Dive Brief:
- Outdoor gear and apparel retailer Moosejaw is opening a physical location in Bentonville, Arkansas — where Walmart, its parent company, is headquartered.
- The Bentonville store will be the second-largest Moosejaw location in the U.S., with 6,000 square feet of retail space. This amount of space will give room for Moosejaw to offer a larger assortment such as bikes, snowsports equipment and tuning services.
- The grand opening will be from Oct. 29 to 30, and marks Moosejaw's 12th physical location. The store will employ almost 20 new workers, per the release.
Dive Insight:
Moosejaw chose to open a store in Bentonville because it has become "one of the top mountain biking destinations in the U.S.," Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford said in a statement. The store is located downtown at 111 South Main Street, just a few blocks away from where Walmart founder Sam Walton opened Walton's 5 & 10 back in 1950 (now the location of The Walmart Museum).
"We were particularly attracted to downtown due to the proximity to the trails and ongoing revitalization and investment in pedestrian malls, hotels and more," Comerford said. "Our backpacking and snow sports assortment will also fill gaps in the local market. The Ozarks are right in our backyard and world class skiing is a two-hour flight away."
Walmart acquired Moosejaw in 2017 for $51 million in cash as part of its effort to revitalize its e-commerce arm and boost its presence among higher-income consumers. Moosejaw in 2018 began curating an online store on Walmart's website, with Comerford running the veritical since the acquisition. In the press release, Moosejaw said the acquisition signals Walmart's commitment to providing a wide variety of high-quality products to online shoppers.
Moosejaw carries over 500 outdoors brands like Rocky Mountain, The North Face, Fjallraven and Columbia. It also offers gear for activities like climbing, hiking, camping, snow sports, yoga, water sports and biking.
Once opened, the store will offer curbside pickup and orders by phone. Customers could also book appointments for bike tuning services such as tube changes, cable installs and brake adjustments.
The new Moosejaw store comes following a pandemic-driven demand in the category last year when consumers stuck at home gained interest in outdoor activities. The category's newfound momentum could set the industry up for future growth.
