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March 2, 2023: Dick’s Sporting Goods is set to acquire outdoor retailer Moosejaw from Walmart in a bid to extend its reach into the multibillion-dollar outdoor retail market. According to NPD Group, dollar sales in the outdoor specialty market increased by 7% to $7.9bn in the US for the year ending November 2022. The snow specialty market added $1.7bn in revenues from August through November. Moosejaw, which was founded in 1992 and acquired by Walmart in 2017, operates an e-commerce site and 13 stores in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri. The chain will join Public Lands, launched in 2021, as part of Dick’s outdoor retail portfolio. Moosejaw CEO, Eoin Comerford, will report to Todd Spaletto, president of Public Lands and senior vice president of Dick’s Sporting Goods once the deal closes.
The move has been applauded by many industry experts on the RetailWire BrainTrust in an online discussion. Moosejaw is a brand and a brand portfolio, making it a great acquisition for Dick’s, whose stores are flagship locations for many brands, said Carol Speickerman of Spieckerman Retail. The Moosejaw deal is the perfect fit for Dick’s and will allow the brand to scale quickly, added Liza Amlani of Retail Strategy Group. Moosejaw is a logical brand extension for Dick’s Sporting Goods as it expands into outdoor adventure equipment and apparel, said David Naumann, marketing strategy lead, retail, travel and distribution at Verizon.
However, some BrainTrust members cautioned Dick’s against absorbing Moosejaw into Public Lands. Moosejaw has a specialty as a rebel-like outdoor gear supplier, and if Dick’s converts it into “Dick’s”, it may lose some of its appeal, warned John Lietsch, COO and Bloo Kanoo. Moosejaw and Public Lands could merge into one brand someday, suggested Jeff Sward of Merchandising Metrics, but one BrainTrust member suggested that Dick’s needs both new brands to serve different customer segments.
