NEWS RELEASES
Moosejaw’s CEO Comments on Walmart's Premium Outdoor Store
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through SGB Media's website.
Eoin Comerford, Moosejaw’s CEO, responds to the strong attacks by some of the outdoor industry's leading retailers and threats to drop brands participating in the development of the Premium Outdoor Store on Walmart.com. Comerford wrote an open letter on LinkedIn addressing the development and curation of the Premium Outdoor Store section on Walmart was done in the spirit of “inclusivity.”
According to the press release on SGB Media, Comerford wrote in the letter that the industry remains “predominantly male and remarkably white” despite numerous efforts over the years to become “younger, more female, more diverse.” He argues the Premium Outdoor Store curated by Moosejaw offers a path for the industry to broaden its reach. “Walmart.com’s huge traffic offered the ability to expose outdoor brands, activities and products to a massive audience of new and long-term outdoor enthusiasts, including the very groups that are underrepresented in our industry today,” says Comerford. Following the launch of the site on August 27, four brands that had been selling on the Walmart.com in the launch – Black Diamond, Deuter, Katadyn and Leki – had reached agreements with Walmart and Moosejaw to have their products removed from the site as industry backlash developed over selling on the big-box platform.
To read the full letter written by Eoin Comerford to the Outdoor Industry, click here.