You may be unaware of the fact that there is a define sub-set of the NW Indiana population that engages in hunting and fishing, both locally and also taking trips elsewhere for those activities. Given the overall population of that region (which would include the far southeast suburbs of Chicago) there is sufficient sub-set population to support not only Cabella’s but also Gander Mountain and Bass Pro within fairly close proximity to each other. They also all sell items other than strict hunting/fishing gear - camping, cooking, cold weather clothing, etc. I mean, if I wanted a really good meat grinder or dutch oven I’d probably go to Bass Pro over Wal-Mart or other big box stores.
My personal opinion is that Bass Pro and Cabella’s are both better than Gander Mountain, but that’s based on the stores in NW Indiana and may or may not reflect other stores of those names elsewhere.
My comment about Canada was in response to someone’s point about their low out-of-country credit card rate.
Look for yourself at the map showing the locations of Cabela’s across the country. People in northwest Indiana can easily get to the Illinois Cabela’s without much of a drive. People in the northeast can easily get to the one in Dundee, MI.
Meanwhile the people in southern Indiana have to drive all the way to Hammond.
It doesn’t make sense. There should be a Cabela’s in the southern part of Indiana not only for the bottom half of Indiana to go to but also the people in central Kentucky, for whom the nearest Cabela’s is in West Virginia or Missouri.
The shortest route mileage wise takes you through the heart of Chicago. Don’t believe what Google Maps tells you - the only time that’s an hour’s drive is 3 am. It can take me 90 minutes to two hours to drive from Hammond to the Loop, and getting to Hoffman Estates would mean Hammond to the Loop then an equal distance out to the 'burbs… that’s 3 to 4 hours.
Avoiding the city means a huge detour… again, 3 hours under typical driving conditions. At least. All you need is a bad accident or a stretch of construction to stretch it all out.
Plus, there’s tolls, which just adds to the expense and aggravation.
The most direct toll-free route is 90 minutes according to Google Maps, but, again, it takes you through the middle of Chicago. More like 3 hours. At least.
Have you driven in Chicago traffic? In the Loop? Through the “spaghetti bowl” interchange? I wouldn’t describe that either pleasant or easy, though obviously it’s doable. I’m more enthused with driving to Michigan than the northwest Chicago 'burbs.
Google Maps says you can get from Hammond to Hoffman Estates on I-294 in an hour and eighteen minutes. This doesn’t take you anywhere near the heart of Chicago.
And I’ve done that drive, but never in less than 2.5 hours. The times given are based on actually being able to do the speed limit along the entire route - a near impossibility most times of day. That’s the detour I was talking about. I don’t think you understand just how thick the traffic is on most of the freeways around Chicago. That drive is more realistically 3 hours, that’s certainly what I would budget for it. The idea of doing it in an hour and eighteen minutes is just laughable to anyone actually familiar with the route.
OK, fair enough. But is the market of hunters, fisherman and general outdoors-people in the northern part of Indiana really greater than the one in the southern half of the state? Larger enough compared to the south that it’s more economically sound for the Cabela’s company to put their store in Hammond rather than Bloomington, Evansville, Columbus or somewhere like that?
Well, their radio ads were always three imperatives, kind of shouted along with music, and also AM radio isn’t exactly crystal clear except for talk radio, and so it came out sounding kind of like “F**k. This. Sh*t” rather than what I now gather to be “Hunt! Fish! Camp!”
The greater Chicagoland area has about 10 million people in it. The entire state of Indiana has 6.5 million (some of which are actually located in the Chicagoland area due to proximity to Chicago, and some in the northern half of the state). So… while I haven’t crunched the numbers just looking at that makes me wonder if the Chicagoland area (of which Hammond is part) might have twice (or more) the population as the southern half of Indiana… in which case two stores in Chicagoland might make sense, and do keep in mind those two stores are sort of on opposite sides of that metro area.
And yes, there is a substantial market for the out-doors types, although the specific mix of items in the store might be slightly different for the region.
Bass Pro’s main store is the only one I go to, if I go to BP (only because it’s the closest to me). It’s definitely a nice store, but the Cabela’s I hit (in KC) is comparable, and has a restaurant, I think. Not sure on that, because when I go to KC, I have to have my Arthur Bryant’s.