Sporting outfitter eyes store in Maine

PORTLAND – An outdoor sporting goods company that competes with L.L. Bean is looking at sites in Maine to possibly open a store, officials said.

Cabela’s Inc., a publicly traded company with headquarters in Sidney, Neb., has been scouting locations in Maine on and off for about a year, said Jack Cashman, the state’s economic development commissioner. The company has looked at Scarborough and other communities, he said.

“They had shown an interest in the state, they’re going to put a facility in the Northeast, and I know that Maine’s on their radar screen, but I don’t know if they’ve made a commitment,” said Cashman. “They’ve been kicking tires here for quite some time – here, southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts.”

Cabelas sells hunting, fishing, camping, and related outdoor merchandise as well as apparel and footwear, gifts and home furnishings. The company markets its products through catalogs, the Internet and retail stores.

Cabela’s has 13 stores nationwide and has been expanding aggressively since it went public in 2004. Its stores are as large as 250,000 square feet.

It had sales of nearly $1.6 billion and profits of $65 million last year, while mailing 120 million catalogs. By comparison, L.L. Bean had sales of $1.4 billion and mails about 250 million catalogs annually.

L.L. Bean is a privately held company and does not disclose profits. Spokesman Rich Donaldson declined to comment on Cabela’s interest in Maine.

Cabela’s spokesman Joe Arterburn called Maine “an area of interest.”

“Other than that, I can’t confirm or deny that we’ve been there,” he said.