WESTBROOK, Maine — Forty-four years after opening its first store in The Maine Mall, regional retail sporting goods company Olympia Sports has been acquired.
Running and active lifestyle brand retailer JackRabbit announced Tuesday its purchase of the Westbrook, Maine-headquartered business' stores.
According to an Oct. 8 release from JackRabbit, the deal consists of certain assets and liabilities, including Olympia's online presence and brand.
JackRabbit will continue to operate the acquired stores under the Olympia Sports banner, according to a statement from company CEO Bill Kirkendall.
Olympia opened its first store in 1975 at The Maine Mall in South Portland. From there, it grew to more than 200 locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Mid-West, with stores from Ohio and Virginia to Presque Isle.
"We are pleased to partner and work with JackRabbit and CriticalPoint Capital on this transaction," said Olympia Sports President Ed Manganello. "Olympia Sports, the Manganello family and our dedicated employees have tirelessly served our customers and communities for nearly five decades.
"We would like to thank everyone who has been involved in our success - especially our employees. We have accomplished great things together. We look forward to transitioning Olympia to the JackRabbit family and believe they will be outstanding stewards of the Olympia brand and its long-standing customers and vendors."
A portfolio company of Manhattan Beach, California-based CriticalPoint Capital, this is JackRabbit's fourth investment in the last two years — most recently, it announced the acquisitions of Nashville-based Rhythm Running in August 2018, and Florida-based Clever Training in May 2018.
"We are thrilled to welcome the Olympia Sports brand into the JackRabbit family," Kirkendall said. "Olympia has been a leader and household name in providing premium athletic specialty brands and sporting goods in the Northeast for 45 years."
It wasn't immediately clear if any jobs in Maine would be lost as a result of the acquisition. A person close to an employee or employees with more information on the matter said the company's distribution plant was slated to close by the end of January, but NEWS CENTER Maine hadn't yet independently confirmed through JackRabbit if that information was true.
The monetary value of the acquisition was not disclosed.
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