- Joined
- Feb 26, 2005
- Messages
- 57,012
- Likes
- 21,115
http://www.projo.com/business/content/projo_20051130_bass30x.d8ac8df.html
Bass Pro plans store in Foxboro
The store, to be built on land along Route 1 close to Gillette Stadium, will be at least 150,000 square feet and will employ about 300, a company spokesman says.
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005
BY PAUL GRIMALDI
Journal Staff Writer
A Missouri-based outdoor outfitter announced yesterday that it will bring one of its destination stores to Foxboro, Mass., putting down stakes in the heart of L.L. Bean country.
Bass Pro Shops' entertainment-laced venues are no secret to the people who keep their favorite fishing hole close to the vest. Four million visitors a year from across the Midwest are drawn to the company's 300,000-square-foot flagship store in Springfield, Mo., where they wander along aisles of outdoor goods, hunting gear and boats, tour its museum, eat at in-store restaurants and gawk at a four-story waterfall.
The company is on a development tear, opening eight stores this year, including two this week -- one each in Mississippi and Tennessee. Currently, there are 31 Bass Pro Shops in 19 states.
The Foxboro store will be the first in New England -- creating a gravitational pull that's projected to draw shoppers away from L.L. Bean's flagship store, which attracts 3.5 million visitors a year to Freeport, Maine.
Bass Pro spokesman Larry Whiteley said the company plans to build a store on land along Route 1 in Foxboro, close to Gillette Stadium. The building will be at least 150,000 square feet and may be as large as its flagship. The store is likely to open in 2007 and employ about 300.
The Bass Pro announcement comes at a time of aggressive expansion in the outdoor-retailing sector. L.L. Bean began building 30,000-square-foot stores this year, including one in West Lebanon, N.H.
"The level of competition has dramatically increased over the last 20 years," said Frank Hugelmeyer, of the Outdoor Industry Association.
Aside from Bass Pro and L.L. Bean, Cabela's Inc., Eastern Mountain Sports, Gander Mountain Co. and REI, as well as Wal-Mart and the sporting-goods chains all sell similar outdoor goods. Bass Pro, Cabela's and L.L. Bean all generated sales last year of more than $1 billion and REI's sales neared $900 million. Gander Moutain projects sales this year of $850 million.
"There's certainly a lot of horsepower in these companies," said Mike Lee, of the Outdoor Industry Association.
The stores are racking up sales even as participation in hunting has declined, according to Harvey Lauer, who runs market research firm American Sports Data Inc. They're doing it by marketing to wannabees who wear the gear but don't like the wear and tear of slogging through the woods and fording streams, he said.
"Fashion is a tremendous force in outdoor retailing," Lauer said. "People never sweat in hiking shoes."
Bass Pro plans store in Foxboro
The store, to be built on land along Route 1 close to Gillette Stadium, will be at least 150,000 square feet and will employ about 300, a company spokesman says.
01:00 AM EST on Wednesday, November 30, 2005
BY PAUL GRIMALDI
Journal Staff Writer
A Missouri-based outdoor outfitter announced yesterday that it will bring one of its destination stores to Foxboro, Mass., putting down stakes in the heart of L.L. Bean country.
Bass Pro Shops' entertainment-laced venues are no secret to the people who keep their favorite fishing hole close to the vest. Four million visitors a year from across the Midwest are drawn to the company's 300,000-square-foot flagship store in Springfield, Mo., where they wander along aisles of outdoor goods, hunting gear and boats, tour its museum, eat at in-store restaurants and gawk at a four-story waterfall.
The company is on a development tear, opening eight stores this year, including two this week -- one each in Mississippi and Tennessee. Currently, there are 31 Bass Pro Shops in 19 states.
The Foxboro store will be the first in New England -- creating a gravitational pull that's projected to draw shoppers away from L.L. Bean's flagship store, which attracts 3.5 million visitors a year to Freeport, Maine.
Bass Pro spokesman Larry Whiteley said the company plans to build a store on land along Route 1 in Foxboro, close to Gillette Stadium. The building will be at least 150,000 square feet and may be as large as its flagship. The store is likely to open in 2007 and employ about 300.
The Bass Pro announcement comes at a time of aggressive expansion in the outdoor-retailing sector. L.L. Bean began building 30,000-square-foot stores this year, including one in West Lebanon, N.H.
"The level of competition has dramatically increased over the last 20 years," said Frank Hugelmeyer, of the Outdoor Industry Association.
Aside from Bass Pro and L.L. Bean, Cabela's Inc., Eastern Mountain Sports, Gander Mountain Co. and REI, as well as Wal-Mart and the sporting-goods chains all sell similar outdoor goods. Bass Pro, Cabela's and L.L. Bean all generated sales last year of more than $1 billion and REI's sales neared $900 million. Gander Moutain projects sales this year of $850 million.
"There's certainly a lot of horsepower in these companies," said Mike Lee, of the Outdoor Industry Association.
The stores are racking up sales even as participation in hunting has declined, according to Harvey Lauer, who runs market research firm American Sports Data Inc. They're doing it by marketing to wannabees who wear the gear but don't like the wear and tear of slogging through the woods and fording streams, he said.
"Fashion is a tremendous force in outdoor retailing," Lauer said. "People never sweat in hiking shoes."
