# SIR Store in Winnipeg - purchased by Cabela's



## randyh (Jul 25, 2005)

The Sidney I Robinson store in Winnipeg has been purchased by Cabela's. It will apparently become Cabela's Canadian centre. Here is an article that appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press on Friday, 17 August, 2007:

Industry giant buys S.I.R. store
Cabela's to take it to 'next level' 
Fri Aug 17 2007
By Geoff Kirbyson

A 83-year-old hunting and fishing retail institution in Winnipeg has been bought by one of the outdoors industry's giants. 
S.I.R. Mail Order and Warehouse Sports Store has been acquired by Cabela's, Inc., a Nebraska-based outfit with US$2 billion US in annual revenue, 26 locations and a massive mail-order business across the U.S. The purchase price was not disclosed, but the deal is expected to close within the next two months. 
Earl Robinson, 77, president of the family-run enterprise on Ellice Avenue, said the capital investment required to keep growing the business could best be provided by a deep-pocketed owner and Cabela's fit the bill. 
"S.I.R. needed the expertise of an organization that handles similar merchandise to take S.I.R. to the next level," he said. "This is a hell of a good business and I'd like to see it continue to grow." 
Dennis Highby, president and CEO of Cabela's, said the company will use S.I.R.'s location near Polo Park Shopping Centre as its headquarters north of the border as well as its springboard into the Canadian market. 
"Our company's brand is very well recognized in Canada and that convinced us to expand our platform. We already do significant business in this country (through mail order and cross-border shopping) and we felt it was important to have a Canadian footprint," he said in an interview.

About Cabela's

Outside of the hunting and fishing set, it's likely that few Manitobans have heard of Cabela's Inc., the Nebraska-based company that just acquired S.I.R. Mail Order and Warehouse Sports Store. 
Here's a quick snapshot: 
It was founded in 1961 by Jim Cabela and his brother, Dick. 
It grew from a small mail-order operation to become an international player, selling merchandise around the world. 
Cabela's doesn't provide your typical retail experience. The centrepiece of each store is "Conservation Mountain" which features hundreds of "museum-quality" stuffed animals displayed in natural habitats. 
Traditional fare, regional favourites and wild game entrees highlight the menus of in-store delis. 
Huge aquariums are prominent in the fishing department, where fish native to each store's geographic location are on display. 
Cabela's went public on the New York Stock Exchange in 2004.
-- Source: Cabela's 
The company had previously announced plans to build a store in Montreal in time for a fall of 2009 or spring of 2010 opening. Highby said its Canadian division could be worth US$200 million annually when it's fully established. 
He said he and Cabela's co-founder, Jim Cabela, both of whom met with S.I.R. employees on Wednesday night, have been well aware of S.I.R. and its position in the marketplace because they have hunted and fished across Canada for more than 30 years. 
"Canada is a sportsman's paradise," he said. 
He said the Winnipeg store will feature both the S.I.R. and Cabela's brands and none of its 85 employees will be downsized as a result of the acquisition. Terry Robinson, Earl's son, will remain as the general manager of the retail store and catalogue business. 
Ben Kelly, the manager of corporate finance at Bieber Securities who brokered the deal, called Cabela's "Disney World for hunters." 
He said Cabela's is similar to Wal-Mart in terms of its economic clout in drawing people to retail areas. For example, when Grand Forks was under water a little more than a decade ago during the Flood of the Century, the city approached Cabela's and offered it significant economic incentives to locate there and play a key role in the rebirth of the city. 
"If Grand Forks does this for them, the fact they're showing up in Winnipeg and doing this tells me it's pretty significant," he said in an interview. 
Kelly said a number of qualified institutional buyers were approached on both sides of the border, but Cabela's was "by far" the best fit. S.I.R. was founded by Robinson's father, Sydney Isaac Robinson, in 1924 as the Sydney I. Robinson Fur Company. Its inaugural operations, which included fur shipments and trapping and hunting supplies, encompassed 120 square feet of space. The company added hunting and camping items shortly after the Second World War. Around that same time, the corporate name was abbreviated. 
"It was easier to say 'S.I.R.' on the phone," he said. 
S.I.R. moved into a new location across the street nearly three years ago, trading in 53,000 square feet of space for 80,000 square feet of retail space. 
Robinson said after 60 years on the shop floor, it was time to finally retire. 
"I think it's a good idea. My wife would appreciate it," he said with a laugh. 
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