Great American Outdoors Group LLC

What does Great American Outdoors Group own?

The group owns Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, White River Marine Group (including Tracker, Nitro, Ranger, and Mako boats), Big Cedar Lodge hospitality operations, and the Johnny Morris Conservation Foundation, plus related retail and apparel brands.

Is Great American Outdoors Group publicly traded?

No. The company is privately held by the Morris family with no public listing and no outside shareholders.

Who founded Great American Outdoors Group?

Johnny Morris founded the business in 1971 in Springfield, Missouri, as Bass Pro Shops, and built it into the holding company now known as Great American Outdoors Group.

Where is Great American Outdoors Group headquartered?

The company is headquartered in Springfield, Missouri, where Morris founded the original Bass Pro Shops operation.

How many brands does the group own?

The group operates approximately 6 major divisions and brands including Bass Pro Shops, Cabela's, White River Marine, Big Cedar Lodge, and the conservation foundation, plus numerous boat and apparel brands within those divisions.

Who owns Great American Outdoors Group?

The Morris family owns the company entirely, with Johnny Morris as sole principal owner. There are no institutional investors or public shareholders.

Johnny Morris founded Bass Pro Shops in 1971 in Springfield, Missouri, selling fishing tackle from the back of his father's liquor store. The first dedicated Bass Pro shop opened in 1972, and the business grew through the 1970s and 1980s into a regional outdoor retailer with a distinctive destination-store format that combined retail with aquariums, wildlife displays, and entertainment.

The Tracker Marine acquisition in 1978 began the vertical integration strategy. Morris bought the boat manufacturer and built White River Marine Group into North America's largest boat maker, producing Tracker, Nitro, Ranger, and other brands sold through the retail network he controlled.

National expansion accelerated through the 1990s and 2000s with flagship Outdoor World stores that became tourist destinations in their own right. The 2017 acquisition of Cabela's for approximately $4.5 billion consolidated the two largest outdoor retailers, roughly doubling the store footprint and bringing the competing Nebraska chain's catalog and club card business under the group.

The Great American Outdoors Group name formalized the holding structure that already included Bass Pro, Cabela's, White River Marine, and Big Cedar Lodge. The business continues expanding: new store openings have continued through the 2020s, and the group's estimated revenue has grown to roughly $8 billion annually.

The group's sustainability posture centers on conservation. Johnny Morris and the family have donated hundreds of millions of dollars to conservation causes, and the foundation's land holdings include the Dogwood Canyon Nature Park and other protected properties.

The company has faced criticism for the tension between its conservation messaging and the environmental footprint of its boat manufacturing, plus the ethical questions raised by trophy hunting merchandise and wildlife tourism operations. No major independent sustainability certifications apply to the business.

The group's controversies are modest for its size. A 2022 federal criminal case charged the company with environmental violations related to dredging at a Missouri property, resulting in a guilty plea and a $500,000 fine. The Justice Department also pursued a case involving alleged discrimination in hiring practices that was resolved through settlement.

Earlier criticism focused on the Cabela's acquisition and subsequent store closures and layoffs that affected the Nebraska chain's home communities, plus recurring questions about the company's use of tax incentives for store development that critics argue amount to subsidies for a profitable private business.