Cabela's 2011 Annual Report Download - page 18

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8
Fishing and Marine Equipment. We provide products for fresh water fishing, fly-fishing, salt water
fishing, and ice-fishing. In addition, our fishing and marine equipment offering features a wide selection of
electronics, boats and accessories, canoes, kayaks, and other flotation accessories.
Camping Gear and Equipment. We provide a diverse selection of camping gear and equipment for various
experience levels of outdoor enthusiasts. This product category includes a full range of equipment and accessories
supporting all outdoor activities, including food preparation, outdoor cooking, travel, and outdoor living. In this
category we also include all-terrain vehicles, as well as accessories for automobiles and all-terrain vehicles.
Gifts and Home Furnishings. Our gifts merchandise includes games, food assortments, books, jewelry,
and art with outdoor themes. Home furnishings merchandise includes furnishings and accents with outdoor themes
for the home and cabin.
Cabela’s Branded Products. In addition to national brands, we offer our exclusive Cabela’s branded
merchandise. We have a significant penetration of Cabela’s branded merchandise in casual apparel and footwear as
well as in selected hard goods categories such as camping, fishing, and optics. Where possible, we seek to protect
our Cabela’s branded products by applying for trademark or patent protection for these products. Our Cabela’s
branded products typically generate higher gross profit margins compared to our other branded products. In 2011,
our Cabela’s branded merchandise accounted for approximately 30% of our merchandise revenue. By having an
appropriate mix of Cabela’s branded and other branded merchandise, we strive to meet the expectations and needs
of our customers and expand the recognition of the Cabela’s brand.
Marketing
We seek to increase the amount each customer spends on our merchandise through enhanced customer
targeting, expanded use of digital marketing channels in mobile marketing and social networking and other
technology-based approaches, continued introduction of new catalog titles, and the development and marketing of
new products. We have taken advantage of web-based technologies such as targeted promotional e-mails, on-line
shopping engines, and Internet affiliate programs to renew efforts in local markets and to increase sales. We also
have improved our customer relationship management system, which we expect will allow us to better manage our
customer relationships and more effectively tailor our marketing programs. We will continue to use our expanding
Retail business to capture additional customer purchase history and information.
Our marketing strategy focuses on using our multi-channel model to build the strength and recognition of
our brand by communicating our wide and distinctive offering of quality products to our customers, and potential
customers, in a cost effective manner. Our largest marketing effort consists of distributing over 130 million
catalogs annually in order to attract customers to our Retail and Direct businesses. We have also established our
website to market our products to customers and potential customers who shop via the Internet. We use both our
catalogs and our website to cross-market at our retail stores. Our marketing strategy is designed to convey our
outdoor lifestyle image, enhance our brand, and emphasize our position in our target markets.
In addition to the use of our catalogs and our website, we use a combination of promotional events, traditional
advertising, and media programs as marketing tools. We engage in certain promotional activities by sponsoring
sportsmen and women advocacy groups and wildlife conservation organizations, including U.S. Sportsmen’s
Alliance, National Rifle Association, National Wild Turkey Federation, Women in the Outdoors, Rocky Mountain
Elk Foundation, Whitetails Unlimited, Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, Trout
Unlimited, and Safari Club International, as well as regional and local events and organizations. We also provide
sponsorship of fishing tournaments and other related habitat and wildlife conservation activities.