Mountain Warehouse takes big step to conquer America

It may have started life with one shop in Swindon, but Mountain Warehouse, the high street chain whose outdoor clothing is beloved of hikers and dog walkers, is poised to take on even more of the American market after the British millionaire behind the brand bought a collapsed US rival.

Mark Neale, the chief executive, founder and owner of the British chain, has struck a deal to acquire Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) for £7.6 million, saving 100 jobs. Neale said he had been tracking the company for a “long time. EMS is such an iconic, well-established brand. I think it’s going to be a brilliant foothold for Mountain Warehouse in America.

“The US is by far the biggest outdoor market in the world. We’re building a global business, so we can’t ignore the US.”

Mountain Warehouse has been operating in North America for more than a decade through more than 50 stores, with the region contributing £65 million to the group’s annual sales.

Neale founded Mountain Warehouse in 1997, after previously running ventures making toys and greetings cards. Since then the chain has quietly conquered Britain’s outdoor clothing market, overtaking established chains such as Millets and Blacks with gear particularly favoured by middle-aged dog walkers.

The company’s success has turned Neale, who was born in Ebbw Vale and brought up in Abergavenny, into a multimillionaire. The tycoon, who is married to Michelle Feeney, the former boss of St Tropez, the tanning company, is worth £199 million, according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

The Welshman, who has a physics degree from Oxford University, is a serial entrepreneur. After several false starts, including an ill-fated rollerblade chain, he found a winning formula in Mountain Warehouse.

The company, which employs more than 3,700 people, recently revealed record revenue of £386 million for the year to February 25, up 4 per cent year-on-year and the highest in its 27-year history. It made pre-tax profits of £26.2 million. Its online business, which includes the Mountain Warehouse marketplace with more than 320 third-party brands selling products such as paddleboards and electric bikes, accounts for almost a third of revenue, up from just under a quarter before the pandemic.

The no-frills retailer has been expanding overseas. It now has 370 stores in nine countries, including America, Germany, the Netherlands and Australia, with plans to open another 50 next year.

EMS opened its first store in Wellesley, Massachusetts in 1967, and has gone on to form partnerships with leading brands including The North Face, Smartwool and Oboz, while also developing its own-label product range. The retailer, which operates a website and seven stores in the United States, has struggled under several ownership changes. It filed for Chapter 11 protection in June for the third time, amid what its owners described as a “liquidity crisis”. The company was bought by GoDigital Media from Frasers Group in 2022.

Neale said Mountain Warehouse, which will continue to operate EMS as a standalone brand within the group, could help the struggling retailer to regain its former prominence. “They haven’t really been nurtured and loved by people who understand the outdoor business and the outdoor customer,” he said. “I think we bring a deep understanding of the outdoor market.

“We want to stabilise it initially and then grow it again. At one point, they had over 100 shops and we’d definitely like it to get back there.”