The big-box giant rolls out marquis outdoor brands like Eddie Bauer, Yakima, Jack Wolfskin, and more on its website. And it’s all ‘curated’ by Moosejaw.
“Walmart gear” has long been shorthand for budget buys that fall short on performance. But that could be changing today. The Arkansas-based superstore today announced it will add high-end gear to its online store.
The move comes a little more than a year after Walmart acquired the outdoor specialty store Moosejaw. According to Eoin Comerford, Moosejaw CEO and Walmart’s general manager of outdoor, the “Premium Outdoor Store” will help both retailers reach “exponentially more customers.”
“Through the Premium Outdoor Store, we’re introducing a completely new, outdoor specialty assortment that hasn’t been available to Walmart customers in the past,” Comerford said in a statement.
“The Premium Outdoor Store will offer thousands of items from top outdoor brands, including Craghoppers, Deuter, First Ascent by Eddie Bauer, Gramicci, Jack Wolfskin, KLYMIT, LEKI, Stonewear, and Tentsile. It will also carry the full range of Moosejaw-branded clothing, jackets, and gear, and we plan to continually add new brands and products.”
Walmart Launches ‘Premium Outdoor Store’
Customers who visit Walmart.com can virtually shop the Premium Outdoor Store from the homepage. Comerford highlights a handful of available outdoor brands. And a quick perusal of the new outdoor shop shows a massive array of popular outdoor names: Black Diamond, Danner, Therm-a-Rest, Katadyn, Orca coolers, and many more.
There’s overlap in the products Moosejaw and the Premium Outdoor Store offer. But Moosejaw still provides a much wider array of products and brands. At least for now.
Comerford said the goal of the new store is to eventually “broaden the assortment over time to potentially include products from other specialty outdoor retailers and from other outdoor brands.”
GearJunkie reached out to ask what the launch meant for the future of Moosejaw. But representatives for the brands were not immediately available for comment. In a news release, Walmart did say it will continue to offer its existing line of value-oriented gear. And it won’t replace its current offerings with Moosejaw-curated gear.
This move certainly has the potential to introduce a wider audience to quality outdoor gear. However, it remains to be seen how a “premium outdoor” Walmart store will impact the industry.
