Bass Pro-Shops strategic positioning and competitive analysis

¶ … Pro-Shops, Inc.

The state of Missouri has much to offer tourists of all types, including two world-class zoological parks and an array of lakes, caves and other unspoiled natural resources. Surprisingly, though, the biggest tourist attraction in Missouri is not the zoos or the natural resources, or even Silver Dollar City or the St. Louis Arch. The biggest tourist attraction in Missouri is just a store, but what a store. The Bass Pro-Shop's flagship megastore in Springfield attracts millions of people to its Outdoor World facilities that are filled with representative live specimens of the wildlife that are characteristic of the states in which it operates, as well as featuring a staggering array of sporting goods for every age and taste. This paper provides a review of the relevant peer-reviewed, scholarly and organizational literature concerning Bass Pro-Shop's vision and mission statement and the extent to which the company is following these, an external assessment using Porter's model for a competitive analysis and an evaluation of the organization's market penetration, market development and product development strategies. A SWOT analysis of the organization is followed by recommendations for corporate strategy for Bass Pro-Shop for the next five years of operations. Finally, a summary of the research and important findings are presented in the conclusion.

Review and Analysis

Vision and Mission Statement

The company's vision is to "Bring the great outdoors & #8230; indoors." The company is proud of its mission statement as exemplified by its prominence on its Web site as shown in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. Bass Pro-Shop Mission Statement

Environmental Analyses

Bass Pro-Shops competes in a highly competitive sporting goods and boating sector, but the enormity of their in-store and online offerings defy easy pigeonholing of their operations into one category or another. Indeed, the company has defined an entirely new commercial category that combines outdoorsy kitsch with authentic (and free!) learning experiences from its in-store museums, aquaria and shooting galleries, as well as the outdoor-brought-indoors feel to their Outdoor World megastore concept. Despite these constraints, Porter's five forces can be used to gain some insights into the environment in which Bass Pro-Shop competes in ways that might otherwise go undiscerned. To this end, Porter's five forces framework is applied to the company's competitive environment below.

Force No. 1: Power of Buyers: Bass Pro-Shops' Outdoor World and other facilities are visited by nearly 80 million customers each year in North America and the company reaches even more through its online offerings.

Force No. 2: Power of Suppliers: Bass Pro-Shop enjoys a number of exclusive contracts with vendors, especially in its fishing tackle and supply lines.

Force No. 3: Threat of Substitution: Although the company features several exclusive lines with an emphasis on high quality merchandise, virtually all of the products and services provided by Bass Pro-Shops in its online offerings can be replicated elsewhere at a lower price; however, it would be challenging if not impossible to replicate the unique atmosphere of its brick-and-mortar operations.

Force No. 4: Threat of Entry: On the one hand, because of its unique blend of educational and entertainment in its Outdoor World format, Bass Pro-Shops enjoys a high degree of immunity from new entrants to the sporting goods and boating sectors. On the other hand, though, the company is highly vulnerable to erosion of its online market share in several categories, except those that may require a touch-and-feel ability to encourage the purchase decision (i.e., a large boat or tent).

Force No. 5: Internal Rivalry: The company is privately held and there was no internal rivalry discerned from the literature review.

Conclusion

When people walk into a Bass Pro-Shop Outdoor World megastore, they are in for the experience of a lifetime. The ceilings are 100 feet high and the sense of being outdoors is further heightened by waterfalls, life-size (stuffed) mountain lions and bears, but real fish, turtles, and other sea creatures all of which are free to the public. The research indicated the company is achieving its mission statement and vision. The company has achieved a leading role in the hunting and sporting goods sector, with dozens of retail outlet stores across the United States and its single facility in Canada. Bass Pro-Shops also promotes its products and services through its corporate Web site, a resource that was shown to be in need of overhaul. Finally, the company has succeeded where others have failed by providing a unique shopping experience for its brick-and-mortar customers while providing an exhaustive selection of everything sports and hunting in its online offerings.