Dick’s Sporting Goods to acquire online outdoor retailer Moosejaw from Walmart

Dick’s Sporting Goods is expanding in the fast-growing outdoor market.

The nation’s largest sporting goods retailer has agreed to acquire digitally native specialty outdoor retailer Moosejaw from Walmart.  The cost of the deal, expected to close in March, was not revealed.

Walmart acquired Moosejaw in 2017 for approximately $51 million as part of a move to attract younger and more upscale shoppers and expand its digital footprint. The retail giant went on to launch a curated online store for Moosejaw, which also operates about 12 brick-and-mortar locations in Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri.

Dick’s said the Moosejaw acquisition will expand its outdoor portfolio – currently led by its new specialty retail concept Public Lands – and reaffirm its commitment to the long-term business opportunity in the growing multibillion-dollar outdoor category.

"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, Public Lands and senior VP, Dick’s Sporting Goods. "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."

Dick’s launched Public Lands in 2021 with the mission to celebrate and protect public lands for all. The banner has since grown to seven retail locations along with an e-commerce presence.

[Read More: Dick’s Sporting Goods opening more Public Lands’ stores]

Once the acquisition closes, Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford will report to Spaletto.

Founded in Michigan in 1992, Moosejaw has a loyal customer base, strong vendor relationships with leading outdoor brands and a passionate workforce, according to Dick’s.  The brand was one of several digitally native specialty brands acquired by Walmart under Marc Lore, then-president of e-commerce at the chain, that have since been sold. The others include Mod Cloth, Bare Necessities and Shoes.com.

Dick’s Sporting Goods operates more than 850 namesake, Golf Galaxy, Field & Stream, Public Lands, Going Going Gone! and Warehouse Sale stores. It also operates Dick’s House of Sport and Golf Galaxy Performance Center, as well as GameChanger, a youth sports mobile app for scheduling, communications, live scorekeeping and video streaming.