Hey Jupe,
Here's a Chgo Trib write up on the new Bass Pro Outdoor world that opened in Gurnee. Boy, it's going to draw a lot of sportsman/tourists/families to the mall. Great news for the Gurnee RFC.
Date: Sunday, November 23, 1997
Source: By Jodie Jacobs. Special to the Tribune.
Section: TEMPO LAKE
Parts: 1
Copyright Chicago Tribune
OUTDOORS INDOORS
BASS PRO CREATES A WILDERNESS ADVENTURE AMID A CONCRETE SEA AT GURNEE MILLS
Fantasy junkies have their Disney World, and marine-life watchers their Sea World. As of last week, forest, field and stream sports enthusiasts in the Chicago-Milwaukee region now have their Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World.
Long a Springfield, Mo., shopping and learning destination for fishing, hunting, boating and camping enthusiasts, Outdoor World's northern Midwest clone opened in the Gurnee Mills mall in Gurnee on Wednesday.
Outdoor World is a combo superstore and interactive sports mecca. Its cedar-log outside entrance, flanked by a meandering stream, simulates a Disneyesque version of a large hunting lodge. That theme continues just inside the door into an Adirondack-like lodge great room, complete with a three-story fireplace.
The bulk of Outdoor World's 133,000-square-foot space is set in an outdoor "environment" of pines, coyotes, owls and owl hoots, bears and other wildlife, accessed through turnstiles. Turnstiles? As in theme parks?
Exactly, according to Gurnee Bass Pro Shop general manager Jeff Baars.
"You go into the store through a turnstile entrance simulated to create an entrance into an entertainment area. You are entering an atmosphere that is not like anything you've ever experienced," Baars said during a pre-opening tour. "You walk through the turnstiles with the excitement and anticipation of being in an outdoor environment but indoors," he said.
He was referring not just to the more obvious features of a 2 1/2-story waterfall that feeds a pool of Great Lakes fish in the center of the store or the golf-swing analyzer and putting surface to the golf pro shop, but also the self-contained White River Fly Shop; the gun room with a gunsmith working as people watch through protective glass; the glass-walled enclosure where archers can test their bows and skill; and the Uncle Buck's Lunker Lounge, where people can chow down on buffalo burgers while watching a fishing demonstration.
Canoes hang from the rafters, gun fanciers can make a stop at the shooting gallery, and huge spaces are devoted to boats, RVs and camping gear. Even tennis and in-line skating are covered.
There also is the outdoors panorama of a shack and trees that flank a laser game arcade; an old tin-sided mill with its 10-foot grizzly bear and photo-op spot; and the antiques around every corner, including a 1949 Chevy pickup.
"You can't take it all in at one time," Baars said. "It takes two, three trips to take it in. And we have people out picking up more antiques. That's the way we want it. You'll probably see something new almost every time you come in."
Baars walked past a 75-foot, three-lane running track in the sports shoe department. Why the track?
"People have to walk through the department anyway. We thought, 'Why not make it fun?' The theme running through the store is fun," Baars said.
Certainly the entertainment concept fits a mall that recently added two theme restaurants -- the Rainforest Cafe last year and Planet Hollywood this year. And it fits the new image that the Mills Corp. is striving for, according to Senior Vice President Steven J. Jacobsen.
"We're going away from the discount image and adding high-end stores. It will be the best of all worlds. That is what our latest location in Ontario, Calif., is and what we will be doing in Grapevine, Texas," Jacobsen said. It is an image that also jumps on the themed-entertainment trend.
"Bass Pro Shops, Planet Hollywood and Rainforest Cafe fit our new 'shoppertainment' image," Jacobsen said.
Indeed, an Outdoor World will go into the Mills Corp.'s Opry Mills, an entertainment and shopping complex scheduled to open in Nashville in the year 2000 that will replace the recently closed Opryland Theme Park. Gaylord Entertainment Co., which produced much of the music at the theme park and at the Grand Ole Opry, recently became a partner in the Bass Pro Shops' ventures.
That blends nicely with Bass Pro Shops' founder John L. Morris' constant search for ways to entice people to his stores. Along with its catalog, which goes to 40 million households (primarily the United States, Japan and Canada) and the two Outdoor Worlds, Bass Pro Shops has a similar operation called Sportsman's Warehouse in Duluth, Ga., the Worldwide Sportsman fly-fishing store in the Florida Keys, and the Missouri-based wholesale American Rod & Gun and Tracker Marine aluminum boat divisions. Then there's also the Big Cedar Lodge and Dogwood Canyon wilderness area in Missouri's Ozarks, and multimedia outlets that include a syndicated radio show, a TNN (The Nashville Network) television show and a magazine. The company also offers educational seminars at all of its retail operations.
"We want to make our stores exciting," Morris said.
But he also is big on service. "We want to offer a higher level of service than our competition. The people managing the departments at Gurnee don't just sell, they have a passion for their fields. Take fishing: The department head won't have to look up in a book when the salmon season opens; he will hardly be able to wait for it to open himself. I'm very proud of the people we have found for Gurnee," Morris said.
But finding the right people for the different sports departments comes as no surprise. Morris deliberately chose the Lake County site because of its proximity to both the Wisconsin and Illinois hunting-fishing-camping-and-boating populations.
"This is like a dream come true for us. The Chicago area has been the single largest market for our catalog items and where many of our visitors here in Springfield come from. And its one of the biggest markets in the country in terms of sports. All of us in the company are very excited about the store," he said.
And he sees the departments, which range from the company's traditional field and stream strengths to the newer sections of running and golf as in tune with the upper Midwest. "I think they are all complementary to the outdoor lifestyle of people in the area," he said. But if not, he wants to hear from people. He plans to have suggestion boxes placed throughout the store.
"I'm anxious to see how the store is received. We listen to customers. We want to hear what they like and what we could do differently. This is an exciting time for us. I hope people there are excited about it," Morris said.
Judging by the "Awesome," "Incredible," "I could spend a day there" comments made by people who had just seen the store, he should prepare for crowds as the word gets out.
Even though Winthrop Harbor mom Patty Smith characterized the vast store as "overwhelming," she plans to return to check out the fishing seminars and equipment. Although having fished for most of her 43 years, Smith wants to pursue a new challenge -- fly fishing. (She was one of two outdoors people invited along for the preview of the store.)
"The fly-fish room is very cozy and all inclusive. People can get what they need in a small area where they won't feel so overwhelmed by the huge space," she said.
Smith was uncomfortable with the taxidermy displays that add to the outdoor atmosphere, but she was somewhat relieved to read a sign at the mall entrance.
"I was glad to see the sign about their not advocating killing animals to mount them. I have to admit that hunting bothers me. I was horrified to see all the bears, cougars and other animals that were stuffed. The sign explains they were already killed and donated and not killed for the store display," she said.
Richmond outdoorsman Dave Mitchell, 38, liked the atmosphere. When not selling fixtures for a Roselle electrical company, he likes hunting pheasant, duck and deer or fishing, depending on the season. What he does not like is shopping.
"I would not normally set foot in this mall. I don't like the long strip layout. And I'm not much of a shopper," said Mitchell on his way out of the store.
"But I'll come here now. I was surprised by the quality. I thought some of the things in their catalog were on the cheesier side, but the things in the store are gorgeous. I expected a big store, but I didn't expect it to be as high quality. I'm pleasantly surprised," he said.
He particularly liked the interactive motif.
"The most surprising thing to me was the hands-on participation. That will have a good influence by educating folks instead of just sucking a dollar out of their wallet," Mitchell said. "It will encourage people to try things. That's what hunting and fishing need. And I'm glad they have educational classes. That will spur interest. And it will encourage kids. I think this will pull the guys in here."
PHOTO: A shooting gallery is among the lures for visitors to the 133,000-square-foot Outdoor World.
PHOTO: Jeff Baars, general manager, says the theme running through the store is fun.
PHOTO: 'The fly-fish room is very cozy and all inclusive.' --Patty Smith.
PHOTO: 'The most surprising thing to me was the hands-on participation. That will have a good influence by educating folks.' --Dave Mitchell.
PHOTO: Big-game animals that have been stuffed, such as this mountain lion (right), add to the outdoors atmosphere.
PHOTO: Outdoor World's Bill Thornton gives Dave Mitchell a look at a casting rod at the outdoor pond. Tribune photos by Bob Langer.
PHOTO: A 10-foot bear is among the many animal displays in the store, which furthers Gurnee Mills' new ''shoppertainment'' image.
PHOTO: Patty Smith, Jeff Baars and Steven Jacobsen at the start of the running track, where shoe buyers can test out the products.
PHOTO: John L. Morris, founder of the Missouri-based outdoor kingdom. Tribune photos by Bob Langer.
Keywords: BUSINESS PROFILE SUBURB
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