Why Dick’s Sporting Goods Acquisition Of Moosejaw Is A Good Move
Dick’s Sporting Goods announced the acquisition of Moosejaw from WalmartWMT last week. Moosejaw is an outdoor retailer offering a wide range of outdoor apparel, footwear, gear and more. It will expand Dick’s outdoor portfolio and complement the products currently offered by his outdoor brand Public Lands.
Moosejaw has an excellent e-commerce platform and 12 stores scattered across the Midwest in cities like Bentonville, Ark (home of Walmart), Ann Arbor. Wed. (home of the University of Michigan), Detroit, Chicago, Kansas City and Olathe, Kansas etc. Most of their business takes place on a well organized website. The site has many fun aspects that serve to keep readers on the site longer. Eoin Comerford is the CEO and he must have a great sense of humour.
Moosejaw was acquired by Walmart in 2017 when Marc Lore acquired a number of internet companies. His goal was to strengthen the company’s website and integrate the new stores into the Walmart website. Some of the other companies that Lore has also acquired include ModCloth, Bonobos, Bare Necessities, and Shoes.com. Walmart’s management has now wisely parted ways with these small companies, as they have not made a significant contribution to the company’s growth.
Moosejaw matches Dick’s. Todd Spoletto, President of Public Lands and Senior Vice President of Dick’s Sporting Goods, said, “We admire what Moosejaw has accomplished over the past 30 years as a leader in the outdoor industry and look forward to the opportunity to share insights and to learn from others. We believe there is potential to grow Moosejaw’s business and bring compelling experiences and an expanded product range to its millions of loyal customers.”
Public Lands was launched by Dick’s in 2021 after several years of development. Its mission is to celebrate land and protect public lands for all. It seeks to encourage more use and enjoyment of these outdoor spaces. The brand has since established itself in seven retail locations and has a thriving e-commerce presence. Once the acquisition is complete, Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford will report to Spoletto.
No financial metrics such as sales or earnings of Moosejaw are available at this time. They will be published as soon as they are public knowledge.
Dick’s Sporting Goods operates more than 850 stores under various brand names. Private Labels include Dick’s Sporting Goods Stores, Golf Galaxy, Field & Stream, Public Lands, Going Going Gone! and Dick’s Warehouse Sale. It also works online and via Dick’s mobile app. Dick’s also owns and operates the Dick’s House of Sports and Golf Galaxy Performance Center units along with Game Changer, a mobile app for planning and managing youth sports; The app supports sports communication, live scores and video streaming.
POSTSCRIPT: Moosejaw is an interesting company with a wide range of outdoor products. It appeals to many young buyers. The website is easy to use and the goods are attractively presented. The acquisition is a win for Dick’s Sporting Goods and I am delighted that management is staying with the company to continue building its sales momentum.