Bass Pro to challenge Cabela's with third S.C. store

Springfield-based outdoor retailer Bass Pro Shops announced it will open a third South Carolina store in the northwest corner of the state, a move that would directly compete with rival Cabela's Inc. (NYSE: CAB).

Bass Pro is planning a more than 120,000-square-foot store in Spartanburg County, S.C., between Greenville and Spartanburg on Interstate 85. Sidney, Neb.-based Cabela's operates a store in Greenville and has another planned about 100 miles away in Fort Mill. In South Carolina, Bass Pro currently operates a store in Myrtle Beach and has another planned in North Charleston, according to the companies' websites.

Bass Pro has agreed to anchor a 75-acre mixed-use development in the Upcountry region of South Carolina that would include retail, hotels and restaurants. The development was unnamed in Bass Pro's news release announcing the store.

"We are confident that this outdoor retail center will have a positive impact on our hospitality and tourism industry," Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt said in the release.

Bass Pro officials say over 80,000 vehicles will pass by the Spartanburg County store each day. More than 1 million people live in the greater Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson statistical area, the release said.

Bass Pro operates 85 stores and Tracker Marine centers in the U.S. and Canada, and the company reports 116 million annual visitors.