Battle of the Mega-Store Outdoor Retailers

It doesn’t seem like that many years ago when I was “cutting my teeth” on the outdoors and I simply could not get enough viewing pleasure out of the periodic Herters mail order catalogs.   I literally wore the pages out of each issue as I dreamed of new trapping, fishing and hunting gear that for the most part was still way out of my price range.   You see, I was a young teenager at the time and disposable money for such expenditures was still several years down the road in my life.

Adding insult to injury, I lived 43 miles from the famous Herters Store in Waseca, Minnesota, but back in those days I was too young to have much mobility to get there…in fact, I only visited the Waseca store once before it eventually closed its doors…sometime back in the late 70’s, I believe.   Back then being a young sportsman in southern Minnesota meant you either ordered your supplies via mail order…or, if you were lucky to be heading to one of the larger cities…maybe a fancy Twin Cities store, such as a Burger Brothers, was on the itinerary for the trip.

Oh, how times have changed…and I could not have imagined in my wildest dreams the situation as it exists today.   Now there are so many sporting goods store options that it feels almost gluttonous to be a sportsmen who fondly remembers when life meant far fewer choices and equipment possibilities.

Today, the famous Herters no longer exists.   Fact is, I’m not so sure George L. Herter would be too proud of how things have evolved in the business, either.   Even though I believe George L. Herter passed on long before the advent of the Internet…today if you type in www.Herters.com it will take you directly to the Cabela’s web site.   Hmmm…I’m told Cabela’s actually bought out the Herter’s good name.   Go figure…once arch rivals for the sportsman’s dollar is no more.   Could this possibly be indicative of how the future might trend?

But lamenting the old Herters store is not exactly what today’s blog is all about.   Nope, instead it’s about the expansion of the outdoor superstores and the battles that are being waged not only in the sales tabloids…but also soon to be at the Minnesota legislature in the form of tax incentives and breaks.   Seems not all stores feel they’re being treated fairly, and this is not sitting well with their competition as the gloves are about ready to come off.

Before I get into the main controversy let me say this.   Today within about an hour’s drive of my house there are two Cabela’s Stores…nine Gander Mountain Stores…three Dicks Sporting Goods Stores…several Mills Fleet Farms…one Scheel’s Sports…and one Bass Pro Shops (coming soon)…not to mention the dozens and dozens of local gun shops and private sporting goods retailers all within a short drive.   Indeed, the first critical decision when making the trek out to purchase some new hunting or fishing supplies is often which direction do I turn when leaving the driveway.

It’s important to point this out because never has there been so many options as there are today for purchasing outdoor goods.   Most definitely this has also created an economic battle grounds for these sporting retailers the likes of which have never been seen before…and I dare say could not possibly have been conceived of a few decades ago.

You can read more about the battle between the big superstores here and how it is shaping up…but suffice it to say we are certainly living in a cut-throat competitive world where these stores will use any political, as well as economic, advantage available to get a chance at our open wallets.   On one hand it makes me feel positive that sportsmen and their dollars are in such high demand that all these stores would pop up on the landscape…but on the other hand, it makes me wonder seriously about what lies ahead.

In the short run I think most sportsmen will be the big benefactors of the increased competition and lower prices…but I remain concerned about the little guy.   What about those little sporting goods shops that rely largely on customer service to differentiate themselves from the mass retailers?   Can they continue to survive with shrinking profit margins that must accordingly get smaller each year as these big behemoth superstores seemingly fight it out in a survival-of-the-fittest.   As one store out-maneuvers the next…where will it all end?   More importantly, how healthy does all this battling leave the outdoor sporting goods industry in general?   Seems to me, at least in my area and I suspect this is true in many others as well…we’ve reached a super-saturation point where they all can’t possibly continue to thrive and survive.

Who knows…perhaps ol’ George L. Herter would be utterly disgusted today by witnessing the recent trends of the sportsman’s retail industry that he once not-too-long-ago helped to pioneer.   Then again, for the man who authored the famous sportsman’s book “HOW TO GET OUT OF THE RAT RACE AND LIVE ON $10 A MONTH,” he might just think these stores deserve what they have coming to them…no matter what that fate might eventually be.

© 2006 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction without Prior Permission.

“Where’s Waldo” Ala Les Kouba

LesKoubaThe first time I met Les Kouba I stood there in awe.   Not only was Les a giant in the field of wildlife art…but his personality and appearance quickly let you know this was no ordinary outdoor character (or “dude” as he called everyone).   In fact, long before today’s popular wildlife artists gained their notoriety…Kouba was making an impression on the wildlife art world like no other artist has been able to duplicate since.

I worked with Les and got to know him personally before his death in 1998.   At the time I was producing sportsman’s calendars and Les’ unique artwork was a logical choice for featuring in those calendars.   His unique artistic style often showed a throw-back in time to an Americana filled with innocence and loads of nostalgia.

What’s amazing is Kouba was a self-taught artist who at the age of 14 took a correspondence course and started to hone his artistic craft quite early in life.   Of course, as with many highly flamboyant sportsman characters, Kouba was such a big BSer that you hardly knew what to believe when he spoke to you.   If he could get you believing some far-fetched story…he would eventually reel you in like a big lunker fish.   He enjoyed life that way and I believe this same fun clearly shows in his art.

I won’t go into much more of Kouba’s fascinating life story today(you can read much of that here), but there is something interesting about Kouba’s art that not everyone knows.   It started years ago quite by accident when an admirer of his art asked him about the significance of always incorporating the number 13 into his drawings.   Truth is, Kouba was unaware that the print in question even contained 13 elements of some kind in it.   But true to his BS form…from that point forward you could almost always locate something in Kouba’s prints that were featured in a quantity of 13.

Most times it was ducks or geese wingin’ through the sky with 13 birds featured.   Other times it would be something more subtle such as seeing 13 rabbit tracks in the snow or 13 trees in the skyline.   The point is most, but not all, of Kouba’s prints had something “fun” incorporated into them to make you look a bit closer.   Soon, Kouba fans were beginning to look at his artwork not solely for the gorgeous image it contained…but also for the “Where’s Waldo” aspect ala Kouba.   Indeed, his talents were truly genius.

Here’s a few popular prints from the Kouba collection that are still available on the market.   See if you can find anything in the images with the significance of “13” in them.   Good luck!

AugustinMinnesota

“August In Minnesota”

WalleyesFeedinontheFlat

“Walleyes Feedin’ on the Flat”

SurveyingHisDomain

“Surveying His Domain”

NorthernAlaFrogLegs

“Northern Ala Frog Legs”

ElkCountry

“Elk Country”

CornforLunch

“Corn For Lunch”

DarkHouseAction

“Dark House Action”

NatureCalls

“Nature Calls”

NewYearsDay

“New Year’s Day”

NorthernFeedinOnPerch

“Northern Feedin’On Perch”

[Blogger’s Note:   Many of these limited edition prints can be purchased through various art markets, including eBay.   Or, you may purchase them direct from the Kouba Gallery]

© 2006 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction without Prior Permission.

Life’s Hectic Pace

In my previous blog entry I wrote about TIME and how the outdoors is the perfect place to contemplate those important life decisions.   Taking a walk in the mountains, for instance, sort of cleanses the mind and helps to put everyday things in perspective so important decisions can be made that affect all aspects of life.

Today, over a month after that last blog entry, I am also writing about time.   This entry, however, is going to lament how time is so precious we need to squeeze everything we possibly can out of it.   Busy lives often result in outdoor activities taking a backseat to the other necessities of life.

Last spring I was privileged to sit in a fishing focus group with several other sportsmen.   As we started, each of us took a minute to tell about ourselves as an ice breaker, of sorts.   When it came to my turn I proudly proclaimed that I was a newlywed of about a month’s time and that this summer I was remodeling an old farmhouse for my family.
House1

One of the well-seasoned gentlemen piped in and exclaimed, “Well there goes your summer.   We won’t be seeing you out on the lake or doing much of anything for the next several months.”   Inside I thought…NO WAY!   After all, I was not personally doing the remodeling myself…I had hired a builder to accomplish most of the tasks.

WOW!   I couldn’t possibly have been more misguided in my thinking.   Obviously that experienced sportsman knew what he was talking about…probably because he had been through it a time or two during his vast years of life.

Previously in this blog I have commented about the activities of this past summer, so I won’t ruminate on those again in such detail.   But suffice it to say the summer and early fall of 2005 has not been conducive to this sportsman allowing “time” to participate in, nor shall I say, even write about the things that are dear to my heart.   More and more it appears I will be chalking this summer up as an investment in my family and preparing for the future.
House2

Selling and preparing houses for the market takes lots of time.   Totally gutting an old farmhouse and restoring it takes even more time.   Living and working 40 miles apart takes time, as well.   Am I complaining…ya sure!!   Is anybody listening?   Who knows.

The main point I am attempting to get at here is there are times in a sportsman’s life when “time” is such a limited commodity that living the sporting life often takes a backseat to the other grinds and responsibilities faced.   The danger here, of course, is when you stop living the sporting lifestyle…even for a year…making the time to get back into it can be a challenge.

I firmly believe that one of the biggest struggles the hunting community has, more so than the fishing fraternity, is keeping participants active and interested in the sport.   Life is not what it once was even 20 years ago.   I don’t know about you…but when I wake up each day I pretty much have my life planned out for me.   Looking ahead to the upcoming week, for that matter, I can almost tell you everything I must be doing just to keep pace with this busy life I live.   Time, particularly “spare time,” is not a commodity that I have banked up in my life right now.

And so it goes.   Right now I am in the heart of the hunting season here in Minnesota and here I am pondering my opportunity costs, as economists would put it.   Nope, I haven’t yet touched a gun…except to move them from one house to another recently.   But that will all change soon.

Deer hunting is but 16 days away and I am anticipating its arrival more than I ever have before.   No, I haven’t done my normal scouting to determine if there is a big buck working the area where I hunt.   This year…well, it really doesn’t matter.   You see, during the firearms deer season in Minnesota I will officially use that weekend to proclaim my life is once again gaining some normalcy now that I am settled in my new house.   It also confirms in my mind that I FINALLY have the time to enjoy the activities that has been so dear to my heart for oh so many years of my existence.

Here’s hoping that your life affords you the time and the opportunity to enjoy the outdoors to the fullest.   Once again, I slowly intend to get back into my blogging routine if for no other reason to let the world know I am still alive and thinking those outdoor thoughts.

© 2005 Jim Braaten.  All Rights Reserved.   No Reproduction without Prior Permission.