Sportsmans bought by Bass Pro

Bass pro / Cabelas website is pathetic too. BP ruined the company and pulled the rug out from under Sidney. Sportsman's is just the next one to fall.
 
I agree this is not a good thing, but I don’t get the comparison to wal mart. Walmart tries to have everthing you might need for cheap prices. When bass pro buys someone out, they drop lots of good brands (loss of selection) and pricing isn’t usually that low (less competition all the time).
 
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I have never had success with any Bass Pro's "Red Head" brand merchandise. Cabela's brand stuff is far superior. I hope they keep the Cabela's brand stuff and don't change manufacturers.
 
Scheels is where it's at boys! Cabela's was a hunting store with some fishing stuff and now it has become a fishing store with some hunting stuff. With Sportsman's suffering the same fate I would assume Scheels will be expanding their locations. Scheels is employee owned and I have been very satisfied with the knowledge of their saff.
 
Already quit buying cabelas after we got our Sportsmans, guess its lucky I have a scheels I can get to and back home in a day. Nothing worse than Bass Pro gear!
 
Damn! Guess I'm driving an hour to go to Scheels, I'll drive by one Cabelas and 2 Sportsmans on my way. Didn't like Cabelas before the BP merger, can't stand them now.
 
Sportsman’s is a good place, but not the best. I will buy a few things from them. About 15 years ago, I wanted to get a Browning T bolt rifle and went to them with the expectation they could order it. They flat out refused to order it. I was nice about it and asked why but they couldn’t tell me. Finally one person had the balls to tell me they don’t special order guns. This was hardly a special order as far as I was concerned. It was a production rifle. It’s not like I was asking for special items like barrel, trigger, finish etc. it worked out fine in the end because I found a mom and pop that could help me with anything I want and have been giving them business ever since.

Has that happened to anyone else? Maybe it was just the two stores I went to in AZ. It really shocked me as to why they wouldn’t order a run of the mill production rifle. What could the consequences possibly be?
 
I have a good friend who works for Sportsman's. BP bought Cabelas out of bankruptcy and did away with their corporate office. He is thinking/hoping that because Sportsman's is solvent they won't do the same thing. Any way you look at it, this action can't be a good thing for consumers.
 
With Cabela's/BP and Sportsman both having a distribution center in the close vicinity of SLC I doubt it bodes well for some employees. I'm sure there are cities both have stores too.

Sportsman's has always struggled with operating capital although they have been doing better. Being profitable is what made them a target.
 
Captain_coues said:
Sportsman’s is a good place, but not the best. I will buy a few things from them. About 15 years ago, I wanted to get a Browning T bolt rifle and went to them with the expectation they could order it. They flat out refused to order it. I was nice about it and asked why but they couldn’t tell me. Finally one person had the balls to tell me they don’t special order guns. This was hardly a special order as far as I was concerned. It was a production rifle. It’s not like I was asking for special items like barrel, trigger, finish etc. it worked out fine in the end because I found a mom and pop that could help me with anything I want and have been giving them business ever since.

Has that happened to anyone else? Maybe it was just the two stores I went to in AZ. It really shocked me as to why they wouldn’t order a run of the mill production rifle. What could the consequences possibly be?
Click to expand...
I sell to Sportsman's Warehouse and the way they are structured I would think it impossible for special orders from individual stores. They have a handful of corporate buyers and each buyer has one or more departments they are responsible for. Those few buyers are each responsible for stocking over 100 stores.

There is a lot of pressure on the corporate employees and they have a high turnover rate. For the last several years there has been a big focus from management to find stock purchasers. Unfortunately it appears they finally have.

Bass pro has got to be the worst hunting/fishing chain for consumers. We all know Cabela's had been in a nosedive long before Bass Pro acquired them. The merger has only hastened their decline. I don't even consider Bass Pro or Cabelas when I'm looking for something. I just don't see how they can survive long term.
 
Thanks deadi. It’s not surprising they couldn’t survive. Something as basic as ordering something. That concept has been around since the beginning of stores. You would walk into a store and if you couldn’t find what you need, the answer was always “we could order it for you”. Imagine an auto parts store that didn’t have the starter you need and they only had corporate fill it up with what they think it should have. I know online purchases has wrenched ordering things for stores, but come on, a little effort makes a difference.
 
The good old days of taking care of the customer is gone. If they have it you can buy it, if not, your SOL.
 
I was eyeballing a savage 99 in Farmington right after bass pro bought ca belas. Talked a bunch to the gun buyer. He told me BP came in and fired all of the management, and the full timers. Replaced them with part timers. Cost cutting. He was retired, did the buying in the library part time and never took home a check, just guns. He told me then the library was going away


I drove to Sydney once just to see a Cabelas. Now I drive past the one 15 min from my house. Sad how far they fell.

I sent Rogers an email begging them to expand to Utah. Got a real nice response back.
 
littlebighorn said:
I have a good friend who works for Sportsman's. BP bought Cabelas out of bankruptcy and did away with their corporate office. He is thinking/hoping that because Sportsman's is solvent they won't do the same thing. Any way you look at it, this action can't be a good thing for consumers.
Click to expand...
Fake news boy. Do your homework.
 
Captain_coues said:
Thanks deadi. It’s not surprising they couldn’t survive. Something as basic as ordering something. That concept has been around since the beginning of stores. You would walk into a store and if you couldn’t find what you need, the answer was always “we could order it for you”. Imagine an auto parts store that didn’t have the starter you need and they only had corporate fill it up with what they think it should have. I know online purchases has wrenched ordering things for stores, but come on, a little effort makes a difference.
Click to expand...
That's why 95.73% of my auto parts purchases come from RockAuto. I worked at a Napa thirty years ago and back then an auto parts counter guy KNEW auto parts. Now days parts counter guys are brain dead, they type into a computer and ask about ten unnecessary questions blah blah blah. They don't know the difference between a 351 Windsor, 351 Cleveland or 351 Modified.
My local parts store doesn't carry much and I always hear "we can order it". I tell them so can I and it'll be about 40% less. I only go in there if I need something right now.
 
BenHuntn said:
Fake news boy. Do your homework.
Click to expand...
What's fake news, that Bass Pro gutted Cabela's corporate offices and laid most everyone off? That's absolute fact. Do some research on what happened to Sidney Nebraska (Cabela's headquarters) after the merger.
 
Two years before Cabelas was sold the had lost 50 of their market. Thats when Paul Singer, a billionaire stepped in and bought a ton of stock. Later the board was thinking of selling working it out for a year. Cabelas was in trouble and New it. Sportsmens warehouse has been a very productive company. They have been paying cash for there expanding stores and are not in trouble financially. I would think there is no reason for Bass Pro to change anything at Sportsmens rather use it to make money.
 
Birdman said:
Two years before Cabelas was sold the had lost 50 of their market. Thats when Paul Singer, a billionaire stepped in and bought a ton of stock. Later the board was thinking of selling working it out for a year. Cabelas was in trouble and New it. Sportsmens warehouse has been a very productive company. They have been paying cash for there expanding stores and are not in trouble financially. I would think there is no reason for Bass Pro to change anything at Sportsmens rather use it to make money.
Click to expand...
Too bad thats not what they teach these wonderkids at biz skool.
 
Cabelas was not in trouble until big business got involved. They were profitable until the hedge fund bought a considerable amount of shares and then began to pressure them to sell-

"The sale of Cabela's to Bass Pro Shops was announced in 2016, a year after Singer’s Elliott Management disclosed an 11 percent stake, and said Cabela’s should explore a possible sale. Cabala’s was profitable at the time, but in mid-November 2015, Elliott Management “stated that they believed the Company should be sold through a public auction process” and that if they didn’t engage in the sales process, the hedge fund "was prepared to take further steps with respect to the Company,” according to securities filings.

After the sale announcement, the stock price surged and Singer’s hedge fund cashed out within a week. Elliott Management reportedly made at least $90 million.

“They got in there to get the business sold and the business was sold, so they took it and ran,” Damien Park, managing partner at consulting firm Hedge Fund Solutions, told the Omaha World-Herald in October 2016. “They made a fortune, so they’re happy.”

www.foxnews.com

The death of Sidney, Nebraska: How a hedge fund destroyed 'a good American town'

“I hope Paul Singer is proud of what he did."
www.foxnews.com www.foxnews.com

Sportsman whse already went thru one chapter 11 Bankruptcy in 2009, Like Gander they had their challenges in a very competitive market to this day. Covid is not helping.

 
DH56 said:
Covid is not helping.
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You sure about that? Seems to me like pretty much everyone got paid to go camping all summer. Every day there is another article talking about the boom in outdoor recreation. Heck, even demand for most hunts went up over 10%.

My myopic single data point analysis from here on the porch is that if you couldn't make money in the sporting goods business this year you aren't very good at it.
 
Bluehair said:
You sure about that? Seems to me like pretty much everyone got paid to go camping all summer. Every day there is another article talking about the boom in outdoor recreation. Heck, even demand for most hunts went up over 10%.

My myopic single data point analysis from here on the porch is that if you couldn't make money in the sporting goods business this year you aren't very good at it.
Click to expand...

Depends on the retailer. From a Brick and Mortar sales per square foot stand point, with less shoppers in the store at some retailers, sure it is. Internet sales have been good to the retailers that have taken advantage of that, but the fixed cost at the store level is still there. It comes down to who is keeping their nose above water. .
 
Eh, couldn’t ever find anything I needed in any of those stores. They all sucked. Just had a bunch of heads on the walls and over priced equip.

come hunting season, I’ll just head up to Smith and Ed’s, grab a bag of mixed candy and a clean pair of underwear and go hunting. Don’t need anything else lol!
 
Pretty much everything I buy from Cabela's is free. Now Bass Pro too. I'm assuming Sportsmen's will be added on to that as well. From my standpoint it's all good. It is what it is...
 
Is monopolization no longer illegal? I thought we had laws in place to prevent events like this from happening.
 
If you were in the outdoor industry this year....covid definitely helped those companies. Covid DID NOT hurt them.

Btw, Sportsman's was doing great during covid. Just think how much more these companies could have made if they would have had some product to sell!

Sportsman's Financial Results
 
Well Flyjunky!

Ya!

They Done Well for a While!

Until all their Product was Gone!

And then they couldn't get anymore in!

Thank CHINA again!

Same with alot of the Smaller ATV Shops & many other Business's as well!

Prices went up to more than PREMIUM & Anybody that had the Product wouldn't Budge on Price at all!

The Attitude was:

We've Got it,No We Ain't Budging on the Inflated Price,and if you don't like it We'll sell it to somebody-else!

So?

Are the Months that Everybody was Buyin Sshhhiittt Left & Right gonna make up for the Months people were trying to Buy items that were not available to buy & the Business's couldn't get anymore Product?

Thew Ammo Deal is beyond Belief again!






Flyjunky12 said:
If you were in the outdoor industry this year....covid definitely helped those companies. Covid DID NOT hurt them.

Btw, Sportsman's was doing great during covid. Just think how much more these companies could have made if they would have had some product to sell!

Sportsman's Financial Results
Click to expand...
 
exactly what I was saying, if they would have been able to get more product things would have been even better.

Unfortunately, the progress that has been made with China in the last few years is going to be lost. Until businesses in the US stop getting everything from overseas I don't see things changing anytime soon.
 
nontypical said:
Pretty much everything I buy from Cabela's is free. Now Bass Pro too. I'm assuming Sportsmen's will be added on to that as well. From my standpoint it's all good. It is what it is...
Click to expand...

Is that because you have a cabelas or Bass pro credit card? I use to have one but upgraded to the capital one 2% card.

With a cabelas card you get 1% and you HAVE to buy it from them. With Capital one, you get 2% and you can use the rewards anywhere.
 
I'm with txhunter58 on the credit card. I stopped using the Cabelas card years ago. I use a Citi Bank card that gives 2% cash back that I can use anywhere.
 
Scheels and Fleet farm are the last hope. Jonny buying out all the competition in retail and 1/2 the boat companies in the us is trying to eliminate all the other mid size companies for a tax right off. He has ruined cabelas and a lot of families lively hood. I don't care what he says in public, he has done very little in promoting the outdoors industry for the size of company he runs.
 
elkassassin said:
Well Flyjunky!

Ya!

They Done Well for a While!

Until all their Product was Gone!

And then they couldn't get anymore in!

Thank CHINA again!

Same with alot of the Smaller ATV Shops & many other Business's as well!

Prices went up to more than PREMIUM & Anybody that had the Product wouldn't Budge on Price at all!

The Attitude was:

We've Got it,No We Ain't Budging on the Inflated Price,and if you don't like it We'll sell it to somebody-else!

So?

Are the Months that Everybody was Buyin Sshhhiittt Left & Right gonna make up for the Months people were trying to Buy items that were not available to buy & the Business's couldn't get anymore Product?

Thew Ammo Deal is beyond Belief again!
Click to expand...
I went to a local Sportsman’s yesterday here in Vegas & I couldn’t believe how empty the shelves were. I even asked the young lady behind the counter if they were closing. She said that she had no idea what Bass Pros plans were for that location, but they can’t get products to keep up with the demand. Crazy!!!
 
Trends like online shopping and outdoor companies that sell direct to consumers have to have taken a giant chunk out of the outdoor brick and mortar retail business in the last 5 years. When I do go to a brick and mortar I go knowing that I will probably pay a little more, but I do it because I want/need good customer service. My employer used to spend thousands and thousands of dollars each year at Cabelas, but our purchasing policies require us to use a Purchase Order rather than a company credit card. When Cabelas changed ownership they refused to accommodate our purchasing protocols. We moved on to using Sportsmans Warehouse and Scheels. We probably bought $10,000+ worth of stuff at Cabelas annually, and because they wouldn't invoice us to get paid, they lost all that business. I hope Sportsmans doesn't do the same.
 
Went into our local Sportsmans today and shelves are empty and the whole store is being shuffled around and re-organized. I asked the girl at the counter why it was all changing and everything is gone and if it had to do with BP buying it, she just laughed and said "I can't say much". Think its a lost cause, atleast they had the reloading stuff i needed that was about all that was on the shelf guess I got lucky
 

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