Walmart.com on Monday opened a Premium Outdoor Store curated by Moosejaw. This marks the first time that Walmart is creating an online store on the company’s flagship site for one of the company’s acquired specialty retailers.
“It’s kind of an honor,” wrote Eoin Comerford, general manager of Outdoor, Walmart U.S. eCommerce and CEO of Moosejaw, in a blog entry. The microsite to the store is here.
“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,” wrote Comerford.
“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. The new premium assortment will complement the everyday camping assortment currently available on Walmart.com.”
Comerford added that site wasn’t called a Moosejaw Store because the merchandise mix will extend beyond those offered on Moosejaw.com. Wrote Comerford, “The goal is to provide a destination for outdoor enthusiasts where Moosejaw pulls the best outdoor brands from many sources. While much of the existing assortment on the Premium Outdoor Store will be fulfilled by Moosejaw, we plan to broaden the assortment over time to potentially include products from other specialty outdoor retailers and from other outdoor brands. That’s why we used a fancy word like ‘curated.'”
Like the rest of Walmart.com, Premium Outdoor Store will feature a clean and modern design, making it easy for customers to browse and shop, according to the blog entry. A list of top category sellers will also help customers discover what’s trending, whether that’s men’s or women’s outdoor clothing, backpacks or sleeping bags.
Said Comerford, “The opening of the new online store is a good example of how Walmart is expanding its assortment online by introducing entirely new categories and brands, all while introducing Moosejaw to new shoppers. Check it out, and keep stopping back, as we plan to add more exciting new brands and products.”
Moosejaw was acquired by Wal-Mart in February 2017 and Comerford indicated that the merger has gone well.
He wrote, “A little more than a year ago, we were acquired by Walmart, which has helped us take our business to the next level. Walmart’s scale has enabled us to offer free two-day shipping on orders over $49, to invest in technology improvements to the Moosejaw site and to enhance our rewards program, resulting in a 50 percent increase in redemption rate.”
Moosejaw is also working with Walmart’s technology incubator, Store No 8, to test how virtual reality could enhance the outdoor shopping experience, he noted.
CNBC noted that Moosejaw’s online shop builds on Walmart’s recent deal with Lord & Taylor, which created a fashion destination on Walmart.com with more premium brands.
Other smaller businesses Wal-Mart has acquired in recent years to boost its online presence have been men’s apparel company Bonobos, women’s fashion and accessories company ModCloth and online footwear shop Shoebuy.com. Wal-Mart first acquired Jet.com, which remains a separate website from Walmart.com post-acquisition, in 2016 to ramp up its online initiative.
Photo courtesy Wal-Mart
