The owners of Chattanooga, Tenn.-based Rock/Creek Outfitters have sold the company to Uncle Dan’s Outfitters, a subsidiary of Camping World Holdings Inc. According to reports, the move is a step toward expanding the retail brand across the southeast. Details of the sale have not been released.
“Our experience is in the southeast,” said Rock/Creek owner Chad Wykle. “The Rock/Creek brand certainly resonates in the southeastern United States, so we’ll look to grow Rock/Creek’s brick and mortar quickly across the region.”
The company operates six brick-and-mortar locations in Chattanooga, Cleveland and Franklin, Tenn., and a seasonal outpost near Benton, Tenn. Those will all remain open, Wykle said. Current staff and management will also remain in place. Wykle and fellow co-owner Jonathan Scott will remain with the company, but their roles and titles haven’t been finalized.
Wykle and Scott, long-time employees, acquired Rock/Creek from its founders, Dawson Wheeler and Marvin Webb, in 2017. Since that time, Wheeler and Webb have remained part of the company’s strategic leadership team and were fully engaged in the Uncle Dan’s acquisition, said the company.
“Rock/Creek’s strong legacy and team were central to this decision,” Wheeler said. “We’ve always been an opportunistic company, and this transaction provides Rock/Creek with unprecedented growth opportunities at every level. It also allows the current owners to focus on what they love: interacting with staff, customers and the community in a very hands-on way. In short, it benefits everyone and checks all the boxes.”
The announcement is another major outdoor acquisition for the nation’s largest network of RV-centric retailer. The company purchased Uncle Dan’s in 2017, which acquired Erehwon Mountain Outfitter, a Midwest outdoor specialty retailer earlier this year.
“Uncle Dan’s, Erehwon and Rock/Creek are wholly aligned both in terms of culture and strategic objectives,” said Colin Moynihan, the general manager of Uncle Dan’s and Erehwon. “By bringing our like-minded businesses together, we’ll find efficiencies in merchandising and back-end infrastructure, so we can focus more fully on serving our existing customers and reaching new markets.”
The announcement comes two weeks before the opening of REI’s first Chattanooga location, although Wykle said that had no impact on the deal. “We knew [REI] was coming in, but that wasn’t a large concern and isn’t why we made the decision,” he said.
