Retail sales for Cabela’s are on the rise, but the outdoor lifestyle products merchant’s direct division sales are dragging.
Cabela’s said its total revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 increased 5.7% to $587 million, and its retail store sales were up 11.3% to $302 million. Sales increased in each of its 29 comparable stores in the quarter—a first for Cabela’s, the company says.
But its direct revenue decreased 4.9% to $207 million. Why the shortfall in direct?
The cataloger/retailer in its earnings statement attributed about half of its direct sales decline to the ammunition and shooting categories. Sales of these products returned to more normal levels following unusually high levels in the first four months of last year, the company said.
Cabela’s added that the number of multichannel customers increased 2.5% for the quarter ended April 2.