June 2 (Reuters) - Retailer Bass Pro Shops and its

affiliate Cabela's have been accused in new lawsuit of scheming

with manufacturers, distributors and a trade group to charge

consumers artificially higher prices in the billion-dollar

archery and bowhunting industry.

The proposed class action, filed on Friday in the federal

district court in Utah, also named Dick's Sporting Goods, the

Archery Trade Association and several manufacturers and

distributors as participants in the alleged price-fixing scheme.

The Pennsylvania resident who filed the lawsuit alleged the

trade association drove an industry-wide campaign to establish

and enforce minimum advertised pricing policies. Those policies

violated U.S. antitrust law by preventing price competition

among retailers, the complaint alleged.

The lawsuit estimated there are hundreds of thousands of

potential class members who have purchased relevant archery

products since 2014.

"The alleged cartel in this case has illegally raised the

prices paid by American bowhunters and archers for a decade,"

said a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Gary Smith Jr, of law firm

Hausfeld. "This lawsuit aims to recover those overcharges for

the benefit of the alleged cartel's victims."

Bass Pro Shops, Dick's Sporting Goods and the Archery Trade

Association did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Bass Pro Shops acquired Cabela's in 2017.

Archery products distributor Lancaster Archery Supply,

another defendant, did not immediately respond to a similar

request.

The lawsuit said the Minnesota-based Archery Trade

Association played a central role in the alleged price-fixing

conspiracy. The group's membership, now at more than 2,500

organizations, includes manufacturers, distributors and

retailers.

Price competition among retailers was seen as an

"existential threat" to the industry, according to the lawsuit,

so the trade group and retailers allegedly agreed to implement

minimum advertised pricing as a measure to keep a level playing

field.

Some bows can cost hundreds of dollars, and arrows run more

than $100, according to the lawsuit. The products at issue also

include arrowheads and targets.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages and a court

order prohibiting the alleged price-fixing conspiracy from

continuing.

The case is Joseph Santarlas v. Bowtech et al, U.S. District

Court, District of Utah, No. 2:25-cv-00436-DAK.

For plaintiff: Gary Smith Jr of Hausfeld; Jason Lichtman of

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein; David Kesselman of

Kesselman, Brantly, Stockinger; and Joshua Grabar of Graber Law

Office

For defendants: No appearances yet