Walmart Inc. is selling Moosejaw, its mainly online seller of outdoor equipment and clothing, to retail chain Dick's Sporting Goods.
Moosejaw opened one of its first stores in downtown Bentonville in October 2021. Named Moosejaw Bike and Snow, the store is the company's only Arkansas location.
Moosejaw Chief Executive Eoin Comerford said when the store opened that the company chose Bentonville because it's one of the top mountain biking destinations in the U.S.
Moosejaw also has stores in Colorado, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan and Missouri.
Founded in Michigan in 1992, Moosejaw "operates a highly successful e-commerce platform, has a loyal customer base, strong vendor relationships with leading outdoor brands and a passionate workforce," Dick's said in a news release Wednesday.
Walmart bought Moosejaw for $51 million in 2017 when Marc Lore, then e-commerce chief for Walmart U.S., led a buying spree that snapped up several online brands and retailers. Terms of the new sale were not released.
The Bentonville-based retailer said in a prepared statement Wednesday that it acquired Moosejaw "to expand our assortment and expertise in the specialty outdoor category and make Moosejaw accessible to more customers."
"Since acquiring Moosejaw, Walmart.com has grown from about 70 million to hundreds of millions of items," Walmart said.
And though Moosejaw operated as a stand-alone business, it had access to Walmart's scale and customer reach to grow, Walmart said.
Buying Moosejaw will help Pittsburgh-based Dick's expand its outdoor portfolio, currently led by retailer Public Lands, Dick's said.
"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 of Public Lands and senior vice president of Dick's.
Once the deal closes, Comerford will report to Spaletto.
Walmart shares fell $3.09, or 2%, to close Wednesday at $144.24. The shares have traded between $117.27 and $160.77 in the last 52 weeks.
Dick's Sporting Goods shares fell 33 cents, or .25%, to close at $129.31.