Outdoor equipment retailer Cabela’s, known for its elaborate stores, plans to open a location in Ottawa on Sept. 22.
By Jacob Serebrin
The 70,000-square-foot store on Palladium Drive in Kanata will be just the company’s second location in Ontario.
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It will feature “a large mountain replica, indoor archery range and dozens of museum-quality wildlife displays,“ the company said in a release.
“We just set them up to be fun,” said Nathan Borowski, a spokesman with Cabela’s. “The founder of Cabela’s, Dick Cabela, used to always say, ‘We sell fun.’”
The company sells products to help people have fun outdoors, but “we want to make sure that the in-store experience is fun as well,” he said.
Cabela’s, based in Sidney, Neb., opened its first Canadian store in Winnipeg in 2007. It now has 10 locations nationwide. In 2014, it opened its first Ontario store in Barrie.
Mr. Borowski said the company uses data from online and catalog sales to decide where it will open new stores.
“Ottawa definitely has a high volume of outdoor enthusiasts who are already familiar with Cabela’s,” he said.
Mr. Borowski said the company sees an opportunity to cater to those existing customers as well as expand its local customer base with the new location. With firearms and an indoor archery range on site, the store faces some additional safety and security concerns.
“We definitely take the safety and the security of all aspects of our stores very seriously,” Mr. Borowski said.
Long guns are equipped with trigger locks and compound bows are also equipped with a locking mechanism.
Cabela’s employees, called outfitters, always accompany customers using the archery range.
Mr. Borowski said that’s to explain products to customers, helping sales, as well as to ensure that they’re handled safely.
