Ram Ventures to form sporting goods group

Arkansas Business, July 5, 2004 by Mark Friedman

Ram Venture Holdings Corp. of Little Rock is planning to buy Mack's Sport Shop LLC of Stuttgart for $8.5 million as part of a sporting goods conglomerate it is putting together.

Ram also is planning to buy Hodgman Inc. of Montgomery., Ill., Quest Outdoor Show of Tulsa and two more companies that haven't been announced yet, said Mack's owner Marion McCollum.

"We make a good partner in that," McCollum said.

A Ram spokesman couldn't be reached for comment.

McCollum said he will still own Mack's land and building, which are valued at $6 million. The purchase agreement will call for McCollum to lease the property to Ram for an amount that is still being worked out, he said.

McCollum also said there will be no change in management or staff at Mack's, and that he will remain president.

Ram first announced its plan to buy Mack's in a June 22 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The filing said RAM had acquired an option to purchase Mack's Sport Shop LLP, the limited liability partnership that owns the sporting goods store and catalog company. The $8.5 million price does not include any liabilities Mack's might have.

Mack's began as McCollum's Hardware Store but began stocking duck hunting supplies in the 1930s when duck hunters began coming to Stuttgart, now an annual destination for duck hunters throughout the world. In 1944, the company opened a separate shop devoted to hunting supplies, and Mack's Sport Shop was born.

Today, Mack's operates a 104,000-SF retail store on U.S. 63 in Stuttgart and sells items on its Web site at www.mackspw.com. Its mail-order business, Mack's Prairie Wings, sent 2.4 million catalogs in 2002.

Last year, officials at Mack's denied rumors that the store had been sold. The latest rumor involved Natural Gear of Little Rock buying the sporting goods shop. Natural Gear is owned by Natgear LLC, an Arkansas company that owns the copyrights on open-faced camouflage patterns.

It now appears the rumor might have contained some truth.

Ram, formerly based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., went public in March in a reverse merger with American Apparel & Accessories Inc. of Little Rock. The deal gave American Apparel, also known as A-3, 90 percent ownership of Ram Ventures, allowing it to trade shares over-the-counter under Ram Ventures symbol RVHC.

John Lewis, Ram's chairman and CEO, formed A-3 in 1999 and acquired Natgear. In 2002, A-3 acquired the rights to Wildlife Quest, a hunting television show broadcast by ESPN2. The companies said the show reaches about 800,000 viewers each week.