Highlights of January 13, 2022 Meeting

 

As members and guests were arriving for the meeting, they were greeted by Erwin Reimann.  

 

President Dan opened the meeting by introducing himself then reciting the Rotary International 2021-22 theme - Serve to Change Lives.  He then reminded everyone of the Rotary Vision Statement:

 

 

Ed Koeneman introduced Levi Slokum as a graduate of Cal State Fullerton.  He has been with Bass Pro for fifteen years, and at their Mesa store since 2017.  The Mesa store has earned recognition as Store of the Year.

 

Levi began by talking about a conversation he had with his son Klayton (with a K).  He asked Klayton whether he should talk about himself or talk about Bass Pro when he made his presentation at our club.  Klayton said "You'll do good if you talk about the store, Dad."

 

Levi said he had been an outdoorsman all his life.  His favorite thing to do growing up was go fishing.  After he graduated from college, he anticipated getting a marketing job - his area of focus.  While looking for that perfect job, he decided to try to get a job at the Bass Pro in Rancho Cucamonga.  He didn't know whether he would like the job but he knew he would enjoy having an employee discount.  Once employed there, his career chose him.  The culture in the Bass Pro company is what has really won him over.

 

Bass Pro was started by Johnnie Morris over fifty years ago.  His father gave him space in a section of his liquor store and it grew from there.  The company grew as a privately owned company with five pillars

With regard to conservation, they have worked locally with Arizona Game and Fish as well as a Phoenix Junior Bass Group for youth ages 4-17 who can earn scholarship money at their fishing tournaments.

 

His focus is on the future.  The last couple of years have been crazy.  He knows they have been out of some things - reloading supplies in particular.  In the Mesa store, they have 230 employees.  80% are there most of the time.  They have good longevity. - 15% of the employees have been there since the store opened in 2007.

 

With regard to our Salvation Army kettle, Levi has really enjoyed working with Don, saying he's a pleasure to work with and fun.  He wasn't at the store on the last day when the wind created a memorable final shift, but his employees told him all about it.  They are already coming up with ideas of how they can keep our volunteers dry and in the shade next year.  At that particular location, they frequently experience microbursts where they weather changes within minutes.  They always have backup flags on hand and have to change the flag flying there at least 25 times each year.  

 

Levi answered some questions about the 2018 merger with Cabela's.  Bass Pro had always been a private company and Cabela's was public.  Their procedures were separate.  Merchandise and products were very similar.  A typical Bass Pro store is 180,0000 square feet, while the typical Cabela's store was 155,000 square feet.  Cabela's tended to focus on hunting and camping.  Bass Pro's real niche was fishing.  You will continue to see the Cabela's brand name on some hunting and fishing products.

 

In normal times, when customers asked when they would have something back in stock, he could give them good news about a near future delivery.  Today, if something is out of stock, an 8-month estimate might be the best guess he could offer on some products.

 

Levi had the opportunity to attend a golf tournament at Cedar Lodge when it opened.  It is a Tiger Woods designed course.  There were new cottages on the concourse.

 

Tim's TV Program and Johnnie Johnson both boost their business, but viewing habits of the public have changed making the impact of regular television programs less evident than in the past.

 

In response to a question asked by Polly Cady, Levi said Bass Pro has 161 stores in the US and Canada.

 

Lola asked if there were any plans for the restaurant to reopen.  Levi said there were many possibilities, but nothing for sure.  One of the possibilities mentioned would be to convert it to a Black Rifle General Store with a food court in it.  Nothing definite has been decided.

 

When asked if anything had shown significant increase in sales during COVID.  Levi responded that they had many more customers going fishing for the first time ever come in to buy equipment.  If the store was out of the inexpensive options, the customers readily paid more.  Supplies for outdoor activities showed a double digit increase.  Bass Pro showed an 80% increase and Cabela's increase was 81%.

 

Someone asked about the cat that kept kettle station volunteers intrigued while on duty.  Levi said there are actually a few cats living on the property and they are welcome.  Before the current cats - who each seem to have declared a territory - became semi-permanent residents, the store had a rat problem. that pest control companies couldn't seem to solve the problem because there were so many paces for the rats to hide.  With the ever-present cat population, the rat problem is gone.

 

Foot traffic in 2021 was higher than in 2020.  On weekdays, they see 5-7,000 people each day.  During the Christmas season, that increases to 10-15,000 each day.

 

Levi is kind of amused by the fact that the traffic is so heavy.  Nobody actually NEEDS anything they sell.  First-time shoppers are typically there 1-2 hours.  They are easily recognizable as they are slowly moving through the store gazing all around in awe.  Husbands get lost there.  It's not unusual to hear a cashier paging a missing husband.

 

Thefts are up.  Credit card fraud is also up.  The perpetrators will have cards that look like the real thing with the name on the card matching the ID in their wallet.  The information on the chip is related to a completely different person and is stolen information.