Cabelas and BPS merger delayed

[Ohio Archer]

Several sports sites are reporting that the merger between Cabelas and BPS is on hold due to regulatory requirements. May be quite a bit longer before they are under the same roof. Some say not till late next year. Who knows for sure...

[Gillroid 9000]

Delyaed.... Hmmm.

I wonder what thing the merger will do to BPS and Cabelas.

Lets hope it doesnt do something bad.

[Scarborough817]

all i can think about is the "cabelas" branded stuff that's going to go on sale 

[MassYak85]

I'll be curious to see what they do. I don't know about you guys but the Cabelas near me never had as good of a fishing section as BPS, but Cabelas also had a better Hunting section. 

["hamma"]

  Retail environments are what they are. Standard operating procedures for one chain can greatly differ from another, and it takes years for some to just even "keep up with the Jones's" and be a proficient enough to stay in business, without chaos. Many will have processes in place from ordering product, to employee scheduling that vary greatly from anothers. The transition to follow anothers direction after being purchased can be a rocky and difficult road. Changing from what works for one to what works for another isnt easy. Im sure that it will take some time for the two to interact,(if they choose to) and its quite possible  Bass Pro may not "change" Cabelas much at all to avoid any "transition" to begin with, in order to keep doors open. Its all about profit, gross margin return on investment, and stocks. If it ends up being a loosing proposition, Cabelas and its brand may be done, or sold yet again.

[CTBassin860]

23 hours ago, MassYak85 said:

I'll be curious to see what they do. I don't know about you guys but the Cabelas near me never had as good of a fishing section as BPS, but Cabelas also had a better Hunting section. 

The Fishing section at BPS is better than Cabelas out here imo.Camping and hunting goes to Cabelas.

[WRB]

No reason to change names with change of ownership.

[CTBassin860]

I'm pretty sure its staying Cabelas.Doesn't seem cost effective to change 90 stores over to BPS

[jr231]

Ha-ha and anyone who says their fish selection is crap has never been to the one in Dundee, MI! 

That place will blow your mind..  

I've never been impressed with any cabelas after that because that was the first one I went to. Every other one around me is just.. mehh . "Satellite stores" 

[Big Bassman]

Love Cabelas for clothing,shoes, and misc. BPS for bass tackle only. Have been buying from both as long as they have been in existence. Looks like government may not allow this deal to happen. I personally hope not! It was a leverage buy anyway and the share holder who set it up sold his shares on the rise and made his money already. Bad deal all the way around.

[Further North]

Cabela's was a great store back when they were privately held...I could walk into any store and get lost in their Gun Library for a couple hours.

That's gone now...the Gun Libraries...places where you'd often find people who could tell an Arietta from an AyA from a Poli...gone.  but they are still good stores...

Just not great any more.

NOt sure what the merger will bring...but I'm doubting it'll go back to where it was.

[ING]

On December 9, 2016 at 11:09 AM, Gillroid 9000 said:

Delyaed.... Hmmm.

I wonder what thing the merger will do to BPS and Cabelas.

Lets hope it doesnt do something bad.

I don't know what thing the merger will do to BPS and Cabelas but for sure it will be bad for us.

Competition is always good. Each company trying to do the best: looking for new staff, keep prices reasonable low etc. After merger stimulus to be better will disappear...

[Spankey]

I've only been to 3 different Cabelas. The overall size and magnitude may have it over BPS but I'll take Bass Pro Shops any day. I seem to leave there more satisfied. Cabelas seems to be full of cheap Chinese knock offs of brand name items. But I will say if you are not satisfied you can bring it back. I don't trust their reviews on items. My most recent was a hard take down case for an over under shotgun. To compare it to a Browning, was a p.o.s. and no comparison to a Browning. But these things can happen at any retailer I guess.

[Ohio Archer]

A lot of changes going on with or without the merger.  Stopped by my "local" Lowe dealer (45 mins away) yesterday to talk about service and stuff.  They are/were a Stratos dealer but just picked up Bass Cat.  Said JM is looking to end the Stratos line so they needed a new boat line to sell.  Also, that JM is looking to cut Lowe from the Cabelas stores which would be a bad thing for Lowe.  Apparently (according to this dealer), Cabelas accounts for 25% of the Lowe brand.  Losing Cabelas would put Lowe in a hole unless the dealer network were able to pick up the 25%.  But, that being said, Lowe is owned by Brunswick which is a huge company itself so who knows.  Spreading the 25% loss from Cabelas may open new doors for Lowe.

2 minutes ago, Spankey said:

I've only been to 3 different Cabelas. The overall size and magnitude may have it over BPS but I'll take Bass Pro Shops any day. I seem to leave there more satisfied. Cabelas seems to be full of cheap Chinese knock offs of brand name items. But I will say if you are not satisfied you can bring it back. I don't trust their reviews on items. My most recent was a hard take down case for an over under shotgun. To compare it to a Browning, was a p.o.s. and no comparison to a Browning. But these things can happen at any retailer I guess.

The only Cabelas I had been to prior to them opening one 5 miles from my house is the one in Wheeling, WV.  Place is HUGE.  Our's...not so much.  About the size of Dicks or F&S.  Stuff stacked in the aisles kinda like KMart around the holidays.  I still go there a lot but their selection on boating accessories is dismal. Fishing accessories is hit or miss but what they don't have BPS usually does (20 mins the other direction and moving closer). 

[Spankey]

If these places were full line dealers for manufacturers it would be great. But they are not. Some corporate college educated nit wit is the buyer. I live in an area where fishing and hunting is not looked down on by any means but by no means a meca either. I'm lucky in my area that if you're into fly fishing there is a mom&pop and Orvis that is close. Bass and trout needs there are 3 mom&pops fairly close that do a great job considering things are not what they were 25-30 years ago and will go out of their way to get you what you want or need if they are out. TW is great for internet sale. Susquehanna Tackle is a bit of a road trip but worth it when fishing out that way. They do internet as well. Dicks and Wally World have a lot to be desired out my way. I guess I'm just anal. Been told that. I just get what I want or need whatever way is the easiest these days. Internet seems to be the best way. Not into going shopping very much unless I have to go to hardware or building supply store.

[RHuff]

 

If I were them... i'd reformat and make Cabela's the world's premere Hunting Outfitter and Bass Pro the world's premere Fishing Outfitter. 

 

Both could carry some camping and home decor items.

 

They'd absolutely dominate the outdoor market.

[JT Bagwell]

In my full time job we are going through a merger/buy out.

My company (Valspar) is being bought by Sherwin-Williams.

This merger will make us the largest paint company in the WORLD. (Right now they are #3 and we are #4).

The merger was announced earlier this year and it isn't expected to complete until February or March of 2017.

This stuff just takes time. They have told us that virtually nothing will change for the first year. The companies
are so big that it will take that long to figure out what's what.

I suspect it is going to be about the same for BPS and Cabela's.

One thing is for sure, changes will be made. It is just a matter of when and how major they will be.

[Darren.]

Sigh... it'll probably go through eventually, as @JT Bagwell
indicates. Still not a fan of the merger, but I could see the
rebranding where BPS will be "fishing" and Cabelas might
take the "hunting" side of things. Crazy, but maybe.

Dick's Sporting Goods is sort of doing something like this
with Field & Stream stores....though they are much broader
in reach with mainstream sports and separating fishing, 
hunting.

We'll see in time what happens. Maybe nothing, maybe 
everything.... sigh....

[slonezp]

Patience little Grasshopper.... 

The FTC regulates all these big mergers and buyouts. One of our clients was purchased by another company 2 years ago. The merger was complete October of this year roughly 20 months after it was announced. The result: Dollar Tree/Family Dollar is the largest brick and mortar retailer in the United States with roughly 15,000 locations. 

[Knightiac]

I really doubt there is much change. There's a reason each BPS and Cabela's has a different focus than the other locations under their name, there were years of studies done and they figured out what would sell best in the area. This is why certain BPS locations have more hunting gear and others more fishing gear. Changing each store to focus even more so on the other product would be incredibly expensive and unnecessary with the advent of internet sales. This will probably be nothing more than Storm, Sufix, and VMC in the end. Maybe we will even see a "by Bass Pro Shops" under the Cabela name. 

[CybrSlydr]

On 12/11/2016 at 7:53 AM, Ohio Archer said:

A lot of changes going on with or without the merger.  Stopped by my "local" Lowe dealer (45 mins away) yesterday to talk about service and stuff.  They are/were a Stratos dealer but just picked up Bass Cat.  Said JM is looking to end the Stratos line so they needed a new boat line to sell.  Also, that JM is looking to cut Lowe from the Cabelas stores which would be a bad thing for Lowe.  Apparently (according to this dealer), Cabelas accounts for 25% of the Lowe brand.  Losing Cabelas would put Lowe in a hole unless the dealer network were able to pick up the 25%.  But, that being said, Lowe is owned by Brunswick which is a huge company itself so who knows.  Spreading the 25% loss from Cabelas may open new doors for Lowe.

The only Cabelas I had been to prior to them opening one 5 miles from my house is the one in Wheeling, WV.  Place is HUGE.  Our's...not so much.  About the size of Dicks or F&S.  Stuff stacked in the aisles kinda like KMart around the holidays.  I still go there a lot but their selection on boating accessories is dismal. Fishing accessories is hit or miss but what they don't have BPS usually does (20 mins the other direction and moving closer). 

I've been to that one a few times - mostly looking for ammo since we were passing through (family in Pittsburgh and they have a Primanti Bros in Wheeling!).