Under new ownership, Waldo’s Sports Center has continued to thrive amidst the pandemic and has big plans for the future.
At this point in time, most of Waldo’s Sports Center’s business comes from being an outdoor store with guns, ammo, bows, hunting supplies and more, but owner Eric Thornhill said the goal is to get it to become more of an overall sports store.
“It’s going to take a few years to get it rolling. We’re not going to just load it down with baseball, basketball and football stuff like that, but we want to make it where people can come by and have the opportunity to get some sporting gear,” he said.
Right now it’s mainly a hunting store, but Thornhill’s goal is to make it a business where any kind of customer, from men to women and kids, can come in and find something they need. It added fishing poles and supplies this year, which Thornhill said has been a welcome addition.
Thornhill owns the business with his uncle, Thomas, and brother, Shane. It had always been Thomas’ dream to own an outdoors store, and one day they all got to talking about it and had the opportunity to buy Waldo’s.
“We all have a love for outdoors and guns so we jumped on the opportunity to buy it,” Thornhill said.
They also own Thornhill Forestry, which Shane mainly runs, while Thornhill and Thomas go back-and-forth between the two businesses.
After purchasing Waldo’s Jan. 1, Thornhill said 2020 has proved to be both a good and challenging year. Because it was their first year owning the business, Waldo’s was considered an essential business and didn’t get shut down with the pandemic. The biggest hurdle has been getting merchandise because the majority of it is made overseas.
“Now with hunting season kicking in, people are buying it faster than we can get it in, which is a good thing but a bad thing on the other end that you can’t replace your product,” Thornhill said. “It’s been a good year, but it’s just been a crazy year.”
Ricky McDaniel, who is over the gun and ammo department, is a retired game warden who is also a gun collector and knows everything there is to know about the products Waldo’s sells.
“He knows what he’s doing,” Thornhill said. “As far as having him to know what a person wants when they walk in and say, ‘I don’t know what I want, but this is what I want it to do.’ Whether they want to deer hunt with it, turkey hunt, duck hunt, he’s got the knowledge of helping that customer pick out a product that fits their needs. If you go into another store, they’ll have someone there that will just sell you a gun. We don’t just sell you a gun; we sell you what you need.”
Josh Solomon is over the bows at Waldo’s and has a passion for archery, shooting in tournaments in his free time.
“He’s the same way as Ricky. He won’t sell you whatever he can push on you. He’s going to sell you what you really need,” Thornhill said. “With them two, they help out a lot and have a lot of knowledge of the business. They’ve been a great help to us getting us up to speed.”
Thornhill added having a knowledgeable staff is what has made Waldo’s a successful business because if consumers go to one of the big stores in Hattiesburg, they won’t get the same type of service and expertise. Beginning with Waldo Cleland then Donald Rawls, Thornhill said it’s always been a business with a name customers can trust.
“We’re going to try to carry it on and make it even better than it’s been,” he said.
Waldo’s is open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturday.
