Trump’s election win, mass shootings impact Cabela’s retail performance, retailer says

Outdoor retailer Cabela’s Inc. has seen another decrease in revenue and sales, and the retailer said the U.S. presidential election results has played a major role in a decline in gun and firearms sales.

Cabela’s reported a total revenue decrease of more than 4 percent, and a 6.7 percent sales decrease from its retail stores. Total revenue decreased to $890.4 million, revenue from retail store sales decreased to $601.7 million, and Internet and catalog sales decreased 3.9 percent to $135.7 million.

» CABELA’S, BASS PRO SHOPS MERGER: What’s going on now?

“Merchandise sales were challenging in the second quarter,” said Tommy Millner, Cabela’s Chief Executive Officer. “Since the fall election, we have continued to see a slowdown in firearms and shooting related categories. This slowdown was even more pronounced in the second quarter due to the impact of inventory liquidation by a major competitor who has filed for bankruptcy as well as the anniversary of a number of events from a year ago, including the Orlando tragedy in June of 2016. Additionally, similar to broader retail industry trends, we continued to experience softness in most hunting related categories.”

» RELATED: Bass Pro Shops is closer to officially buying Cabela’s

Net income also decreased almost 25 percent to $28 million compared to $38 million a year ago at the same time.

» RELATED: Centerville Cabela’s gives away guns on Black Friday

The merger between outdoor retailers Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s is almost complete. Cabela’s shareholders approved the plans to combine Cabela’s with Bass Pro Shops in July — one of the last steps to finalizing the deal. “Other steps remain on our path to unite our two organizations and we will continue to keep our customers and team members updated as we move forward,” Bass Pro Shops officials announced.

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