burlington and Mansfield.

Hopefully EMS is circling the wagons and trying to expand available selection at the existing locations and by consolidating smaller footprint and/or underperforming locations.

On a side note, I was in the old Bob Smith/Wilderness House - Now Joe Jones. Their selection is still great and remains similar to what it was under previous ownership. I had a chat with a marketing guy who was in that day and he said they are trying to figure out how to market this specific location (much technical gear, kayaks, skis, windsurfing, etc.) since it is very different from the other Joe Jones out there. If you're looking for specialty items (Western Mountaineering bags, Bibler tents) they have them in stock.

Just letting everyone know.

 

[nartreb]

The latest e-mail (today) from EMS shows the discount is now 20%

Let me know when it hits 50%. Last time I shopped at EMS they were having a 20% off sale which nearly induced me to buy some stuff, but I found the same stuff cheaper a week later at REI (which was not advertising a sale).

 

[David Metsky]

I stopped by there on Saturday after skiing. Their footwear selection was marked down, then had 50% off, then an additional 20% the entire order. I got a nice pair of Gore-Tex hikers for $24 and a new pair of sneaks for $14. Selection was getting smaller, but there were many pairs in the bigger sizes. There were even New Balance trail runners with screw in spikes for traction.

 

[rocksnrolls]

I work near the Burlington store and have been going in extra regularly now that they are closing. I've got my eye on a couple big ticket items (tent, overnight pack, etc) and hope the discount gets even better close to the last day. Yesterday I picked up a great Petzl headlamp. Originally about $50, everything in the store is 20% off, and this was a display model, so I got another 20% off, making it about $30.

The men's clothing is getting pretty well picked over at this point. If you wear XL or XXL you could still find some great deals.