Moosejaw.com is an online and

brick and mortar Brick and mortar (also bricks and mortar or B&M) refers to a physical presence of an organization or business in a building or other structure. The term ''brick-and-mortar business'' is often used to refer to a company that possesses or leases r ...

retailer specializing in

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

apparel and gear for

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

, and

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more nat ...

. The company was founded in 1992 by Bill Schulman, a teacher and summer camp director, and Robert Wolfe and David Jaffe, two longtime friends who chose to sell camping equipment instead of becoming wilderness guides. Moosejaw is known for its nonsensical marketing called "Moosejaw Madness". Parallel Investment Partners, a

private equity firm A private equity firm is an investment management company that provides financial backing and makes investments in the private equity of startup or operating companies through a variety of loosely affiliated investment strategies including leve ...

based in Dallas, acquired a majority stake in Moosejaw in 2007 on undisclosed terms. Glencoe Capital, a private equity firm, acquired a stake in Moosejaw in 2009 on undisclosed terms. W Capital Partners, a private equity firm, acquired a stake in Moosejaw in 2013 on undisclosed terms. On February 15, 2017, retailer

Walmart Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...

acquired Moosejaw for $51 million in cash.

Overview

Moosejaw.com was named a Top 50 retailer by Internet Retailer (2007), Top 50 retailer by

Bizrate Bizrate Insights Inc., doing business as Bizrate Insights, is a market research company, providing consumer ratings information to over 6,000 retailers and publishers across the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Canada. Bizrate ...

(2006), Best of the Web by ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' magazine, and a Top 500 Retailer by Internet Retailer. Moosejaw has been recognized as a leader in online marketing by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''Outside'' magazine, and ''Chain Store Age'' magazine. Moosejaw's official name, as it appears on their corporate charter, is Moosejaw Mountaineering and Backcountry Travel, Inc.. As of 2021, the company entered a period of slow, but consistent, expansion in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

retail store segment. At the time, the store had twelve locations which include eight in

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, one in

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, one in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

, one in

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, and one in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. According to its website history, the first store opened in 1992 in

Keego Harbor, Michigan Keego Harbor is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,970 at the 2010 census. With a land area of , Keego Harbor is the third-smallest city by land area in the state of Michigan after the cities of Peters ...

. In November 2011, Moosejaw released an

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience that combines the real world and computer-generated content. The content can span multiple sensory modalities, including visual, auditory, haptic, somatosensory and olfactory. AR can be de ...

app designed by Marxent Labs which allows shoppers to hold their mobile device over the Moosejaw catalog and view images of the models in their underwear. On September 1, 2012 Moosejaw Mountaineering opened a store in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

. The new store is located in the

Country Club Plaza The Country Club Plaza (often called The Plaza) is a privately-owned regional shopping center in the Country Club District of Kansas City, Missouri. Opened in 1923, it was the first planned suburban shopping center and the first regional shoppi ...

; an upscale retail/dining district located south of downtown Kansas City. Moosejaw's annual revenue neared $100 million in 2014 and was growing roughly 25% per year at that time. Their newest store was opened in 2020 in

Olathe, Kansas Olathe ( ) is the county seat of Johnson County, Kansas, United States. It is the fourth-most populous city in both the Kansas City metropolitan area and the state of Kansas, with a 2020 population of 141,290. History 19th century Olathe was ...

, and is associated with local rock climbing gym ROKC. In 2021, they opened a new store in Bentonville, Arkansas.

References

External links

Official site
{{Walmart Companies based in Oakland County, Michigan Online retailers of the United States Sporting goods retailers of the United States Clothing retailers of the United States Retail companies established in 1992 Internet properties established in 1992 Madison Heights, Michigan 1992 establishments in Michigan Walmart 2017 mergers and acquisitions

Overview

See also

References

External links