The Big Get Bigger

[ness]

Don't really care a great deal as I just don't find myself shopping at Bass Pro or Cabela's much any more, and never at Sportsman's, but this isn't a positive for consumers.

https://sports.yahoo.com/sportsman-warehouse-join-great-american-221500329.html

[FishnDave]

I wonder what keeps this from being a monopoly?  What other "big" outdoors stores are there left?  Gander Mountain?  Orvis? LL Bean?

The town in Iowa I moved from has a Sportsman's Warehouse.  I went there quite a bit.  It was close and convenient, and had a fair selection of fly tying materials and gear.  There was  a Bass Pro just a town or two away.  They had some materials that SW didn't have, and SW had some that BPS didn't have.  I've been to Cabela's a few times.  They had the best fly selection, although maybe a little lighter on tying material selection...is what I recall.

It was fun to walk thru Cabela's and BPS and SW and look at the animal and fish mounts....and Cabelas and BPS both have big fish in tanks that make me drool a bit.

I hope they manage to keep their own styles, personalities, and merchandise selections.

The only place I've visited since moving to STL is T. Hargroves.  That's a great shop!  And FeatherCraft is just down the street from there, but I haven't gone in yet.

 

[tjm]

Like Cabela's, Sprortsman's was in financial difficulty, so, in your estimation, would the consumers be better off if the pair just died natural deaths or if BPS bails out the remnants of them? I saw that SW's stock is up 37% since the announcement. 

[fishinwrench]

I haven't been "store shopping" in a long time.  Don't miss it one bit either.

[Gavin]

Prefer my local shops...T. Hargrove & Denny Dennis. Bullseye is nice too, but I'm rarely in O'Fallon. Paul's Bait & Tackle used to be THE shop, but I think they finally closed the doors.

 

[BilletHead]

            On vacation out west we always enjoyed stopping and shopping at Sportsman's warehouse. It they run the same way, have their one line and pricing I suppose it would be ok but if they change like Cabela's did I will be very disappointed. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

47 minutes ago, Gavin said:

Prefer my local shops...T. Hargrove & Denny Dennis. Bullseye is nice too, but I'm rarely in O'Fallon. Paul's Bait & Tackle used to be THE shop, but I think they finally closed the doors.

 

I love all those plus feather craft.  I go in bullseye all time since it’s near work.  Love that place.  

[ness]

I don’t think they’re anywhere near monopoly-still plenty of competitors out there. But the field is shrinking and the current offerings at the big guys sucks. 

I’m all for free enterprise and believe you’ve gotta have a reason to exist. But I also feel for Sidney, NE that was gutted when BPS bought Cabela’s and shut things down there.

I’ve got a great fly shop nearby that would be my first choice if I needed something good quickly. Wish they had a web store. 

[tjm]

Would Sydney be any better off if Cabela's just died?

[jdmidwest]

I like Academy Sports.

Jackson Tn still has a Gander Outdoor, still kicking after many of the other locations dropped.  But, I rarely find anything to buy there.

Midway USA is great, I online shop there alot.  Dunn's, Denny Dennis get more money than BPS monopoly gets for the most part.  But I run Tracker boats and so does my fishing buddy.  They are useful, but Tracker is worthless after the sale down the road for parts or support.