Bass Pro Shops

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Bass Pro Shops
Bass Pro Shops
TypePrivate
IndustryRetail
Founded1972; 49 years ago (1972)
FounderJohnny Morris
Headquarters
Springfield, Missouri
Number of locations
177 (including 82 Cabela's)
Key people
Johnny Morris Founder and CEO
ProductsHunting, fishing, and outdoor merchandise
RevenueUS$ 6.5 billion (2019)[1]
Number of employees
40,000
SubsidiariesCabela's
White River Marine Group
Websitewww.basspro.com

Bass Pro Shops is an American privately held retailer of hunting, fishing, camping and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. Bass Pro Shops supports and sells merchandise for the National Audubon Society.

History[]

Bass Pro Shops at the Memphis Pyramid
An exterior view of Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World at Promenade Shops at Orchard Valley, California

Bass Pro Shops was founded by Johnny Morris in 1971 in Springfield, Missouri.[2][3] However, its first retail outlet opened in 1972.[4]

In addition to the store, the founder also opened the Wonders of Wildlife in Springfield, Missouri. This museum and aquarium recreates a multitude of ecosystems and is considered the largest wildlife attraction in the world.[5]

Discrimination lawsuit[]

In 2011, Bass Pro Shops was sued by The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for failure to hire Hispanic and Black applicants.[6][7][8] In 2014, Bass Pro Shops appealed the lower court's ruling, [9][10] but was rejected by the court.[11] In 2016 Bass Pro Shops tried again and The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission asked the 5th circuit court to reject Bass Pro Shops' appeal on the grounds that Bass Pro Shops engaged in the practice of "reckless indifference" when it came to hiring practices of minorities.[12] In 2017, Bass Pro Shops settled its discrimination lawsuit with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for 10.5 million.[13][14][15] As part of the settlement, Bass Pro Shops agreed to strengthen its diversity hiring and recruiting practices[16] by posting job openings at schools with a significant minority population, participating in job fairs held in communities with large minority populations, posting job openings in publications that have been historically popular with black and Hispanic audiences, and develop a diversity and inclusion section of its website that lists job opportunities and discusses inclusion efforts.[17][18]

Acquisitions[]

In September 2017, Bass Pro Shops paid $5.5 billion to acquire Cabela's.[19] The deal was financed via preferred equity financing from Goldman Sachs and Pamplona. Goldman Sachs contributed $1.8 billion towards financing and Pamplona contributed the remainder for a total commitment of $2.4 billion.[19] In 2019, Bass Pro Shops sold eleven of the Cabela's stores to Sansome Pacific[20] in a sale-leaseback scheme.[21][22] The acquisition of Cabela's resulted in 2,000 jobs lost in Sidney, Nebraska, Cabela's headquarter at the time of the acquisition.[23][24] Sidney had a population of less than 7,000 in 2017, when the 2,000 jobs were lost. As part of Cabela's acquisition, Bass Pro Shops sold Cabela's World's Foremost Bank brand to Synovus and Capital One, a transfer of over $1 billion in assets.[25][26]

Operating divisions[]

Retail stores[]

Bass Pro Shops operates retail locations in the United States, as well as in Canada.[27] The largest flagship stores are known as Outdoor World stores.[27] The largest store currently is the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee.[5] Bass Pro Shops also hosts Outdoor Skills Workshops, teaching skills such as fly fishing, Dutch oven cooking, archery hunting with an archery range in the store, and GPS navigation.[citation needed]

Boat brands[]

White River Marine Group logo.

Bass Pro Shops also owns White River Marine Group which manufactures and distributes boats under the brand names Ranger, Nitro, Triton, Tahoe, Tracker, Sun Tracker, Regency, Mako, and Ascend.

Hatteras Yachts Logo.

On May 20, 2021, the White River Marine Group purchased Hatteras Yachts, a company that builds boats starting at 45 feet and extending to 105 feet. [28]

Sponsorship[]

Affiliation with NASCAR[]

Bass Pro Shops has been a longtime partner of Richard Childress Racing. During the 2019 season, they were part-time sponsors for NASCAR Cup Series drivers Martin Truex, Jr., Austin Dillon, and Ty Dillon, as well as hosting the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. In previous seasons, they have also sponsored Dale Earnhardt, Tony Stewart, and Ryan Newman. In the Xfinity Series, Bass Pro Shops was the main sponsor for the No. 3 car driven by Ty Dillon. Also in the Truck Series, Bass Pro Shops sponsors the No. 32 truck driven by Ryan Truex.[29]

NRA National Sporting Arms Museum[]

The NRA National Sporting Arms Museum opened in the flagship store in Springfield, Missouri on August 2, 2013. It features sporting artifacts, including some historical firearms from the NRA Museum Collection. The museum will host firearms and artwork from the Remington Arms Company factory collection, including engraved Colt revolvers of the American frontier and firearms of U.S. Presidents.[30]

References[]

  1. ^ "#45 Bass Pro Shops". Forbes. Retrieved February 20, 2021.
  2. ^ Waszczuk, Savannah (November 2014). "The Johnny Morris Story". 417 Magazine. Retrieved October 24, 2019.
  3. ^ "HISTORY OF BASS PRO SHOP". The Southern. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  4. ^ "John Morris". Forbes. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b "Largest fish and wildlife attraction in the world opens in Springfield, Missouri". KSDK. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  6. ^ "Bass Pro Shops accused of discrimination, racial slurs". Reuters. September 22, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  7. ^ Zimmerman, Ann (September 22, 2011). "U.S. Charges Bass Pro Shops With Racial Bias". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  8. ^ "Bass Pro Failed to Hire Blacks and Hispanics at its Stores Nationwide, EEOC Says in Suit | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". www.eeoc.gov. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  9. ^ "Bass Pro Pushes For Quick Appeal In EEOC Race Bias Suit - Law360". www.law360.com. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  10. ^ Gounley, Thomas. "Four years after US alleged discriminatory hiring at Bass Pro, case plods on, closely watched". Springfield News-Leader. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  11. ^ Langford, Cameron (July 31, 2014). "Bass Pro Shops Hiring Bias Case to Continue". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  12. ^ "EEOC v. Bass Pro Outdoor World, LLC, No. 15-20078 (5th Cir. 2016)". Justia Law. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  13. ^ Sixel, L. M. (July 24, 2017). "Bass Pro, EEOC reach $10.5 million settlement". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  14. ^ "Bass Pro Shops settles $10.5M race discrimination case". HR Dive. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  15. ^ "Bass Pro Settles with EEOC for $10.5 Million on Racial Discrimination and Retaliation Claims | E & B". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  16. ^ Mccue, Dan (July 26, 2017). "Bass Pro Shops to Pay $10.5 Million to Settle EEOC Lawsuit". Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  17. ^ SHRM-SCP, Lisa Nagele-Piazza, J. D. (August 10, 2017). "Bass Pro to Pay $10.5 Million to Settle Hiring Discrimination Claims". SHRM. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  18. ^ "Bass Pro to Pay $10.5 Million To Settle EEOC Hiring Discrimination And Retaliation Suit | U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission". www.eeoc.gov. Retrieved June 24, 2020.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Debter, Lauren. "Outdoor Retailer Bass Pro Shops Is Buying Cabela's For $5.5 Billion". Forbes.
  20. ^ "Bass Pro Shops sells 11 Cabela's stores for $324.3 million". Outdoornews. June 7, 2019.
  21. ^ Wunderlich, Glen. "Bass Pro Shops Sells 11 Cabela's Stores for $324.3 Million - ThinkingAfield.org".
  22. ^ "Bass Pro Shops Sells 11 Cabela's Locations for $324M". www.cpexecutive.com.
  23. ^ Couger, Charles & Pfeiffer, Alex. "The death of Sidney, Nebraska: How a hedge fund destroyed 'a good American town'". Fox News. Retrieved June 27, 2020.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ Yowell, Paige. "Sidney faces challenge to replace 2,000 jobs, fill vacant homes after Bass Pro takeover of Cabela's". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  25. ^ Arif, Rabia. "Synovus, Capital One to buy banking operations of Cabela's". S&P Global. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  26. ^ Detrick, Hallie. "Bass Pro Just Completed a $4 Billion Deal to Buy Cabela's". Fortune. Retrieved June 27, 2020.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b Field, Carla (April 17, 2014). "Bass Pro Shops announces new Upstate store". WYFF. Retrieved January 8, 2020.
  28. ^ "Johnny Morris Buys Hatteras Yachts | BoatTEST". boattest.com. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  29. ^ "Ryan Truex Returns to Turner Scott Motorsports for NCWTS Race at Daytona". SpeedwayMedia. Turner Scott Motorsports. February 10, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  30. ^ "NRA opens Midwest museum showing nearly 1,000 firearms". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 3, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2013.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""