Is Cabela's scaling back store size?

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Super S
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Is Cabela's scaling back store size?

Post by Super S »

Yesterday, I visited the new Cabela's store in Tualatin, Oregon, built on the site of a former Kmart. Most Cabela's stores I have been into are HUGE. Mostly two story freestanding operations with elaborate displays in the center. This one seems to be on a similar footprint of the big store in Lacey, WA, but seems to be tamed way down. It only occupies a single level, and while the displays are present, they are scaled way down and, while they are still the centerpoint in the store, are much smaller than what I have seen in their other locations. Since the store is only one level, it doesn't have quite the selection as the Lacey store. I left the store mostly underwhelmed. Also, this store is part of a strip mall, with a Michaels craft store (old building which remained after Kmart was demolished) and a New Seasons Market. (new build, also part of the former Kmart site)

I got to wondering...could this be part of a plan to open multiple, smaller locations in the Portland area? Or is this in response to economic conditions or local code regulations? I could see them not wanting to take away traffic from Lacey, but Portland does have enough population to support a larger store, with the added benefit of no sales tax.

For what it's worth, Portland doesn't have a lot of competition in big-box type sporting goods stores. Locally owned Fisherman's Marine has two locations, and there is also Sports Authority (which recently closed their Jantzen Beach location) and Dick's Sporting Goods, which took over most of the failed G.I. Joe's (Joe's Sporting Goods) locations. REI also has a few locations but are also smaller stores. Dick's in particular seems to have high prices and a very low customer count, at least on the few occasions I have been in there.

Any way you look at it, as they expand, Cabela's isn't the big draw it once was.
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Re: Is Cabela's scaling back store size?

Post by Brian Lutz »

The Cabela's on the Tulalip reservation (which opened several years ago) is still a rather large store, but is significantly smaller than the Lacey store, and is only one story as well. You can actually take a Google StreetView tour of that store here:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cabel ... b6!6m1!1e1
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Re: Is Cabela's scaling back store size?

Post by storewanderer »

Our Reno/Verdi Cabela's is large, but I guess smaller than some. It makes sense these stores, as they build more and more of them, get smaller. They won't draw from as much of a distance as there are more of them. Bass Pro has a store under construction just outside Sacramento in Rocklin and I'm not even sure it is 100,000 square feet.
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Re: Is Cabela's scaling back store size?

Post by bm10k »

The Cabela's Here in Yakima took over Half of the Former Costco (as they built a new store down the road)
and the other half is a freestanding JCPenney and it usually pretty busy as there is not much competition
as most folks around here have to drive 90 minutes down to the Tri-Cities or go over to Seattle
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