Tag Archives: Bass Pro Shops

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Stores like Bass Pro Shops and Restoration Hardware add restaurants and bars

By Justine Griffin for the Tampa Bay Times

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How about a glass of wine to celebrate the $11,230 purchase of a Parisian burnham leather recliner from Restoration Hardware?

 At the new Restoration Hardware store opening in International Plaza this fall, shoppers won’t have to go farther than the three-story retailer’s rooftop garden bar for some wine and hors d’oeuvres. Tampa is among the first cities in the country to get a Restoration Hardware gallery store concept, which is currently under construction next to the Capital Grille at Bay Street. When it opens in November, Restoration Hardware will be one of several retail chains in the Tampa Bay area that let customers eat and drink where they shop — a trend that has been revived by names like Nordstrom, Bass Pro Shops, IKEA and others in recent years in an effort to give shoppers more reasons to come to brick and mortar stores.
The basic proxy is that the longer you keep people in the store, the more stuff they’re going to buy,” said Steve Kirn, executive director of the David F. Miller Retailing Education and Research Center at the University of Florida. “They want you to linger longer and take in the sights, tastes and smells you’re not going to get from an LED screen if you’re shopping online.”
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Sarasota area reels in Bass Pro Shop, sources say

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By Justine Griffin for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune

In a deal that’s been rumored for years, sources confirmed Tuesday that Southwest Florida has reeled in another big retail fish: Bass Pro Shops plans to open a store in this market.

The likely location of the megastore — which sell fishing, camping, hunting, boating and other gear — is at University Parkway and Interstate 75, near the under-construction Mall at University Town Center, sources said.

The Springfield, Missouri-based chain — with a store in Fort Myers and another being built in Brandon — has been aggressively expanding into Florida.

It is unclear when the local store is to open or when construction might begin. Representatives of the chain did not return a call for comment on Tuesday.

Bass Pro Shops stores vary in size, but the company’s traditional model, called “Outdoor World,” can be up to 300,000 square feet and is usually situated at a major thoroughfare, near other strong retail plazas or malls.

In recent years, smaller-format stores — 60,000 square feet — have opened to “in fill” areas in between their larger stores.

The Sarasota-Bradenton store will likely be one of those smaller-store formats, common among expanding companies these days, said Phoenix-based retail analyst Jeff Green, who is familiar with the Southwest Florida market.

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