May 26, 2026

Well, that didn’t take long. Two weeks ago, in this column I wrote, “What if West Marine goes bankrupt?“ I got a few letters from readers and then this week the news broke that the West Marine Bankruptcy was proceeding with papers filed and the legal action beginning. Through Peter Swanson’s “Loose Cannon” newsletter, we learned more details about the real situation West Marine is in.

The most important information is that there is a long list of marine companies who are owed substantial sums of money, presumably for products ordered and delivered but not sold or paid for. Garmin heads the list with over $8.5 million owed and thirty other companies on the list with more than $650,000 owed. There may be many other suppliers owed lesser sums but these are significant amounts and all those big suppliers will need to find ways to handle the losses.

The big concern we see is that these are some of the biggest international businesses supplying the marine industry and these losses will have to be accounted for somehow – most likely through rising prices.

In the current economic climate, raising prices will negatively impact sales and according to the bankruptcy filing, there are some 100,000 creditors. How this wave of losses will play out is to be determined but none of us welcome higher prices.

The stores are almost all in the United States but the suppliers are international, so the pain will spread globally including to Canada. A box in the Chapter 11 Bankruptcy filing was checked off to indicate estimated liabilities of $500 million to $1 billion, (US dollars of course).  The top 30 unsecured claims against the company total more than $66 million, so I take that to suggest that actually, the bulk of the debt is owed to many smaller companies.

Our sources of special marine parts and supplies may be suddenly curtailed as the damage spreads to their books.

This is bad news for our industry as we look ahead to the Summer of 2026 in the hope of stronger sales. And, the turbulent international situation looked likely to stimulate a very healthy domestic market for tourism again this year, but this will at least cast a dark shadow over the hopes for a better year.

It seems likely that West Marine will survive and maybe even thrive after this Chapter 11 bankruptcy but the industry will take a huge hit.

The best suggestion is to get in touch with your marine distributors now, to learn more about how this West Marine bankruptcy may impact your business and plan your way through this unexpected situation.

Andy Adams – Editor