Cabela's...is this the beginning of the end?

[BKC]

I went yesterday to buy a snow camo beanie for coyote hunting. Nothing even close in stock but they had tons of shirts and jackets that the majority of consumers want. I agree, it is a business and the bottom line is the bottom line. I think the majority of our population are not hunters but the majority are outdoorsy types and those are who going to shop there.

 

[Colorado Cowboy]

I took Johnny Morris fishing once. He had a group of his top Tracker boat dealers on an all expense paid trip to Alaska. He was a good guy, treated staff respectfully and made sure all in his group were taken care of first. He might be a sharp business man but he is no villain.

I don't think anyone here thinks he is a villain. He definitely is a good businessman. Just lots of us are disappointed in what's happening to Cabelas. Hell if I was in business and I was rich enough to buy out my number 1 competitor, I'd do it in a heartbeat!

 

[JimP]

I took Johnny Morris fishing once. He had a group of his top Tracker boat dealers on an all expense paid trip to Alaska. He was a good guy, treated staff respectfully and made sure all in his group were taken care of first. He might be a sharp business man but he is no villain.

We are not saying that he is a villain but that they are taking a well known brand with sportsman's type of clothing lines and replacing it with products that are subpar from what Cabela's quality was.

As for fishing products in all the stores Cabela's, Bass Pro, and Sportsman's they are lacking a lot when it comes to western type of fishing for trout. Now if you want to go after warm water fish they have a over abundance of products for them. But I have known this ever since I started going into any of their stores. If you want trout type fishing gear you pretty much need to just order it out of the catalog. The last three or four times that I was in any of the above stores looking for hooks and other tackle I had to give up. They either didn't stock what I wanted or it was out of stock.

My biggest gripe with Sportsman's was that they were going to open a store 25 miles from me and their corporate got into a pissing match with the town over the size of their sign. So no Sportsman's store closer than 120 miles for me. But then Cabela's and Bass Pro are also 120 miles away also.

 

[Shooter]

The older generation went to cabelas and bought from cabelas. The current generation goes to cabelas finds what they like (or don't like) goes home gets online and buys it for cheaper than it was at cabelas. This has hurt cabelas from top to bottom. The older generation needs to adapt because it's only going to get worse at cabelas.

 

[87TT]

I used to buy a lot of stuff from Cabelas as far back as the late 70's. Drooled over that catalog like a kid over a Sears Christmas catalog. I started noticing that their sizing was off and the quality was not consistent. Way back in the 80's I had a pair of Camo jeans literally disintegrate. The fabric just fell apart the first time I wore it. They did not stand behind it. I have never found a pair of their waders that I could get over my feet without a major struggle. I loved visiting their stores and even camped at the Sidney store on vacation once. I haven't bought anything from them in years. I have been in the "local" one in Boise but have found it not as well stocked as some of the others I have been in. About 50/50 on the help from the staff. I actually liked and had good luck with Basspro in SoCal. Being that I have to pass two Sportsman's before I get to Cabelas, I will just skip them.

 

[Prerylyon]

Maybe some new retailers will emerge in 2019 that provide a breadth of high quality, desirable products; also backed by great customer support? [emoji38]

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[Bonecollector]

RIP Cabelas... [emoji1634][emoji41]


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[JimP]

RIP Cabelas... [emoji1634][emoji41]


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I said the same thing around 25 or so years ago when Cabela's bought out Gander Mountains catalog business. I actually preferred Gander's clothing and the prices on other things were usually better than both Cabela's and Bass Pro.

 

[kidoggy]

I said the same thing around 25 or so years ago when Cabela's bought out Gander Mountains catalog business. I actually preferred Gander's clothing and the prices on other things were usually better than both Cabela's and Bass Pro.

yeah. we used to have a store called intermountain arms that went under when cabelas was built . they had much better prices and quality but did not have the huge inventory , so they could not compete.


price and quality mean little to consumers in the face of ,I want it and I want it now.


Unfortunately , that is, the mindset of most consumers. quality is not offered when fools will buy junk.


I was sorry to see intermountain arms fall to cabelas but I could care less about the fall of cabelas and expect I may possibly live to see bass pro fall to another.

life will go on ,till it don't.

 

[JimP]

I have found that if a store wants to change and adapt along with offering better service then they will survive the big box scares.

We have a few hardware stores and lumber yards that are thriving even with Home Depot and Lowes a short drive away. They learned that they need to offer the customer what they want and usually when you walk through the door there will be someone asking you if they can help you.

 

[DH56]

Like others have stated it's nothing against Johnny Morris. He has a Business model that has worked for him, and that is fine. Why not have two business models? One appealing to different segments of the market? I use to be in the Retail Industry and understand what that is about to some extent. In my case the Cabelas Business model with the products they offered appealed to me and many others. The Bass Pro stores IMO appeals to another consumer segment.

I use to get the limited edition hard bound catalogs and enjoyed their products. I am a club member as well. I know I will find another source for the products I want, but it most likely will not be Bass Pro.

 

[Triple BB]

Surprised at the loyalty to Cabela's gear. I was never that impressed with their clothing lines or many of their branded products for that matter. As better lines came onto the market, I moved away, but still ordered stuff from them. When online pricing came along, I said adios until a friend started working their 10 years ago.

Not sure why anyone buys from Bass Pro either if their branded products are even worse. Especially with all of the quality and choices online.

 

[Gr8bawana]

Maybe some new retailers will emerge in 2019 that provide a breadth of high quality, desirable products; also backed by great customer support? [emoji38]

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Wishfull thinking.

 

[kidoggy]

Surprised at the loyalty to Cabela's gear. I was never that impressed with their clothing lines or many of their branded products for that matter. As better lines came onto the market, I moved away, but still ordered stuff from them. When online pricing came along, I said adios until a friend started working their 10 years ago.

Not sure why anyone buys from Bass Pro either if their branded products are even worse. Especially with all of the quality and choices online.

I know why. for most consumers convienience trumps quality.


that was the reason for the rise of cabelas and ultimately , also the fall, with the rise of amazon.

 

[Daubs]

Surprised at the loyalty to Cabela's gear. I was never that impressed with their clothing lines or many of their branded products for that matter. As better lines came onto the market, I moved away, but still ordered stuff from them. When online pricing came along, I said adios until a friend started working their 10 years ago.

Not sure why anyone buys from Bass Pro either if their branded products are even worse. Especially with all of the quality and choices online.

I still have Cabela's coats, hats, gloves, boots, ets, from 20+ years ago. I found their gear to be top quality, but that was years ago. I was never impressed with RedHead brand. Colulmbia brand was pretty good, as was Browning. But for the money, my Cabela's gear was top choice. Still wear my Gore-Tex/Thinsulate Systems parka. It wears like iron.

 

[JimP]

Cabela's has some quality items. I still have and wear their rain gear along with some of their insulated rain gear. In my opinion you can't find any better. But if you want to see how Redhead is doing in Cabela's stores or even on line just read some of the reviews on that brand. Most will say that it stinks. For me I like heavy flannel shirts for the winter and Cabela's stocked a great one for quite a while for a good price. Now comes Bass Pro and all you can find are light weight flannel shirts unless you want to go with overpriced ones.

Time will tell if Cabela's lives or dies but in a lot of markets they are dead already.

 

[Daubs]

I know why. for most consumers convenience trumps quality.

that was the reason for the rise of cabelas and ultimately , also the fall, with the rise of amazon.

Truth. My buddy has been echoing your comments for year, knowing the trend of convenience vs quality would eventually be the death sentence for Cabela's...

 

[kidoggy]

Truth. My buddy has been echoing your comments for year, knowing the trend of convenience vs quality would eventually be the death sentence for Cabela's...

I see it all the time in the construction trade.

people want a house built. the second ground is broke, it is a big push to get it done

more often then not,speed is more important then quality. until they move in of coarse . then they will whine about the poor quality till they build their next home. at which time ,they more often then not , do it again!


anyone who has no pride in their work and/or product can easily get rich off the fool consumer, so long as, whatever it is, can be provided now !


WE want it and we want it now!!!!!!!!!!
this is a sad but true fact, concerning our population.

 

[Daubs]

I see it all the time in the construction trade.

people want a house built. the second ground is broke, it is a big push to get it done

more often then not,speed is more important then quality. until they move in of coarse . then they will whine about the poor quality till they build their next home. at which time ,they more often then not , do it again!


anyone who has no pride in their work and/or product can easily get rich off the fool consumer, so long as, whatever it is, can be provided now !


WE want it and we want it now!!!!!!!!!!
this is a sad but true fact, concerning our population.

Yep, my Dad is retired finish carpenter. He built high end houses until the 80's when everyone started wanting the quick and cheap houses. He switched to remodeling and kept concentrating on quality -- and got paid well for quality.

He often said: Good carpentry isn't cheap...cheap carpentry isn't good. And "you can have it fast, or you can have quality, but you can't have both."

 

[Prerylyon]

We passed by 2 Cabelas stores, on my travels back home to PA from Iowa last week.

How much coin does it take to build one of those big, shiny stores? [emoji19]

How much more coin to stock the shelves?

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