Scheels () is an American

privately held A privately held company (or simply a private company) is a company whose Stock, shares and related rights or obligations are not offered for public subscription or publicly negotiated in their respective listed markets. Instead, the Private equi ...

employee-owned Employee stock ownership, or employee share ownership, is where a company's employees own shares in that company (or in the parent company of a group of companies). US employees typically acquire shares through a share option plan. In the UK, Emp ...

and operated

sporting goods Sports equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear, which varies in shapes, size, and usage in a particular sport. It includes balls, nets, rackets, protective gears like helmets, goggles, etc. Since the p ...

and entertainment chain store headquartered in

Fargo, North Dakota Fargo is the List of cities in North Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Cass County, North Dakota, Cass County. The population was 125,990 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, which was e ...

. Scheels operates thirty-four store locations in sixteen U.S. states.

Company Overview

The headquarters are located in

, along with two stores, one traditional all-sports store, and a store focusing on home and hardware that is now in the old sports store after being in its University Drive location since 1962. Scheels began as a hardware and general merchandise store in

Sabin, Minnesota Sabin is a city in Clay County, Minnesota, Clay County, Minnesota, United States approximately 14 miles southeast of Moorhead, Minnesota, Moorhead, Minnesota. The population was 619 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History The ci ...

, in 1902. Frederick A. Scheel, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

immigrant, used the $300 he earned from his first harvest of potatoes as the down payment on the first Scheels, which was a hardware store. Scheels started adding a small selection of

to its stores in 1954. Over the years, Scheels opened in surrounding communities, including

. Fargo is currently the site of Scheels corporate headquarters. Scheels' first all-sports superstore opened in

Grand Forks, North Dakota Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in North Dakota, third-most populous ...

, in 1989. This store relocated to Columbia Mall in 2014. CEO Steve M. Scheel, great-grandson of Frederick A. Scheel, oversees the company of over 11,000 associates. His father, Steve D. Scheel, is the chairman of the board.

Locations

Scheels owns and operates thirty-four stores in sixteen U.S. states, mostly located in the Midwest. There are five stores in

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

, two of which are in Fargo. There are also locations in Bismarck,

Grand Forks Grand Forks is a city in and the county seat of Grand Forks County, North Dakota, United States. The city's population was 59,166 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in the state, after Fargo and Bismarck. Grand For ...

, and Minot, North Dakota, Minot. There are five stores in Minnesota, which are located in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Eden Prairie, Mankato, Minnesota, Mankato, Moorhead, Minnesota, Moorhead, St. Cloud, Minnesota, St. Cloud, and Rochester, Minnesota, Rochester. South Dakota has two stores in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sioux Falls and Rapid City, South Dakota, Rapid City. Iowa has four stores, which are located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, Cedar Falls, Coralville, Iowa, Coralville, Sioux City, Iowa, Sioux City, and West Des Moines, Iowa, West Des Moines. Illinois has one store, which can be found in Springfield, Illinois, Springfield. Nebraska, has two locations in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, Omaha. Wisconsin has two locations in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Eau Claire and Appleton, Wisconsin, Appleton. Kansas has two locations in Wichita, Kansas, Wichita and Overland Park, Kansas, Overland Park. The company opened its newest location on October 19, 2024, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. On December 3, 2012, Scheels announced that it would be opening the company's new flagship store in Overland Park, Kansas, in the Corbin Park outdoor retail village. The store would be a , two-story building. CEO Steve Scheel said that he had grand plans for the interior of the store. Customers will enter the store under a 16,000-gallon aquarium, complete with a coral reef and scuba divers to feed the fish daily. A , 16-car Ferris wheel also will be in the store, in addition to sport simulators and a walk of U.S. presidents. Scheels opened its new flagship store in Overland Park, Kansas, on June 27, 2015. On July 11, 2020, Scheels opened a two-story, store at the Eden Prairie Center in Eden Prairie, MN. Outside of the Midwest, Montana has three Scheels locations in Billings, Montana, Billings, Missoula, Montana, Missoula, and Great Falls, Montana, Great Falls. Utah has a location in Sandy, Utah, Sandy. Colorado has two locations in Johnstown, Colorado, Johnstown and Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. Nevada has one location in Sparks, Nevada, Sparks. Idaho has one store in Meridian, Idaho, Meridian. The company is set to open a second Texas location in Cedar Park, coming 2026. In May 2020, the Scheels opened a location in Texas, located in The Colony, Texas, The Colony. At , this store is the largest Scheels and largest all-sports store in the world. On May 19, 2020, Macerich announced that Scheels will open its first Arizona location at Chandler Fashion Center in the fall of 2023, replacing a vacant Nordstrom.

Scheels Outfitters brand

Scheels Outfitters is a premium brand exclusive to Scheels. Merchandise is designed for field experts by "Scheels Experts.""Scheels Outfitters"
. ''Scheels''. This includes gear for fishing, hunting, and shooting.

References

External links

* {{commons category 1902 establishments in Minnesota Clay County, Minnesota Companies based in Fargo–Moorhead Employee-owned companies of the United States Fargo, North Dakota Online retailers of the United States Privately held companies based in Minnesota Privately held companies based in North Dakota Retail companies established in 1902 Sporting goods retailers of the United States

Company Overview

Locations

Scheels Outfitters brand

See also

References

External links