RANCHO CUCAMONGA - An existing outdoor recreational equipmentstore should be able to survive and may even thrive when a megaoutdoors store opens in early 2007, city officials and outdoorenthusiasts say.
Recreational Equipment Inc., which opened in Rancho Cucamonga inNovember 2004, is geared more toward climbing and hiking outdoorenthusiasts, while Bass Pro is aimed toward hunting and fishingaficionados, said the president of a Midwest-based magazine thatcovers outdoor sports.
'There is a different emphasis,' said Gene Laulunen, president ofMidwest Outdoors. 'Bass Pro. Just the name of it, they tell you it'sfishing.'
Both Bass Pro and REI have stores in the Midwest. Both offerdifferent products for the outdoor market, and both manage tosurvive, Laulunen said.
'I think they can live together,' Laulunen said.
Last week, Rancho Cucamonga officials announced they had landedBass Pro Shops, a St. Louis-based mega outdoors store. Bass Pro willconstruct a 180,000-square-foot store on the east side of VictoriaGardens beginning next year. REI opened its 25,000-square-foot storeon the northwest corner of Day Creek and Foothill boulevards inNovember.
City officials have not done any studies about the impact of BassPro Shops coming to Rancho Cucamonga, said Linda Daniels, the city'sredevelopment director.
But before city officials made their announcement last week, theycalled other cities with a Bass Pro and asked how similar outdoorsbusinesses did when the mega outdoor retailer came to town, she said.
'We felt comfortable that they don't come in and put people out ofbusiness,' Daniels said.
Laulunen, the president of Midwest Outdoors, said businesses thatshould worry are those that offer hunting and fishing gear.
Bass Pro offers a lot of choice at low prices, he said.
'I feel sorry for the little guy, because they can't compete withtheir prices,' Laulunen said.
A store such as REI may thrive because of Bass Pro, said Daniels,the redevelopment director.
Bass Pro draws people from across Southern California whootherwise would not visit the Rancho Cucamonga area, she said.
REI may be able to draw on those Bass Pro customers while stillrelying its local, existing customer base, she said.
REI officials are aware that Bass Pro is opening its store nearVictoria Gardens. When the Rancho Cucamonga Bass Pro opens, it willbe the nearest any of the St. Louis company's stores are to an REIstore, a spokesman for REI said.
But Bass Pro and REI often operate in the same market and both dowell, REI spokesman Mike Foley said.
The Rancho Cucamonga REI store is doing very well and bestingsales projections for the location, Foley said.
'For a new store, the sales have gone much better than planned,'he said.
REI is not worried about Bass Pro coming into town and gobbling upall the outdoors business, Foley said.
The company offers enough varied goods to differentiate them fromBass Pro, he said.
For example, REI's cycling sales are a big part of its business,he said.
It's likely Bass Pro and REI will complement each other. Ifsomeone can't find what they are looking for at Bass Pro, they may beable to find it at REI and vice versa, Foley said.
Joe Florkowski can be reached by e-mailatjoe.florkowski@dailybulletin.com or by phone at (909) 483-9391.
