KEN BANKS’BLOG JUNE 2024
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EXPANDING THE BRAND TO OTHER VENUES!
In several of my previous, I’ve highlighted Bass Pro Shops as one of the top retail brands in the country. In watching its growth and talking with several executives in the past, I have concluded that Bass Pro is not simply a shopping outlet, but is more of an experience that is not only mind boggling to the outdoors person as well as travelers and sportspeople. It’s not just the outstanding size of the stores, but also the attention to making it an experience for young and old, male and female, well-off families and those on a tight budget. The addition of Cabela’s a few years ago to the Bass Pro family has accelerated the company’s growth as one of the top retailers in the U.S. The result of this obsession with creating a brand with a loyal, passionate customer base has resulted in over $7 Billion in annual revenues with exciting stores and the quality and selection of its own brands that is second to none.
As you can tell, I’ve been impressed by the brand for several years now. That’s why when some friends recommended taking a trip to see the Big Cypress Resort in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, we quickly scheduled a trip to experience Bass Pro Hospitality firsthand. This resort has been located in the Pyramid right on the Mississippi River. The Pyramid was built as a basketball stadium and concert venue several years ago and did not meet the expectations of the city nor its populations. When Johnny Morris, Bass Pro’s founder, heard about this, he decided to look seriously into this large, extravagant location for its fledgling resort business. He debated about it and couldn’t make up his mind. So, when invited by one of his long-time fishing buddies to Tennessee, he decided that if he caught a 20 lb. bass on this trip, he would move ahead with the purchase. On his first cast of the day, Johnny caught a 30 pounder and the decision was made! The resort not only now houses the largest Bass Pro shop in the country, but it has been totally re-designed to create an indoor cypress swamp with wildlife, rivers, lagoons (with Bass Pro’s Tracker boats docked inside) stocked with fish and wildlife that makes it a real adventure to visit. Additionally, two floors house the resort’s hotel with each room decorated like an exclusive hunting lodge. The building also has the tallest free-standing elevator with whisks you up to an observation with views of the Mississippi River and views to Arkansas and Mississippi in the distance. There’s also a great restaurant on top with great views and cuisine as well as a casual Wahlburger down in the Cypress swamp area below.
This resort is not the only venture into hospitality by Morris and Bass Pro. The company also has resort facilities and lodges in Missouri, Tennessee and the Blue Ridge Mountains. It has also started to build Valhalla, the largest resort to be found in the Florida Keys to be completed in the next couple years.
This is an aggressive undertaking Bass Pro, but it’s a great example of extending the brand’s presence and awareness (and loyalty) by reach current and prospective customers in a different environment while maintaining the brand strategy that made the company successful. It’s not the first company to do this. Anheuser Busch expanded its brewing business into the theme park industry with resorts in Florida and Virginia. Disney expanded its animated movie business into theme park worldwide. It has continued expansion into time-share resorts in many locations as well as a successful cruise line that has raised the standard for cruising. National Geographic expanded legendary magazine business into its own cable and streaming network as well as documentary films with spectacular photography. Of course, there have been many manufacturers who have own retail stores and outlets and many restaurants have expanded their signature food items into brands on food store shelves throughout the country.
Each one of these examples could be discussed at length as I did above with Bass Pro. However, the important takeaway here is for successful and growing brands can accelerate their business by thinking outside the box of their primary category and looking at other venues to reach their customers and build their brand relationship
Ken
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