Bass Pro Shops

This article contains content that is written like an advertisement. Please help by removing promotional content and inappropriate external links, and by adding encyclopedic content written from a neutral point of view. (January 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)

BPS Direct, LLC

Trade name	Bass Pro Shops
Type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1972; 50 years ago (1972)
Founder	Johnny Morris
Headquarters	Springfield, Missouri
Number of locations	177 (including 82 Cabela's)
Key people	Johnny Morris Founder and CEO
Products	Hunting, fishing, and outdoor merchandise
Revenue	US$6.5 billion (2019)[1]
Number of employees	40,000
Subsidiaries	Cabela's White River Marine Group (through Cabela's)
Website	www.basspro.com

BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass Pro Shops employs a workforce of about 40,000.^[2] Bass Pro Shops supports and sells merchandise for the National Audubon Society.^{[citation needed]}

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 started in 1972 when Johnny Morris started selling fishing tackle out of his dad's Brown Derby Liquor Store in Springfield, Missouri.^[3] His father, John A. Morris, was a World War II veteran and often took the family hunting and fishing.^[4] Johnny Morris has said his parents, Genny Morris and John A. Morris, taught him to love fishing, hunting and the outdoors.^[4] The first Bass Pro Shops catalog was created in 1974.^[5] In 1978, Morris introduced Tracker Boats, the first boat, motor and trailer package designed for anglers.^[6]

In 1981, Morris opened the first Bass Pro Shops outdoor store in Springfield.^[7] 7 years later, in 1988, he opened Big Cedar Lodge on Table Rock Lake in Missouri’s Ozark Mountains. Along with the lodge, the resort includes five golf courses, the Top of the Rock Ozarks Heritage Preserve, Lost Canyon Cave, the Ancient Ozarks Natural History Museum; and Dogwood Canyon Nature Park, a 10,000-acre wilderness refuge dedicated to conservation, preservation and education.^[8][9]

The company's marine manufacturing division, White River Marine Group, includes several marine and off-road brands that manufacture fishing and recreational boats.^[10] In May 2021, the company acquired the Hatteras Boat company based in New Bern, North Carolina.^[10]

In 2017, Morris opened the Wonders of Wildlife Museum & Aquarium in Springfield's Bass Pro Shops, which recreates a multitude of ecosystems and is considered the largest wildlife attraction in the world.^[11] In the same year, Bass Pro Shops struck a deal to acquire Cabela's for about $4.5 billion.^[12] As of 2020, the company operates 169 Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s stores combined.^[13]

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.^[14][15][16] In court filings, Bass Pro Shops denied all of the allegations and in 2014, Bass Pro Shops appealed the lower court's ruling,^[17][18][19] but was rejected by the court.^[20] 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.^[21] In 2017, Bass Pro Shops settled its discrimination lawsuit with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for 10.5 million.^[22][23][24] The court noted that any payments Bass Pro Shops made as part of the settlement "should not be construed as an admission of liability."^[17] The case was settled by a consent decree, and the court issued no findings on the veracity of the claims of the EEOC.^[17] As part of the settlement, Bass Pro Shops agreed to strengthen its diversity hiring and recruiting practices^[25] 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.^[26][27]

Acquisitions[]

In September 2017, Bass Pro Shops paid $5.5 billion to acquire Cabela's.^[28] 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.^[28]

In 2019, Bass Pro Shops sold eleven of the Cabela's stores to Sansome Pacific for $324.3 million UDS in a sale-leaseback scheme.^[29][30][31] The acquisition of Cabela's resulted in 2,000 jobs lost in Sidney, Nebraska, Cabela's headquarters at the time of the acquisition.^[32][33] Since the acquisition, three stores have closed and eight new stores have opened.^[13] 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.^[34][35]

Operating divisions[]

Retail stores[]

A young Canadian male wearing Bass Pro Shops merchandise.

Bass Pro Shops operates retail locations in the United States, as well as in Canada.^[36] The most common stores are known as Outdoor World stores.^[36] The largest store currently is the Pyramid in Memphis, Tennessee.^[11] 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.

Boat brands[]

Bass Pro Shops 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. ^[37]

Fishing[]

Offshore angler yellow logo

Offshore angler red logo

Offshore Angler is Bass Pro's main fishing brand for saltwater fishing. They sell fishing rods, reels, lures, as well as branded merchandise.

Hunting[]

RedHead logo

RedHead is their primary brand for hunting, such as men's clothing, hunting, hunting clothing, & shoes & boots.^[38] It has been serving hunters since 1856.

Store types[]

At every Bass Pro location, there are special names at the entrance to represent it's theme & location. At this time, there are 5 types of stores: Outdoor World, Outpost, Stick Marsh Outpost, Sportsman's Center, and White River Outpost. All of their locations contain a 34,000 gallon freshwater aquarium with animal statues, waterfalls, etc.

Outdoor World[]

Bass Pro's Outdoor World locations contain theming of being in a cypress forest with animal displays, marble flooring with fish outlines, & more wood to represent the forest theme. Some also contain animals on the ceilings, such as a bear trying to cross a broken bridge with a man on the other side.

Outpost[]

Bass Pro's Outpost locations contain theming of a modern wooden Outpost, something like a big cabin near a campsite, with less theming in the aisles, with fish, birds, etc., but has more animal displays on walls with foliage.

Stick Marsh Outpost[]

As the name suggests, this location contains the Stick Marsh theme in Florida, & contains theme of being in an everglades-type outpost with tin roofing, broken wooden walls, many leaves hanging from the ceiling, & trees in the middle of the aisles. This location can only be found in Palm Bay, FL's Bass Pro Shop. At it's entrance, it contains many animal statues, an old pick-up truck on the ceiling, & many photo collections. It also has live alligators and hogs outside for customers to watch.

Sportsman's Center[]

Bass Pro's Sportsman's Center locations contain less theming in the store & outside, with a lot more animal displays in the entrance corridor, & more wall themed displays. Some Sportsman's Centers also contain similar Outdoor World theming.

White River Outpost[]

The White River Outpost location in Branson Landing, MO is intended to depict the White River's environment with more wooden walls, trees, & also depicting that you are in Missouri's Ozark Mountains, as well as with some birds on the ceiling, & many photo collections.

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.^[39]

NRA National Sporting Arms Museum[]

The NRA National Sporting Arms Museum opened in Springfield's Bass Pro on August 2, 2013. It features sporting artifacts, including some historical firearms from the NRA Museum Collection. The museum also hosts firearms and artwork from the Remington Arms Company factory collection, including engraved Colt revolvers of the American frontier and firearms of U.S. Presidents.^[40]

References[]

External links[]

• Bass Pro Shops
• Islamorada Fish Company Restaurant
• Tracker Boats

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bass Pro Shops.