Bass Pro Shops

Bass Pro Shops

Exam 1

MKT 531

2/17/15

Chad Lindsay

CWID# 11286773

History

​ Bass Pro Shops was founded in 1971 by Johnny Morris. Morris was very frustrated by the lack of fishing tackle in local stores, and decided to rent a U-Haul® trailer and took off across the country filling it with the newest premium fishing tackle he could find. When he returned home to Springfield, Missouri, Johnny Morris set up a shop in his dad's liquor store, which was located on the way to Table Rock Lake. With this simple idea, Bass Pro Shops was born. Bass Pro Shops became popular with local and out-of-state fishermen. By 1974, Johnny Morris printed and mailed the first Bass Pro Shops catalog. In 1978, he introduced Bass Tracker the first boat, motor, and trailer package designed just for anglers. By building and selling boats factory direct, Morris was able to pass on huge value and savings to fishermen. From those humble beginnings, Bass Pro Shops has become America's leading outdoor retailer with stores across America and Canada. Every Bass Pro Shops store still offers an incredible array of fishing and boating equipment. Bass Pro Shops is more than a retail mecca for sportsmen, though. Since the beginning, Johnny Morris has been dedicated to inspiring people, especially youth and families, to love, enjoy and conserve the great outdoors (basspro.com).

Expansion

​Bass Pro Shops has transformed into one of America’s largest private companies. According to Forbs magazine, Bass Pro Shops is ranked as the 100th largest private company in the United States. As of 2014 Bass Pro Shops has 89 retail stores in the U.S. and Canada along with 19,000 employees in the United States and Canada. The site of the original store in Springfield, Missouri is the state’s top tourist attraction due to over 4 million visitors yearly (forbes.com).

Building the Brand

​ A great question for Bass Pro shop to ask themselves about their products would be “Is our...