There was a time when Bill Kennedy paid for a billboard on the New York State Thruway, luring hikers and paddlers heading north from Westchester County and New York City to his Kenco Work and Play Outfitter store in Kingston.
He took it down, however, after it became clear that transient outdoor enthusiasts from parts south were not going to elbow area bushwhacker”™ status as his dominant customers.
Kennedy”™s experiment in thruway marketing may provide insight into a Hudson Valley backwoods mystery ”“ with “destination” outdoor outfitters like Cabela”™s Inc. and Bass Pro Shops swiftly expanding, why have they largely ignored a region whose outdoor attractions are heavily promoted by New York state?
The lower Hudson Valley has largely remained a wilderness to “big-box” outfitters, despite outdoors enthusiasts spending $1.5 billion on equipment and accessories in New York in 2006, trailing only the $3.4 billion spent in California.
What”™s more, measured as a percentage of gross state product, New York ranked last in spending on outdoor equipment at 1.3 percent, among the 25 states that generate the most revenue in the product category. That could suggest an good exists for additional retailers to enter the market.
There is recent evidence that chain outfitters can profit in the lower Hudson River valley. Just three years after opening, Gander Mountain Inc.”™s outdoors outfitter store in Middletown now numbers among the five biggest in the company, according to Dave Williams, the company”™s vice president for the New York region.
The Middletown store opened in April, 2004; the only competition from a “big-box” chain outfitter comes from a smaller Gander Mountain store in Kingston that opened the following spring.
“Without going into specifics, both are growing very well and the reception from communities is very positive,” said Dave Williams, vice president for Gander Mountain”™s New York region who lives south of Rochester. “There are a lot of outdoor enthusiasts who live around the two stores.”
Gander Mountain is not the only outfitter chain to open stores in relative close proximity to each other ”“ Cabela”™s has opened two stores 90 miles apart in Gander Mountain”™s home turf of Minneapolis, even though Cabela”™s has stated that the newer Minnesota store “cannibalized” sales from the other.
Except for Gander Mountain, the outfitter industry in the lower Hudson River Valley is dominated by independently owned stores like American Terrain Inc. in White Plains; Hudson Valley Pack & Paddle Inc. in Beacon; Jagger”™s Camp & Trail Inc. in Bedford Hills; and Kenco in Kingston.
Â
The latter store is five miles from Gander Mountain”™s Kingston store. Kenco”™s Kennedy said the “hook and bullet” Gander Mountain product stock has cut into sales of some of his items, as has a nearby Dick”™s Sporting Goods, but he said there is plenty of business to go around.
Dick”™s is the third-largest vendor of outdoor sports items and clothing, according to the most recent report from Sporting Goods Business, a trade publication, trailing Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Target Corp.
Several outdoor outfitters landed high on the list, including Bass Pro Shops with $2 billion in annual sales, tops among outdoor outfitters. Cabela”™s followed at $1.8 million, and L.L. Bean Inc. ranked ninth with $1.5 billion in sales.
While Cabela”™s reportedly has considered Greene County south of Albany for a Hudson River Valley store, the company chose East Rutherford, N.J., and East Hartford, Conn., for its Northeast expansion this year, among eight to open nationally in 2007. Cabela”™s estimates it costs between $30 million and $50 million to open a destination store.
The newest Cabela”™s in the Northeast opened in 2003 in Hamburg, Pa., and remains its largest destination store at 250,000 square feet. Cabela”™s says some of its stores are among the top “tourist” attractions in their areas, and says the stores have directly contributed to the establishment of other retailers, restaurants and even hotels.
“Our retail model isn”™t one that is built on ”˜destination”™ like Bass Pro Shops or Cabela”™s,” said Gander Mountain”™s Williams. “Ours is a basic retail concept with four walls and basic merchandise. Each store manager has a great opportunity to tailor their products (to local recreational pursuits), and we run an outdoor education series that gives customers the chance to learn about fly fishing (or) trapping from folks who live in the area.”
L.L. Bean, which invented the destination store concept with its Freeport, Maine flagship store, chose Albany for its maiden trek into New York. The Maine retail giant is currently scouting locations for another store in Danbury, Conn., a short drive from Putnam County, according to president and chief executive officer Chris McCormick.
Â
Â
