DUCK Dynasty star Willie Robertson’s store Duck Commander has been slammed as “unimpressive” and “cheap” by customers.
Willie, 53, owns Duck Commander in West Monroe, Louisiana with the warehouse holding a store, museum, tour and other family businesses.
On Duck Dynasty: The Revival, Willie revealed he hasn’t been as involved in the business recently, as he shocked workers by making a rare appearance at the store.
The U.S. Sun can exclusively reveal the shop has faced backlash from customers because of the “cheap” merchandise.
One customer wrote, “Just stopped in because we were in the area. Our kids used to love the show. Didn’t take the tour so maybe we should have, but the store was not very impressive. Not sure what I expected but definitely something more.”
Another commented, “Buyer Beware… Love the show and the family so of course we had to stop at the store on our way through town. I bought my son a hat and my daughter a shirt.
“When we got home from Spring Break, I washed the shirt and a lot of the brown paint came off the duck. I called the store and they told me to email customer service, which I did.
“Maybe they should pick a better screen printing company to work with, which would allow them to stand behind their merch!”
A third said, “Big disappointment! Used to be a cool place to stop and stretch your legs but it’s not what it used to be. Don’t waste your time.”
A fourth wrote, “Kinda small. Not much to it.”
But other fans loved the experience, as one wrote, “The Duck Commander was amazing. We particularly enjoyed the museum and it was well worth the money as each of us got to make a duck call.
It was a very special day bc they filmed an episode of Duck Dynasty: The Revival Season 1 the same day we visited.”
A second praised, “Absolutely loved the store and the self guided tour of the Robertson family history.”
The store sells merchandise including $34.99 shirts, $29.99 hats, $42.99 duck callers, $42 water bottles and more.
FAMILY BUSINESS
The Robertson family returned to A&E with Duck Dynasty: The Revival on Sunday, June 1.
On the premiere episode, Willie visits Duck Commander headquarters.
Even though he is head of the business, he was completely out of the loop with his wife, Korie, taking the reins.
He explained on the series, “Duck Commander warehouse is totally different, five or six businesses. It’s got a museum, family history, pretty much everything we’ve ever said or done is up on the walls of the museum.
“The gift shop, we have podcasts, we’ve written books, it’s a lot for one man to manage.”
When Willie showed up to the warehouse, he didn’t know the name of the woman at the front desk.
When a producer asked who is in charge of the business in a confessional with Willie and Korie, he said, “I am still currently in charge of this business.”
Korie smiled and quipped, “For the most part.
“It’s kind of complicated now because other people have really stepped up and done a great job of taking over different aspects of it.”
Willie then said, “Well when something big comes up I still come.”
Korie shot back, “Every few months.”
He then learned Korie runs the company meetings, which he didn’t know existed.
At the company meeting, Willie announced he is going to semi-retire and is looking for his replacement.
The U.S. Sun previously reported that despite Korie’s involvement in the company and his semi-retirement on the show, she has been snubbed from the business.
According to Louisiana business records, Willie is president and director of Duck Commander INC, while his late father, Phil, is listed as the director.
Korie is not listed on the business license.
Instead, she is listed as a member on Duck Commander The Tour, LLC while Willie is listed as the manager and the member.
RATINGS CRISIS
The U.S. Sun previously reported Duck Dynasty: The Revival premiere had just 510,000 viewers for the episode.
The Sunday, June 8 show dropped down to 438,000 viewers.
While the show exceeded the current programs on A&E, ratings plummeted drastically compared to its heyday.
The highest Duck Dynasty episode was on August 14, 2013.
The season four premiere drew a whopping 11.8 million viewers, making it the number one nonfiction series telecast in history at that time.
Duck Dynasty ratings remained in the millions throughout the show’s 11 seasons.
The final episode on March 29, 2017 brought in 1,507,000 viewers.
Variety reviewed the episode, claiming the show will “bore” viewers “to tears.”
One viewer said after watching the premiere, “Tonight’s show was a huge disappointment. I’ll watch next week bc I want this to succeed. Hoping it gets legs and takes off.”
Source : https://www.the-sun.com/tv/14475121/duck-dynasty-willie-robertson-store-ripped-unimpressive-cheap/