You miss the point. Cablelas was started and built as a family owned business that grew where it was planted - in Sidney Nebraska. Owners eventually do want to retire and cash out, and after Dick Cabela and family did so, THEN the activist investor Singer bought 11% of the stock and demanded changes that devastated the town.
Get it now?
As I understand it, the owner was in place when they merged with Bass. That was encouraged by singer.
The company was in trouble and singer demanded a sale. What would you do in that case? You can’t make retail sales appear by magic. When in trouble you can basically reorg, sell, or close down.
Either option leads to some locations and offices closing. That’s the breaks.
Singer would not have been able to make any demand if he did not have that public stock. That’s the point you’re ignoring.