Cabela's 2008 Annual Report Download - page 37

32
Internet – Our Internet website continued to receive awards and high praise for excellence, including the
following awards and recognition:
• Our website was the most visited sporting goods industry eCommerce website according to Hitwise,
Incorporated, an online measurement company. Internet visits increased by 32.0% in 2008 over 2007.
• Our website continues to be ranked in the top group among online retailers for reliability and responsiveness -
an indication of download page speed and completing transactions for customers (measured by industry
publications).
Financial Services Business – In 2008, our Financial Services business completed two term securitizations
totaling $700 million, added two variable funding facilities totaling $500 million, and renewed a $350 million variable
funding facility. In addition, we continued to add new credit cardholders as the number of average active accounts
increased 15.5% to 1.14 million over 2007.
2009 and Beyond
While we anticipate that the business environment in which we operate will be challenging in 2009, we believe
our multi-channel model and our strong brand name provides us with opportunities for growth and profitability.
Over our history, we have established name recognition and a quality brand that is renowned and respected in
the outdoor industry. Throughout our multi-channel business, our strategy is to continue our focus on providing
legendary customer service, quality, and selection.
Our primary focus is on managing our business efficiently to enhance near-term and long-term results for our
shareholders. We are also focusing on improving our retail store operating metrics. We slowed our planned new store
opening schedule to one store in 2009 in order to focus on Retail operations and to manage capital expenditures. Our
focus for 2009 continues to be making progress on the following initiatives:
• improve our advertising strategy by using more targeted campaigns throughout our multi-channel model
to increase store traffic;
• improve retail store sales and profitability through enhanced product assortment, streamlined flow of
merchandise to our retail stores, and reduced operating expenses;
• maintain merchandise gross margins in each of our sales channels; and
• improve inventory management by actively managing inventory levels and product deliveries through
technologies and by reducing unproductive inventory.
Retail Store Efficiencies – For 2009, our primary objective is to enhance our retail store profitability. We
are working on this objective by enhancing and optimizing our retail store merchandising processes, management
information systems, and distribution and logistics capabilities. We continue to flex merchandise at our stores by
adding more seasonal product assortments and to improve our visual merchandising. Also, we continue to improve
the flow of merchandise to our stores increasing productivity and reducing labor costs as a percentage of revenue. To
enhance customer service at our retail stores, we are focusing on customer service through training and mentoring
programs. For 2008 compared to 2007, operating income for our Retail business segment increased $14 million,
despite a deteriorating consumer spending environment. This increase in operating income was in part due to
improvements in labor productivity in our retail stores.