BY ANDREA HOLECEK, Times of Northwest Indiana
holecek@nwitimes.com
Can Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops successfully coexist and reap good returns on their investments if they locate in the same market, 17 miles apart?
The verdict is far from being in.
Both outdoor outfitters have proposals to open stores in Northwest Indiana -- Cabela's in Hammond, at Milepost 2 of Interstate 80/94, and Bass Pro Shops in Portage, at Milepost 19.
Michael Lee, spokesman for the Boulder, Co.-based Outdoor Industry Association, said both could succeed if they are near large metropolitan centers with large numbers of people participating in outdoor activities. Retailers in the "hook and bullet" category added $11 billion to the $22 billion spent on traditional outdoor sports equipment in 2004, he said.
"They're both very competitive companies, very good companies with strong customer bases," said Lee, whose association is the trade group for the sporting goods industry. Cabela's is a prominent member of the association.
"When both retailers locate in the same area, we find the market can support both," Lee said. "Although similar, both are strong brands with strong customer support. Both companies should see a strong return on their investments."
But Bob Carr, editor of the Inside Sporting Goods newsletter, doesn't believe they can both be successful if going head-to-head.
"It's going to be very tough," Carr said Thursday. "The biggest problem is both service the guns and fishing markets, which are low-growth or no-growth markets. The growth in the square footage of these stores is growing exponentially."
When the two stores operated far apart and their massive stores were a novelty, it was different.
"Now, we've got stores all over the place," Carr said. "That's tough for them to exist so close. There'll be blood on the street before its all over with. There's too much square footage for the size of the market. We saw this in the '80s and early '90s with sporting good stores. They had a huge fallout, and the same thing will happen here."
A recent report in Time Magazine said Bass Pro Shops is "the hottest store in retailing, followed by Cabela's."
"Cities from Buffalo, N.Y., to Broken Arrow, Okla., are throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at those outfits for the privilege of getting one of their megastores," it said in its Oct. 10 edition. "The stores are so popular, they drive economic development."
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