As a very loyal customer over the years, while owned by D--k and Jim Cabela, Cabela's was the "place" for any serious outdoors passionate people to outfit for family and self. D--k, Jim and really all of the people who I came in contact with were avid outdoors people - lived it, breathed it and developed and selected products that worked for those who loved that lifestyle. The gear worked, the pricing was fair, they always stood behind the product and the quality and attention to detail was second to none.
As a very passionate outdoors person, it meant a lot to me and to my friends that the ownership and the employees lived the life and "got it". The clothing and gat was designed by users - so important when the actual amount of time spent afield with limited vacations and opportunities was actually very low. You simply wanted everything to work. And it was always refreshing when you arrived on a guided hunt and upon examining your gear, the outfitter and guides gave you a positive nod knowing that you had great gear that was made to work in the environment. What was always so interesting was that about 90% of the guides also used Cabela's gear - because it worked.
With Cabela's ceasing to exist today and all of the media floundering on the flag issue, it allowed me to rethink of why I walked away from Cabela's many years ago. Over the years, I had the opportunity to befriend many employees - great people who lived the lifestyle and were walking textbooks on gear and outdoor pursuits - as mentioned before, I would go out of my way to stop at a Cabela's store or to order from Cabela's because of the people and the absolute commitment they had to ensuring customers were treated right.
In the retail environment, you always cringe when you hear a great retailer is going public - it is generally the kiss of death in reference to quality and people. When Cabela's went public, I did not see a big change until Tommy was brought on board. In looking at his background - it was easy to see from the outside that his coming on board would be a negative for the company, the brand and the people. And it did not take long - people who lived the lifestyle started to disappear at retail stores - people that as a customer, we relied on for advice and guidance - replaced with non-outdoors people who really had no clue. The stores and product along with the selection were soon to follow.
The people that I knew at the corporate center were no longer discussing upcoming trips and gear - they were discussing the state of anarchy that had entered with Tommy and his crew. The Home Depot's, the Wall Mart, Academy and the UPS people were now the chosen ones within Tommy's hierarchy. Lay offs, forced outs and complete re do's of the org were keeping people's eye off the ball and on survival and hanging on. Tommy was interested in Harley's and non sport dog shows and his minions were soon to follow - meetings from what I understood were now prefaced with talk of Harley's. The leadership team was not interested in Cabela's as a lifestyle - it was simply a chance to make money and move on.
Product quality and function quickly followed along with the draining of the passion that had made this company great. The new team, from what I heard, were really going to show everyone how to do it right. What followed was the chipping away of an American icon. It wasn't long before myself and all of the people that I knew were looking else where for great gear - Cabela's was now simply a box store - Brian - the guy who did the traffic for the company was promoted to head merchandiser and it was a disaster from a customer stand point. The rest is history - as was expected by those of us that relied with deep pride on Cabela's to outfit our outdoor endeavors, slid into oblivion. I have stopped by a store a few times more to laugh that anything else - the stores are now a disaster, the employees are totally unengaged - I stopped at a store several years ago during the Christmas holiday and to assist with traffic, this ill dressed and overweight employee was standing on a step ladder, yelling at people to go to this register or that register as two of his coworkers were standing back laughing. It was truly sickening - this is what Cabela's had slipped to. There were items scattered around th register area that were abandoned - why be treated like a kid at a Cabela's store - are you kidding.
As I have dug into this whole mess, Tommy, come to find out, is also on the Best Buy board - hmmm, maybe he should have stuck with the business at hand and the Brian's of the world, while pared due to total incompetence, were still on the payroll as advisors. While it is truly a tragedy that Cabela's is not history, unfortunately, Tommy along with a very weak board allowed this to happen. As with players defying what made this country great, it really gets down to one simple principle, remember what brought you to the table and ensure that all of your people are on that train.