The good news here -- and no surprize to any of us here -- is that
outdoor activities are experienceing a come back in popularity. (The
hidden bad news is, of course, we deal with a little more over crowding
and a few more first-timers at the ramps, campgrounds, and hunting sites.

WHat's interesting is that Gander Mountain's IPO led to a 38 % increase
that has held on in their stock price. ($21 or so today) .....They
gained capital that allows them to continue their rebirth and growth.

Gaylans couldn't pull that off alone -- and Dick's saw the opportunity
to beef up in the central part of the US.


BUT THE BIG ONE prices tonight -- CAB - Cabelas will price at $15 - $17
a share. If it sees the same kind of run up in price (and their
financials are better than Gander's) there will be money to be made here.


Johnny Morris and Gaylord entertainment have been watching this trying
to figure out what to do with Bass Pro Shops and go public or not. I
think they are late to the table.


In ky2Cc.161360$Ly.19116@attbi_s01 Andrew Kidd wrote:
That's interesting. Here in Rochester, NY, we have three Dick's and
one Galyan's, which is within spitting distance of one of the Dick's.
Dick's came here about 15 years ago, and within a year or two, they
cut back on
the
tackle department. Galyan's was a breath of fresh air when they
arrived
two
years ago, as their tackle dept. is vastly superior to Dick's. It
will be interesting to see how this plays out. Thanks for letting us
know about this.

Maybe this is a technicality, but it appears to be an acquisition,
not a merger, with Dick's buying Galyan's stock.



You are absolutely right. It does sound like an acquisition. They
are already talking on the local news about whats to come of this
store and that store, and the corporate headquarters in Plainfield,
Indiana, etc.

They weren't the greatest place to fish, but they had a lot of the
hard to find stuff in ly neck of the woods.