Walmart Buys Metro Detroit Outdoors Retailer Moosejaw For $51M

DETROIT, MI — Walmart has purchased Detroit-area retailer Moosejaw for $51 million in cash to boost the retail giant’s online presence, the two companies said Wednesday. The 10 stores operated by Moosejaw, which specializes in outdoor recreation apparel and gear, will remain open as standalone businesses, according to the announcement.

Moosejaw, founded in 1992 in Madison Heights, which carries more than 400 brands and is known for offbeat advertising campaigns, will continue to operate its own website under the deal. The website will be run as a “complementary brand to our other e-commerce sites,” Walmart said in a statement.

Moosejaw CEO Eoin Comerford, his executive team and Moosejaw’s more than 350 employees will continue to be based in Michigan and will become employees of Walmart’s new U.S. e-commece retail organization, Jet.com, and its other e-commerce sites, according to the announcement.

Comerford told the Detroit Free Press that Moosejaw customers won’t notice much difference but that the deal will “amplify our marketing presence.”

“We are going to continue to be an outdoor specialty retailer of premium brands,” he said. “You’re going to have the same Moosejaw voice and the same Moosejaw Madness is going to be very prevalent.”

Moosejaw Madness is the brand the company uses for its quirky advertising campaigns. On its website, Moosejaw teases: “If you're offended by ridiculous commentary don't click on any of the Moosejaw Madness sections.”

Moosejaw merchandise won’t make it onto Walmart store shelves, Comerford told the Free Press.

Walmart purchased the company from private equity partners Parallel Investment Partners and W Capital Partners, which acquired it in 2007 from founders Robert Wolfe and David Jaffe. Their first store was Moosejaw Mountaineering and Backcountry Travel in Keego Harbor.

Photo by Rory Finneren via Flickr Commons