Company case 2 Bass Pro Shops
(P. 420-421)
Questions for Discussion
13-18 Define Bass Pro Shops’s targeting strategy. Does the chain provide a truly
differentiated experience?
13-19 Describe how Bass Pro Shops became the nation’s leading outdoor retailer based on
the retail marketing mix.
13-20 In terms of the major types of retailers, how would you classify Bass Pro Shops?
13-21 Why is Bass Pro Shops succeeding while Cabela’s is floundering?
13-22 Is it a good idea for Bass Pro Shops to acquire Cabela’s? Explain.
Company Case Bass Pro Shops: Creating Nature’s Theme Park for People
Who Hate to Shop
– Outdoor-products megaretailer
o More than 90 stores
o 200 million visitors yearly
o 4,3 billion revenue
o 50 million a store
– Going against common retail wisdom
– The shops are
o Enormous
o Very packed
o Targeting shoppers who hate shopping
o Remote location
– The typical customer is
o Reclusive male outdoorsman who lives for outdoor activities but hate crowds
and shopping
o Hunting, fishing and outdoor gear equipment
o Drives average 50 miles to get to a store
o Stay average 2 hours at the store
o They get sended to the shops in busses
– First they were a popular mail-order catalog business
– A true display of “destination retail”
Filling a gap in the market
– Ability to reel in hordes of otherwise reluctant shoppers to its stores is part of a
double-hook strategy
– 1. Very wide product assortment
– At the time, the sporting goods retail sector was fragmented with lots of
independent retail shops catering to different outdoor activities.
– To meet the needs of customers across the country, Bass Pro Shops printed its first
catalog in 1974
– Moved to fill a gap in brick-and-mortal retail
– With no national chain that could serve the outdoor-loving masses, Bass Pro Shops
moved beyond fishing
o adding hunting, camping, outdoor cooking gear, outdoor footwear and
apparel, and nature-themed gifts
– Developed a portfolio of store brands
– Manufacturing and selling direct
o Huge savings to customers
o Compete on price with any company
– 2. Opening of the first outdoor world showroom
o More than a chain of stores that sells lots of cool outdoors stuff
o Place that provided engaging customer experiences
o Created a natural history theme park for outdoor enthusiasts
o Walt Disney for sporting goods
Nature’s theme park
– Very big stores
o Representations of wildlife
o Nature scenes reflecting local geography in the buildings
o Wildlife to life in 3 dimensions
▪ Lifelike, museum-quality taxidermy animals in action poses
▪ Make the customer feel like they’re on location outdoors landscapes
▪ Lot of water and life fish and other wildlife
▪ Alligators and life feeding
▪ Trees that are home to different species of ducks
o One of the most captivating retail adventures because of the shops set
▪ Glass elevator
▪ Observation deck
▪ Lookout
▪ Arcade shooting gallery, archery and pistol ranges, Beretta Fine Gun
Center, interactive Ducks Unlimited Waterfowling Heritage Center,
and the 103-room Big Cypress Lodge.
– Customers often make a day out of it
o Restaurants
o Own restaurant chains
o Aquarium with exotic and tropical fish
o Dinner views
o Bowling alley
Half the size – All the fun
– Larger and more amazing than the competitors
– Each Outdoor World store is designed to shower shoppers with the same captivating
experience.
– Bass Pro Shops and Outdoor World stores, also in outlets
– Half retail store, half wildlife museum
– Real animals and inanimate displays
– Boats and trees
– Merchandise for every budget
– Don’t have to spend money to enjoy it
– With its retail design that builds theater and entertainment into every store
– It’s enjoyable for everyone else, also not outdoor people
– Various special events such as Family Summer Camp, Professional Bull Riders Event,
Fall Hunting Classic, and Halloween Bass Pro Style
o Filled with demonstrations and activities
o Fishing and hunting seminars featuring national and local experts
o Santa’s Wonderland, a six-week extravaganza that transforms each Bass Pro
Shops outlet into a veritable Christmas village
▪ Featuring rustic cabins, moving model trains, animated Christmas
characters, interactive talking caribou, and live elves set among snow–
covered hills and illuminated Christmas trees.
