Cabela's Expansion In Infancy

NEW YORK CITY-Outdoors-retailer Cabela’s, known for its large-format superstores, is only in the beginning stages of its unit growth, said Chief Financial Officer Ralph Castner at the JP Morgan Consumer & Retail Holiday Conference. The chain currently has 18 stores across the country, but could open a total of 100 in North America, he says.

Major growth could come in California and New York, two states where Cabela’s does not have a location, yet has a significant subscriber base to the company’s catalog, Castner says. Management is also looking north of the border. “Given the propensity of people who hunt and fish, we need to be there,” Castner says.

Cabela’s is also rolling out smaller stores. Two recent openings, in Idaho and Nebraska, have been 130,000 sf and 120,000 sf, respectively, compared with the 160,000-sf average in the chain. It’s two smallest stores are 80,000 sf, a format that the company could look at opening more of as well, Castner says.