A Look Back: Missouri’s Own Bass Pro Shop Worked To Acquire Biggest Rival

• December 10, 2016

All month long Missouri Partnership is taking a look back at 31 of Missouri’s biggest stories in economic development from the past year. Today we take a look at Springfield, Missouri’s Bass Pro Shops’ acquisition of Cabela’s Inc.

On October 3, Missouri-based Bass Pro Shops announced it had agreed to buy its competitor, Cabela’s Inc., for an estimated $5.5 billion.

“We have enormous admiration for Cabela’s, its founders and outfitters, and its loyal base of customers,” said Bass Pro’s CEO and founder Johnny Morris. “We look forward to continuing to celebrate and grow the Cabela’s brand alongside Bass Pro Shops and White River as one unified outdoor family.”

Bass Pro Shops employs nearly 20,000 workers at 99 stores and Tracker Marine Centers primarily in the eastern U.S. and Canada. Cabela’s employs more than 19,000 in its 85 specialty retail stores, primarily in the western U.S. and Canada.

Bass Pro Shops plans “to celebrate and grow the Cabela’s brand” and “will build on qualities that respective customers love most about Cabela’s and Bass Pro Shops.”