Cabela's deal brings northern exposure

Hunting and fishing gear multichannel merchant Cabela's Incorporated has reached an agreement to purchase S.I.R. Warehouse Sports Store, a Winnipeg, Canada-based specialty retailer.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

S.I.R., founded in 1924, operates both a mail-order business and a 44,000-square-foot retail store in Winnipeg that supply hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise. Cabela's, Sidney, NE, currently has thousands of catalog and Internet customers in Canada, but this will be its first retail operation there.

"This acquisition will allow us to accelerate growth of our retail, catalog and Internet business in Canada. [Although] we already have a loyal customer base in Canada, we expect significant growth in Canadian business as a result of this transaction," said Dennis Highby, president/CEO, Cabela's, in a statement.

S.I.R.'s facilities will become the headquarters for Cabela's Canadian operations. Cabela's expects to retain S.I.R.'s employees.

The deal, Cabela's second announced venture in Canada, is expected to close in 30 to 60 days. The company also plans to build a Cabela's destination retail store in Montreal.