Dick’s to buy Moosejaw
Purchase will allow expansion in outdoors sporting goods
Dick’s Sporting Goods said it has a deal to buy outdoor sporting goods retailer Moosejaw from Walmart, a move meant to bolster the Findlay-based retailer’s fledgling Public Lands specialty chain.
Financial terms for the deal, which is expected to close in March, were not disclosed.
Moosejaw, which was founded in Michigan in the early 1990s, has brick- and- mortar stores in six states, but also has what the Dick’s announcement described as a “highly successful e-commerce platform.”
“We admire what Moosejaw has accomplished over the past 30 years as leaders in the outdoor industry and look forward to the opportunity to share insights and learn from one another,” said Todd Spaletto, president of Public Lands and senior vice president of Dick’s Sporting Goods.
Dick’s launched its Public Lands division in 2021 and it has since expanded to include seven stores, in addition to its online retail operation.
When the retailer opened its 50,000- square- foot outdoor themed store in Cranberry in 2021, it chose a location that had previously been a Field & Stream store, another Dick’s concept.
The Public Lands locations were designed to sell outdoor and lifestyle apparel, footwear and equipment for activities like fishing, bicycling, camping, paddling, skiing, running and hiking. The store included a 30-foot rock-climbing wall, a gear repair shop and equipment rentals.
At the time of the Cranberry store opening, Mr. Spaletto said 1% of all Public Lands sales would go into national conservation efforts and local outdoors groups. The chain’s official mission, according to its website, is to “celebrate and protect public lands for all.”
Walmart acquired Moosejaw, based in Madison Heights, Mich., for about $51 million in 2017, according to an announcement that the massive Bentonville, Ark. retailer made at that time.
The retailer said Moosejaw would “continue to operate its site and stores as it has in the past, and will be run as a standalone and complementary brand to our other e-commerce sites.”
Details on how the operations would develop going forward
under Dick’s Sporting Goods ownership were not released Wednesday, but Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford is slated to report to Mr. Spaletto when the deal closes.
“We believe there’s potential to grow the Moosejaw business and provide compelling experiences and an expanded product assortment to its millions of loyal customers,” said Mr. Spaletto in the official announcement.
Dick’s, which has around 850 stores, also operates other specialty chains such as Golf Galaxy, House of Sport and the Going, Going, Gone chain that sells marked-down shoes and clothing.
Moosejaw has stores in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri.