Less than three years after Bass Pro Shops acquired its rival Cabela’s, the outdoor brand retailer is closing its Cabela’s stores in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and Bristol, Virginia, and combining the shuttered Cabela’s with nearby Bass Pro Shops just across the state line in Tennessee.
The Cabela’s store along I-75 in Fort Ogelthorpe, which opened in 2015, was shut down Monday and its staff and operations are being combined with the Bass Pro Shop at the Jordan Crossing development at Exit 1 in East Ridge, just 2.4 miles to the north on Interstate 75.
“By bringing these brands together, we can better serve our customers with greater product assortment, value and local expertise in a single location,” Bass Pro said in an announcement of the Fort Oglethorpe store closing Monday. “We are currently updating the Chattanooga store at Jordon Crossing with expanded product offerings from Cabela’s and new exterior and interior signage that celebrates Cabela’s, Bass Pro Shops, and Tracker.”
Jack Wlezien, director of communications for Bass Pro Shop in Springfield, Misssouri, said the company is offering jobs to “virtually all” of the displaced workers at the shuttered Cabela’s store, which was built next to Costco off the Cloud Springs Road Interstate 75 exit. Wlezien said customers of Cabela’s can continue to redeem Cabela’s gift cards and earn or redeem points on their CLUB credit cards or Outdoor Rewards cards at Bass Pro Shops, as well as enjoy free same day in-store pickup.
The Cabela’s name will be added to the East Ridge Bass Pro Shop and more than 2,500 stockkeeping units, or SKUs, will be added to the Bass Pro store at Exit 1.