BPS has apparently bought the Cabelas stores for $5B. I’d post a link from the Fidelity web site, but the format here doesn’t lend itself to Cut/Paste for some reason.
I always liked Cabelas, maybe since they were the first Big Box I ever saw. Plus, Johnny Morris bought my favorite King Salmon camp in BC and closed it to he public.
Here’s the story from USA Today:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2016/10/03/bass-pro-shops-cabelas-acquisition/91459212/
FWIW, I buy at least 90% of my fly gear from BPS or Cabela’s.
this could be the reason why the plan to open a Cabela’s in Middletown NY this year never happened. Rumor also had it that a Bass Pro Shop was going to be opened in Rutherford NJ, also which didn’t happen.
The question now is, in those markets that contain both stores, then which BP or Cabela’s will close, and secondarily, then who, if anyone (hopefully), take advantage of the closed site?
I have both a BPS and a Cabela’s about twenty minutes away. Both parking lots are full whenever I go, so I don’t know why they’d close either one.
Well, well. We stop at a Cabela’s in Maine on our way home and it is actually better than the highway rest area for lunch! I wonder if they will stay separate or merge into “Bassbela’s”?
I always look at the fly supplies on my pas through. I must order that kayak seat for my NuCanoe NOW!!
Mike
We have both in this market, and have historically had little or nothing in the way of local fly shops. This sale has been rumored for a while, and was something I had hoped wouldn’t come true. These two retailers sell a great deal more that I shop for than just fly fishing gear, and to me Cabelas has always been light years better than BP. The notion that they might close the Cabelas store and/or turn the brand into a clone of BP represents a huge loss as far as I’m concerned.
Being a sentimentalist and having experienced Cabela’s at their original warehouse site in “downtown” Sidney Nebraska a “few” years ago, I’m not sure of just how I feel about the transaction. I do feel it will benefit Cabela’s in Hoffman Estates, Cook County IL where the 10 % sales tax and the STUPID/NAIVE $. 05 cents per cartridge tax on ammunition ( lowered the DEATH BY GUN RATE by 2 in Chicago) has cut their sales by 50% in 5 years. They or BPS can now close the store, take a business tax loss of many millions , and build a new store about 1000 feet North where business environment is MUCH more favorable/ sensible.
Mark
PS:That being said, I’d rather be and am now in Wyoming
The Biz Ops folks always told me that an acquisition couldn’t be profitable unless prices went up. If Cabelas is losing $$ every quarter for 3 years or something now, the only way you can justify buying them is to eventually increase the prices they charge. Probably higher at BPS too, since a major competitor will be gone.
Marco - I too went to the Sydney store back about 1990. That was an experience for me. Think I spent over $300 that day, mostly in the Bargain Cave, like a kid in a candy store. BPS has never impressed me the same way somehow.
The Cabelas in Kalispell met a lot of resistance from locals because they were afraid it would hurt the valley flyshops/sporting goods stores. They needn’t have worried - mediocre selection/indifferent to non-existent customer service. A BPS would look a bit out of place in NW Montana.
Regards,
Scott
An employee at Cabelas last week told me that a directive had come down from on high that they HAD to reduce merchandise selection by 40% across the board. That didn’t make sense then but it does now. They were my local source for Mustad hooks but that was one of the things that hit the chopping block
I hope the basic character of Cabeles remains with respect to the products they carry but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some changes under both labels.
I have shopped both from catalog and later Internet. And I stop in the stores if I my travels take me near one , along with local fly shops
I have always thought Cabeles better served fly anglers in terms of product selection. And I thought Cabelas had better clothing - at least for me. I preferred Bass Pro selection for conventional saltwater gear and about even for conventional freshwater gear.
About an hour away, they just opened Cabela’s about 6 months ago and Bass Pro Shops, about 15 minutes away from the Cabela’s, has been open about 7 years. The BPS store is far bigger and while I’d hate to see the new Cabela’s store close, the BPS is the better store, IMHO, of the two Richmond, VA stores. Now, my family and I were vacationing in Amish country last year and we took a detour to see the Cabela’s near there (Hamburg, PA) and it put the Richmond BPS to shame, not that we’d go there often or even anytime soon, but I’d hate to see the Hamburg Cabela’s store close.
It’s not entirely a surprise, though. There was a rumor a couple of years ago (I think it was around the time they announced they were going to build the Richmond store) that BPS was going to buy Cabela’s. But I agree that it removes the competition and is a disservice to the marketplace, IMHO.
Paul
I am just sorry for all the employees who will end up without employment. Many people will be released because of a situation like this and good jobs are not that easy to find.
Larry —sagefisher—
I’ve shopped both, but always favored Cabela’s - liked rooting around in their “bargain cave”.
My nearest Cabela’s has reduced its flyfishing section substantially over the last year. I no longer go there for anything flyfishing related.
Chuck
My personal experience has always been that Cabela’s privately labeled fishing gear is HIGHLY superior to Bass Pros, including White River brand. If they move to the inferior (IMHO) Bass Pro quality to increase profit margin, I will no longer shop at either. Sad, indeed.
Mike
Sadly, the brand new Cabela’s that opened in Avon, Ohio has zero fly tying supplies and only 2 tiny shelves with any fly gear. I was there about a week after the opening and was disappointed. I have always liked Cabela’s and was excited to have one less than an hour away, now not so much.
Soon to be seen will be professional fly fishing tournaments with participants in logo emblazened shirts , rods and other equipment. I can hardly wait…NOT! Oh, and I almost forgot, spray scents .
Hopefully none of this comes to be pass .But I WILL miss “Cabela’s”
Mark
I remember when Herter’s went out of business [for all practical purposes] and the Cabela’s started up…I thought no way can they make if Herter’s can’t…WRONG!