Scheels
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| Company type | Sporting goods |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | 1902 |
| Headquarters | Fargo, North Dakota |
Number of locations | 24 |
Key people | Steve D. Scheel, CEO |
| Products | Apparel, sports equipment, shoes, exercise equipment |
| Website | http://www.scheelssports.com/ |
Scheels All Sports is a privately held, employee owned and operated sporting goods and entertainment chain store headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. Scheels operates 24 store locations in nine U.S. states. Their slogan is Gear. Passion. Sports.
History
Scheels began as a hardware and general merchandise store in Sabin, Minnesota, in 1902.[1] Frederick A. Scheel, a German immigrant, used the $300 he earned from his first harvest of potatoes as the down payment on the first Scheels.
Scheels started adding a small selection of sporting goods to their stores in 1954. Over the years, Scheels opened in surrounding communities, including Fargo, North Dakota, where the corporate office and the second-largest all-sports store in the world are now located. Scheels' first all-sports superstore opened in Grand Forks, North Dakota in 1989. This store will relocate to Columbia Mall in 2014.[2]
CEO Steve D. Scheel, great-grandson of Frederick A. Scheel, oversees the company of over 4,000 associates. His son, Steve M. Scheel, is the company's president and has been working for Scheels since 1989.
Locations
Scheels owns and operates 24 stores in nine U.S. states.[3] Scheels can be found in Springfield, Illinois. In Iowa, Cedar Falls, Coralville, Sioux City, West Des Moines, and Waterloo. In Minnesota, stores are located in Eden Prairie, Mankato, Moorhead, St. Cloud. In South Dakota, Sioux Falls. Montana has two locations, in Billings and Great Falls. Nebraska is home to Scheels in Lincoln and Omaha. At 295,000 square feet (27,400 m2) the store in Sparks, Nevada is both the largest Scheels store and largest all sports store in the world.[4]
The headquarters are located in Fargo, North Dakota along with two stores, one traditional all sports store, and a store focusing on home and hardware store that is now in the old sports store after being in its University Ave. location since 1962. All sports stores are also located in Bismarck, Grand Forks, and Minot. Stores can also be found in Rapid City, and Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Scheels is also located in Appleton and Eau Claire, Wisconsin. On June 25, 2011, a new Scheels location opened in Springfield, Illinois. The Sandy, Utah store opened September 29, 2012. More stores are planned for Kansas City, Kansas' Village West and Rochester, Minnesota's Apache Mall. [5]
On December 3, 2012 Scheels announced that they would be opening the company's new flagship store in Overland Park, Kansas in the Corbin Park development. The store will be a 222,000-square-foot, two-story building. CEO Steve Scheel said that he has grand plans for the interior of the store. Customers will enter the store under a 16,000-gallon aquarium, complete with a coral reef and scuba divers to feed the fish daily. A 65-foot, 16-car Ferris wheel also will be in the store, in addition to sport simulators and a walk of U.S. presidents. Scheels intends to hire 425 to 450 employees for their new flagship store with plans to open June 25th or 26th of 2015. [6]
Political Activism and Company's Tea Party Affiliation
Scheels' CEO, Steve D. Scheel, and president, Steve M. Scheel, are prominent community leaders and active supporters of Tea Party and Republican causes (their campaign donations[7] have supported political leaders such as Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann, and George W. Bush). The Scheels brand has also been used to promote political causes. In September 2009, Scheel hosted a Tea Party rally at his flagship store in Fargo, ND.[8] The family's activism has created controversy for the Scheels chain.[9]
The Scheels Outfitter Brand
Scheels Outfitters is a premium brand exclusive to Scheels. Merchandise is designed for field experts by "Scheels Experts."[10] This includes gear for camping, fishing, and hunting.
See also
- Academy Sports + Outdoors
- Bass Pro Shops
- Cabela's
- Dick's Sporting Goods
- Gander Mountain
- Sportsman's Warehouse
References
- ^ About Scheels - scheelssports.com
- ^ http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/214823/
- ^ Scheels locations - scheelssports.com
- ^ New 295,000-square-foot (27,400 m2) Sparks, Nevada store opened in 2008 - scheelssports.com
- ^ http://www.postbulletin.com/business/scheels-store-gets-ok-from-planning-and-zoning/article_f91c5304-e18e-5a4d-b304-aac90741361d.html Scheels store gets OK from Planning and Zoning - Rochester Post-Bulletin
- ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/kansascity/news/2012/12/03/scheels-in-corbin-park-will-be.html?page=all
- ^ [1] - FEC.gov
- ^ [2] - The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead
- ^ [3] - Prairie Blog
- ^ Scheels Outfitters - scheelssports.com
External links
