Cabela's 2004 Annual Report Download - page 24

placed in collection status with an internal or third party collector at various stages of delinquency. All
delinquent accounts enter collections no later than 15 days delinquent.
We have outsourced a small percentage of pre-charge-oÅ, delinquent accounts to third party collection
agencies. The account's reward score determines whether or not it will be outsourced for collection and
evaluates the predictability of collecting the delinquent balance.
We outsource the majority of post charged-oÅ collections to third party collection agencies. If not
initially resolved, post charged-oÅ accounts will then be placed with secondary and tertiary collection
agencies until resolution. We currently employ one collector who works a limited number of post charged-
oÅ accounts and manages the various collection agency relationships.
Third Party Card Programs. In 2004, our bank subsidiary entered into agreements to issue new
VISA credit accounts for fans of International Speedway Corp. and for customers of Woodworker's Supply
Inc., a retailer of tools for woodworking enthusiasts. These third party programs represented only 0.3% of
the total net purchases made on our co-branded VISA cards issued by the bank. In addition, they
represented $5.2 million of credit card loans receivable, as currently our securitization program does not
accept these co-branded third party receivables. We intend to continue to explore selected similar co-
branding opportunities as additional vehicles for growth in our Ñnancial services business.
Distribution and FulÑllment
We operate four distribution centers located in Sidney, Nebraska, Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin,
Mitchell, South Dakota and Wheeling, West Virginia. These distribution centers comprise nearly
2,502,000 square feet of warehouse space which house all of our inventories. We ship merchandise to our
direct customers via UPS and the United States Postal Service. We use common carriers and typically
deliver inventory two to three times per week to our destination retail stores. Our primary returns
processing facility is located in Oshkosh, Nebraska.
Management Information Systems
Our management information and operational systems manage our direct, retail and Ñnancial services
businesses. These systems are designed to process customer orders, track customer data and demographics,
order, monitor and maintain suÇcient amounts of inventory, facilitate vendor transactions, and provide
Ñnancial reporting. We continually evaluate, modify and update our information technology systems
supporting the product pipeline, including design, sourcing, merchandise planning, forecasting and purchase
order, inventory, distribution, transportation and price management. We are planning modiÑcations to our
technology that will involve updating or replacing our systems with successor systems during the course of
several years, including changes to the sortation systems at our distribution centers, updating of the space
planning and labor scheduling software for our destination retail stores and improvements to our customer
relationship management system.
Employees
As of March 5, 2005, we employed approximately 7,830 employees, approximately 4,675 of whom
were employed full time. We use part-time and temporary workers to supplement our labor force at peak
times during our third and fourth quarters. None of our employees are represented by a labor union or are
parties to a collective bargaining agreement. We have not experienced any work stoppages and consider
our relationship with our employees to be good.
Seasonality
We experience seasonal Öuctuations in our net revenue and operating results. Due to buying patterns
around the holidays and the opening of hunting seasons, our merchandise revenues are traditionally are
higher in the third and fourth Ñscal quarters than in the Ñrst and second Ñscal quarters, and we typically
earn a disproportionate share of our operating income in the third and fourth Ñscal quarters. See Item 7
12