Was in Cabelas the other day looking for some fishing gear and Sitka gear. What I saw was a KMart like display of poorly made stuff. Clothes were are all Cabela's brand and the fishing stuff limited.

Very different than a few years ago....

Way down!

Cabela's apparently miscalculated when they tried to go full-scale retail merchant pre-recession building all those huge retail stores.

Now...they are glorified Wal-marts...no longer the go-to-store when in need of high-quality outdoorsman supplies.

They should have stayed a mail-order outlet...where you could always get what you needed.

I second this. Down hill and still moving.
The high school kids and homeless they hire to work know very little.
Cal

And their web based Customer Service is even worse; terrible telephone wait times, continuous advertising of unavailable items ( notification of cancelled orders some times up to week after order placed ! ) & frequent game playing with advertised prices & availability of items when there are store wide sales and/or mailed coupons to members.

Cabela's is getting very difficult to shop with.

Not sure what is happening. I have read that the merger with Bass Pro is not going well. Cabela's Visa AKA World's Foremost Bank is almost bankrupt. Looks like the made the same bad decision as Granger Mountain and built too many retail stores. Also hard to compete with Amazon.

Online ordering/customer service has been spotty for a number of years now. My past few orders have be alright but, I probably won't order again.

Back when I was 16 my uncle and I drove from IL to WY. We stopped at the original warehouse and picked up some fishing tackle. It took a couple of minutes for someone in the warehouse to bring the items up.

Tom

For returns, their customer service is still first rate.

However, the Denver stores seem to have less inventory on hand then the other two stores I've visited (Sidney, and Michigan).

JMO.

BH63

They suck now just like Gander, Bass Pro, Walmart etc. Lousy gear, limited inventory, horrific customer service. You know, the new paradigm in the sporting goods world. God how I miss high quality, high knowledge local niche gun/ sporting goods stores!

this down hill side started years ago not long after they went public. The Cabela brothers retired and got out of the management of the company and turned it over to MBA types. From what I have seen most MBA's just look at the bottom line and not customer service, employees, and producing a quality product. This happens to a lot of companies where the original founder and visionary gets old, retires and turns the business over to others to run. It is sad.

Cabela's woes as pointed out have been coming on for years-
over expansion, in a down economy-
as well as the management ills mentioned in the posts above,
combined with the acceleration in growth of on-line alternatives have injured Cabela's, (as well as Gander ,BassPro and others)

hopefully, there will be enough business savvy in the BassPro acquisition to trim, regroup and survive to recreate service and product quality ,in a smaller company

then again, maybe not

Wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy Down. More and more of their merchandise is cheap shit made in China,...just like Bass Pro, Gander and Academy.

I just went to the opening of the new Cabelas in northern VA. Pathetic. Almost no handgun bullets for reloading-95% Hornady. Poor selection of rifle bullets- almost all Hornady. Their diorama was terrible. I this 5 or animals only. I have more mounts at home than their store.
Very small clothing selection. Prices were way up. Looks like they dropped the ball on this one.
Their store in Wheeling, WV, where their eastern distribution is, is far better in all aspects.
All the big boys are letting the quality slide.

Double what double or said.

Amazon is cleaning their clock.....

apparently the Bass Pro/Cabelas take over may not happen due to stock value decrease of cabelas.

when you go there, be sure to ask for the "Made in USA" vote with your wallets

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
Way down!

Cabela's apparently miscalculated when they tried to go full-scale retail merchant pre-recession building all those huge retail stores.

Now...they are glorified Wal-marts...no longer the go-to-store when in need of high-quality outdoorsman supplies.

They should have stayed a mail-order outlet...where you could always get what you needed.

^^^This'

I am half-way between the Rapid City and Billings stores. It was a destination shopping spot a few years ago and now only a diversion. Honestly, the only things we have bought in over a year is mis-priced ammo and Diet Coke by the checkout

Both Bass Pro and Cabelas followed the same model: "Why sell someone's else's brand when we can have our own crappy label made overseas?"

30 plus years ago I drove out of my way to go to the original Cabelas in Nebraska. Great store, worth the stop. Used to buy my wife moose hide mocs with real shearling lining, made in the USA. Then they went acrylic lining followed by made out of country junk. I tried to do gun deal with their gun Library and it was a terrible experience which failed. I have given up on Cabelas. I do miss the early days of Cabelas or Herters quality.
Scott

Amazon

Bass pro is better run company with less of a gun and hunting focus. Fishing helps.

Cabelas management are smart guys - tommy Milner knows the gun and hunting business.

There is a simple reality. Ar people might not like to hear it.

There are too many guns out there - everyone who needs a gun already owns 5.

Republicans are terrible for the gun business. Democrats are great.

Gun demand as reflected in new gun sales is going to decline.

All the tacticool stuff is already over saturated.

Amazon kills cabelas/bass pro on what used to be high margin skus. Same way as it kills radionshak.

The very high end people buy directly from select retailers with no sales tax - eurooptics and camerland.

Look at academy for a well run retail concept. They hardly sell a rifle anyone on ar would consider great $300-$600 price point - same in handguns. That is what sells. I price check everything at academy and everywhere else I shop with amazon and they are competitive but bass pro or gander is not.

I pay up for my guns and fishing gear and buy from specialized just cause I value expert advice and service.

But like a lot of guns nuts I own too many guns and if well oiled they are nearly infinitely lived assets. The only gun I need to buy is a 20 gauge shotgun. Like me a lot of gun owners already own their gun and gears. A hunting and gun focus sucks.

It's not cabelas management does not know their landscape they known it well. They are operating in a negative growth environment and getting killed on the margin - why they wanted to merge and get economies of scale to survive/compete and that was before trump.

All the people complaining about the product choice at cabelas already own the stuff they are complaining about cabelas not selling. Adding those exclusive items - 375 H&H and greater dg rifles ain't going to improve sales.

Cabelas needs to either be more like academy (lower end products) or bass pro (fishing).

The risk arb spread is betting no deal with bass pro.

Mike

I'm rather disgusted by everything Cabelas. I had a Cabelas Black Card (spend something like $20,000+ at Cabelas a year...they give you one) but now I think I've spent about $200 in a year there.

My issues with Cabelas are many:

1.) When they had their grand opening in Illinois they hired actual experts of their craft. The pay was about $23 an hour plus benefits so someone working full time earned $46,000 a year in their area of expertise. Over time that they have pivoted to the goons you see there now that make $12 an hour and are rather imbecilic know-nothings. Meanwhile, those friendly faces that made $23 an hour are being forced out. Several of them get "6 hours a week" sort of hours. So through long-term attrition they are reducing the numbers of qualified staff that were given reasonable wages and replacing them with goons that literally are making entry level retail money in one of the more expensive areas in the nation to work and live.

2.) They have become infamous as where bad guns go. The ignorant people in the gun libraries would buy up all sorts of troubled guns and then they'd lose their shirt on them, so now they don't have any nice guns in the libraries at all. You cannot buy fine shotguns if you don't have a bore diameter, wall thickness and chamber gauge. Nor can you deal in fine guns if you do not know how to read proof marks. The guns in the library were often dangerous and were clearly only the guns they snagged at "too good to be true" prices because they were actually sold by dealers and collectors getting rid of junk they couldn't in good conscience sell directly to another living soul.

3.) House branded stuff used to be the gold standard. Like Kirkland stuff at Costco, it was actually the "Best" private labled for less. I remember when Danner boots were $240 and the same boot with a FOREVER warranty from Cabelas was next to it, made by danner, for $169. They at one time had some decent optics too. Now anything that says "cabelas" on it is surely junk. $800 euro cabelas binoculars that are actually $300 meopta? Come on! Everything with their name on it exudes crap coming out of its pours at present. Overpriced junk. Forever warranty terms reduced.

4.) They got rid of all their high quality brands. Examples: Danner. Surefire flash lights. Many luxury clothing brands like barbour. In short, they walmarted up a gentleman's store into a crap store. There is nothing at Walmart...er...I mean Cabelas today that can't be had on amazon for less.

5.) More on point 4. They do not care "Best" anything. You cannot by filson or barbour. You cannot outfit for a trip of a lifetime with premium gear. Swaro binos...sold out. Premium optics from Kahles, Swaro, Leica...don't have but perhaps one in stock. Premium flashlights...replaced with streamlight mid-tier stuff. Premium fly reels by Hardy and others...replaced with made in china junk with Cabelas name on it.

What made Cabelas famous was they carried stuff found at Abercrombie & Fitch and Griffin & Howe during the heyday of hunting. You could buy a premium side by side, a tattersall shirt, a waxed waterproof jacket and maybe even a silk game tie for the banquet. You could buy the finest optics available. You could consult an expert that knew a lot about product. You could count on ammunition for fine rifles being in stock instead of a dumb look from a kid that had never heard of 7x57, 6.5x55, 300H&H, 9.3x74r or a .470 nitro.

Now you get tactical ignorance. Plastic gimmicks. Predator calling crap that is all show and no go. Rifles for "operators". Hog hunting sections for hillbillies even though there aren't wild hogs for 500 miles in any direction. Low quality bows in lieu of Hoyt and Matthews. Gimmick broadheads but no supply of proven G5, Slicktrick or Muzzy. Overpriced ammo.

I'm over it. I surrendered my black card as I have no intention of buying $20k in stuff from them every year to keep it. 5% rewards points to buy what? I don't want to own 99% of what that lousy store sells!

How long until they're bankrupt I wonder?

Baretta682 should go to work for Cabelas. He has the exact bean counter mentality that is ruining everything that was once great about the American outdoors retail market.

No you do not have to cheapen your product quality and compete with Wal Mart to stay in business. Quite the opposite. Forget the big box retail market. Let the unwashed trailer park masses shop there. What is needed is high quality at competitive prices. Gear that actually works and is useable. It's not to be had at Cabelas for the most part.

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:
How long until they're bankrupt I wonder?

Baretta682 should go to work for Cabelas. He has the exact bean counter mentality that is ruining everything that was once great about the American outdoors retail market.

No you do not have to cheapen your product quality and compete with Wal Mart to stay in business. Quite the opposite. Forget the big box retail market. Let the unwashed trailer park masses shop there. What is needed is high quality at competitive prices. Gear that actually works and is useable. It's not to be had at Cabelas for the most part.

Every retailers will eventually go bankrupt - Stephen Ross at vornado (a large landlord to retail) has said at industry conferences. Just like every airline once or twice goes bankrupt.

It's not bean counting to ignore reality.

Destination 100k plus square foot stores with specialized high end gun rooms and mountain hunting gear don't work. Customers who buy that stuff buy it as dsc and sci.

The average American hunter buys stuff at wal mart and academy.

There just isn't enough demand for high end specialized hunting equipment to operate destination stores and cabelas has learned that lesson.



http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/18...w-looking-shaky.html


Mike

Guys,

Here is the business school answer.

Only two details can exist: walmart and Nordstrom.

Walmart has 13% markup off net. Bad service. Unskilled employees. Low end selection. Modest quality commoditized goods. Poor locations. Cheapest prices.

Nordstrom has ultra premium goods. Premium locations. Expertise. Beautiful stores. Empathetic sales people that know your sizes, your anniversary date and your wife's favorite color. They remind you to come in and buy a gift before you forget a milestone date!


Any attempt to find ground between these two fails. Not many will pay more for the same walmart crap in a better location with a slightly better paid salesperson. No one will buy a luxury good at Walmart. You cannot merge the two and split the price difference.

So Cabelas is going to fail because they are selling commodities at higher prices than mail order and they don't sell premium and luxury goods and they fired their best talent.

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:


There just isn't enough demand for high end specialized hunting equipment to operate destination stores and cabelas has learned that lesson.


Mike

What about fishing equipment?

I will tell you the BP Pyramid is worth the day trip.

as i get it cabelas just laid off 71 in their home office & gander has filed

lets be honest, even if it sounds elitist as hell...

When you buy something luxury/elite at Nordstrom you don't want to see a "walmart" person in the next aisle. You're paying for an experience by shopping at Nordstrom that hinges on best quality goods and impeccable shopping experience.

The old Cabelas of which it is a hollowed carcass of its former self, had best quality goods and best quality people working there too. You could buy a $15,000 antique rifle for Africa and then buy the proper ammo in the next aisle, a quality sling, american made swivels and even kroil or premium lubricants appropriate for that best gun you just bought.

Today, you see advertisements and "duck dynasty" people in cabelas buying their tactical stuff, talking about "poking hogs" and doing whatever the walmart hillbillies do. When Cabelas decided to be all about "duck dynasty" to the point you cannot even buy safari clothes at their retail locations any longer, they jumped the shark. They ARE Walmart of hunting goods.

Don't get me wrong, I like hillbillies, whiskey, chewing tobacco, bad country music and coon dogs as much as the next red blooded american. I just don't want to buy MY premier sporting goods equipment from that type of establishment. You cannot be 1950s Abercrombie & Fitch while being 2015 Bubba Hunter Walmart at the same time.

They chose a direction thinking they could have more customers. Now they have more customers but they have Walmart customers. They sell junk products at low margins. They lost the high end customer that bought high margin things but expected a high end experience.

Cabelas is Klassy with a K!

Profit & Glitz before quality and service. That is corporate greed at its worst.

They justify it under the name of capitalism!

I would not call Nordstrom high end. Neiman-Marcus and Saks are high end. In retail referred to as the carriage trade. They are supposed to be recession proof. They are no longer. Saks was bought by Hudson's Bay Co and Neiman Marcus is trying to get Hudson's Bay to buy them too. If they need scale, which they already have but need more to survive, how do you think that Cabelas is supposed to survive selling "high end" hunting gear, when that is a small specialty market. The answer is they can't.

This is exactly why I love its when true specialty outdoor stores such as Barney's Sports Chalet continue to do well. You may not find a bargain but you get what you pay for in quality, service, and expertise.

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:
How long until they're bankrupt I wonder?

Baretta682 should go to work for Cabelas. He has the exact bean counter mentality that is ruining everything that was once great about the American outdoors retail market.

No you do not have to cheapen your product quality and compete with Wal Mart to stay in business. Quite the opposite. Forget the big box retail market. Let the unwashed trailer park masses shop there. What is needed is high quality at competitive prices. Gear that actually works and is useable. It's not to be had at Cabelas for the most part.

Every retailers will eventually go bankrupt - Stephen Ross at vornado (a large landlord to retail) has said at industry conferences. Just like every airline once or twice goes bankrupt.

It's not bean counting to ignore reality.

Destination 100k plus square foot stores with specialized high end gun rooms and mountain hunting gear don't work. Customers who buy that stuff buy it as dsc and sci.

The average American hunter buys stuff at wal mart and academy.

There just isn't enough demand for high end specialized hunting equipment to operate destination stores and cabelas has learned that lesson.



http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/18...w-looking-shaky.html


Mike

So if what you are doing isn't working CHANGE IT. Cabelas current model isn't working.

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:
This is exactly why I love its when true specialty outdoor stores such as Barney's Sports Chalet continue to do well. You may not find a bargain but you get what you pay for in quality, service, and expertise.

this.

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:

quote:

Originally posted by surestrike:
How long until they're bankrupt I wonder?

Baretta682 should go to work for Cabelas. He has the exact bean counter mentality that is ruining everything that was once great about the American outdoors retail market.

No you do not have to cheapen your product quality and compete with Wal Mart to stay in business. Quite the opposite. Forget the big box retail market. Let the unwashed trailer park masses shop there. What is needed is high quality at competitive prices. Gear that actually works and is useable. It's not to be had at Cabelas for the most part.

Every retailers will eventually go bankrupt - Stephen Ross at vornado (a large landlord to retail) has said at industry conferences. Just like every airline once or twice goes bankrupt.

It's not bean counting to ignore reality.

Destination 100k plus square foot stores with specialized high end gun rooms and mountain hunting gear don't work. Customers who buy that stuff buy it as dsc and sci.

The average American hunter buys stuff at wal mart and academy.

There just isn't enough demand for high end specialized hunting equipment to operate destination stores and cabelas has learned that lesson.



http://www.cnbc.com/2017/02/18...w-looking-shaky.html


Mike

So if what you are doing isn't working CHANGE IT. Cabelas current model isn't working.

Fully agree

But what have been saying or trying to say is the business model is structural broken.

We (Africa hunting or guided hunting, high end rifles and scopes) had a nice ride at cabelas cause there was under current of massive gun buying at the lower end. That is coming to an end and the higher dollar guns etc never really sold that much.

Cabelas was and is a waste of retail space with irrelevant taxidermy mounts and gun rooms that takes up space. Bass pro has that same space dedicated to selling boats.

Consumers are price sensitive. I pay up for buying specialized outdoor gear - guns and fishing tackle. Most us consumers don't.

I just went with a buddy who bought $1500 worth of fishing tackle in Bangkok. 2/3 of us prices on shimano reels. Even I bought braided line when it was 1/3 us prices.

Destinantion outdoor shopping does not work in a world of smartphones and Amazon and a trump presidency that is slowing gun demand.

Mike

I personally wish for a good solid mail-order/internet store again that has good stuff available. I live in the country and only 45 min from a Bass Pro and a Cabelas. They never have what I am looking for in stock...and I would rather take a whooping than drive through the traffic to get there.

I like to shop on my phone...long for the days of the old Cabelas and Herters.

I saw a Kuiu press release on facebook this morning about how Jason paid for custom sculptures to give away for some hunting contest. Then about half a page down, I noticed he is building a new Kuiu super center with a visitor center to highlight his brand.

The Kuiu display at Dortmund Jagd und Hund had no Kuiu for sale. Everything was just to show off. I asked the rep in the shop why the fuck they were there.

My experience with Cabela's started with catalog purchases and telephone customer service many years ago. I could buy good products unavailable from local retailers and, if I had questions, a knowledgeable customer service rep got on the line to respond.

Fast forward to shopping at the retail store in Lacy, WA. Floor salespeople couldn't answer the simplest question in their duty area. And the gun sales folks wanted to b.s. With customers rather than sell firearms.

Very sad that the company that started with a couple of guys mail order selling flies out of their garage, advertising in Field&Stream, Sports Afield, and Outdoorlife should decline like it has. Progress and normal evolution, evidentially.

I received an e-mail from Cabelas asking me to please help them by participating in a survey. I figured why not so I clicked on it. A screen pops up telling me "survey not active". Classic Cabelas!

quote:

Originally posted by ledvm:
I personally wish for a good solid mail-order/internet store again that has good stuff available. I live in the country and only 45 min from a Bass Pro and a Cabelas. They never have what I am looking for in stock...and I would rather take a whooping than drive through the traffic to get there.

I like to shop on my phone...long for the days of the old Cabelas and Herters.

Lane...try Scheels, its where I buy most of my stuff and they carry a good selection of brand names.

Scheels