Whatever your sports preferences may be, Big 5 Sporting Goods, one of the US leading sporting goods retailers, carries a full line of brand name products, whether it is hunting, camping, fishing, boxing, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, water sports, winter sports, snowboarding, football, racquetball or ping pong. Headquartered in El Segundo, California, the company operates 309 stores in 10 western states of the country.
As of 2004, Big 5 had more approximately $780 million in sales. Visit one of the company's sportswear stores at one of 324 locations and you'll be surprised to find all the variety of sporting goods, ranging from athletic shoes, gear and accessories to athletic and outdoor equipment for team sports, tennis, golf, snowboarding, camping and fitness. Since its launching in the 1950s, Big 5 Sporting Goods has grown to enlarge the number of its offerings and plans to add nearly 15 stores per year.
Rating currently with the leading sportswear stores nationwide, Bass Pro Shops is a privately held sportswear clothing and goods store, located in Springfield, Missouri. Along with its flagship sportswear shop Outdoor World, the company operates more than 30 retail stores across the United States and one store in Canada. Associated with Bass Pro Shops are such subsidiaries as Big Cedar Lodge, Redhead and Tracker Boats. The company's interest in NASCAR racing has resulted in its sponsoring such races as Martin Truex Jr, Kerry Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt, as well as the Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 during a regular NASCAR season.
Annually Bass Pro Shops contributes huge sums to preservation and conservation efforts of natural landscapes, and other charities, including the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The company is also recognized as one of the leading merchants of recreational products in the nation, whose retail store operation is constantly expanding. In nearly ten years, it has managed to grow from its original sportswear shop in Springfield to sportswear stores in twenty locations with even more stores planned to be added in the near future.
Among the numerous prestigious awards received by the company are Superior Achievement in Design and Imaging "Best Design", General Contractors Association "Project of the Year", Sporting Goods Business Magazine "2002 Specialty Store of the Year" and more.
A Sidney-based marketer and specialty retailer of camping, fishing and hunting merchandize, Cabela's currently boasts one of the largest direct marketing operations in the United States. Since 2001, the company's revenue has grown by 50%, reaching nearly $1.5 billion as of 2004. The company's online catalogues can be found in all 50 states and more than 120 countries.
The origins of Cabela's can be traced back to 1961 when it was founded in Chappell, Nebraska. The first major phase of expansion occurred seven years later, with the company moving to the 50,000-square-foot building in the downtown Sidney. This was followed by the acquisition of Rockwell International plant in the mid-1980s and further expansion to Wisconsin and West Virginia. During the period of 1998-2005 the company opened twelve sportswear stores, and at least eleven additional are expected to open by the year 2008.