Bass Pro Shops’ latest purchase has a local vibe that many Irvine shoppers might appreciate. Bass Pro’s White River Marine Group acquired Hobie, the iconic water-sports brand rooted in Southern California beach culture, last year.
The move makes shopping more convenient at Bass Pro’s Outdoor World store, where Hobie’s kayaks, pedal-driven watercraft and fishing gear will be on display.
Bass Pro and Hobie have a lot in common, starting with their founders’ maverick success. The late Hobart (“Hobie”) Alter, the son of an orange farmer, started shaping balsa surfboards as a teen in his parents’ garage in Laguna Beach. In 1954, he opened what was widely reported as the area’s first surf shop in Dana Point.
Four years later, Alter and a partner developed a mass-produced polyurethane foam surfboard that soon replaced the heavy wooden boards then in wide use.
His name would later grace kayaks and paddleboards, and even fiberglass skateboards, sold in more than 70 countries. But Alter’s signature invention was the Hobie Cat, a lightweight, easy-to-navigate take on the Polynesian catamaran. No longer would as many as four people be needed to drag a 600-pound vessel into the water.
Bass Pro founder Johnny Morris came from similarly humble origins. In 1972, he began selling fishing tackle out of an 8-square-foot space in the back of his father’s liquor store in Missouri, according to company lore. Six years later, he introduced what Bass Pro says was the first nationally marketed pre-rigged boat, motor and trailer package.
“We are deeply committed to Hobie and supporting its dealer network as we embark on a very bright future together,” Morris said in a statement.
