Mountain Warehouse has bought Eastern Mountain Sports in a $10m (£7.6m) rescue deal, saving 100 jobs and seven profitable stores.
EMS filed for Chapter 11 protection in June and will continue to trade as a standalone brand. There may even be an expansion to more territories including Canada and Europe in the near future after the Mountain Warehouse deal.
Mark Neale, founder and chief executive of Mountain Warehouse, said: “We intend to maintain the iconic EMS brand, which has great heritage and DNA and resonates with huge numbers of long-term customers. We will also continue to cooperate with the highest quality and most well-known outdoor brands in the world to stabilize and then grow the business.
“We are convinced that there is a great business here, with a tremendous pedigree and passionate people who can help us understand the market even better and create a bright future.”
A company profile on RetailX USA Growth 2000 2024 Report looks at how the British outdoor brand has expanded into the core US market.
Mountain Warehouse began in 1997 when Neale opened her first store in the UK. Since then, the retail brand has expanded to sell products designed in-house and manufactured in the Far East from more than 350 stores in eight countries, through ten websites – including the US – and through third-party marketplaces, including Amazon. It states that its mission is “to help everyone enjoy the great outdoors.”
Looking ahead, it outlined a strategy of online growth, range expansion and its own market development, starting in May 2023. It plans a customer-first approach, while targeting net zero by 2040, through a strategic use of recycled and recycled and organic materials, while reducing the use of plastic and energy. It also plans to relocate its stores to larger locations in out-of-town locations and build a world-class supply chain.
You can read the full Mountain Warehouse profile at USA Growth 2000 2024 Report.
It explores how these dynamic retailers have grown through improving customer experience, product offerings and strategic investments. Throughout the report, all of our data is visualized through RetailX's signature graphics and RetailX's detailed company profiles.
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