Scheels
Scheels is an employee-owned sporting goods retailer operating approximately 37–38 large-format stores and an e-commerce platform across the U.S. It sells sporting goods, outdoor equipment, athletic apparel, and footwear under hundreds of brands, supplemented by a co-branded Visa credit card program.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1902
- HeadquartersFargo, United States
- Headcount5,001–10,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Scheels does
Scheels (legal entity Scheels All Sports, Inc.) is an employee-owned sporting goods retailer founded in 1902 and headquartered in Fargo, North Dakota. The company operates approximately 37–38 large-format physical stores (typically 200,000–300,000+ square feet) across multiple U.S. states, complemented by a direct-to-consumer e-commerce platform at scheels.com and mobile applications on iOS and Google Play. Its stores feature experiential elements such as indoor Ferris wheels, 75+ specialty shops, and dining options, positioning the format as a destination rather than a transactional sporting goods retailer. The company is privately held and employee-owned, with leadership including founder Frederick M. Scheel and President/CEO Steve M. Scheel.
Scheels offers a deep assortment across sporting goods, outdoor equipment, athletic apparel, footwear, hunting and shooting gear, optics, archery, team sports, fitness equipment, hydration, and nutrition. The assortment spans hundreds of brands including Nike, HOKA, YETI, Stanley, SITKA, First Lite, Under Armour, Carhartt, and Patagonia, alongside Scheels-branded exclusives and co-branded collaborations such as the HydroJug x SCHEELS Midnight Floral Traveler Tumbler. Technology and platform components include the MySCHEELS account platform (purchase history, registry/wishlist, digital gift card storage), real-time inventory and pickup flows, and a Visa co-branded credit card program issued through First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO) that delivers 3–5 points per $1 at Scheels, special financing, and automatic $25 gift card rewards. The company maintains third-party integrations with Adyen (payments and emerging AI-commerce), Id.me (age and identity verification for regulated products), and Klaviyo (SMS marketing automation).
Scheels generates revenue primarily through retail merchandise sales at standard retail margins across physical stores and e-commerce, supplemented by transaction-based interchange economics from the SCHEELS Visa card program and higher-margin exclusive/private-label merchandise. The go-to-market is direct-to-consumer, with new stores serving as anchor tenants in mixed-use developments (e.g., the NFM-anchored CedarView project in Cedar Park, TX). Forward expansion includes Cedar Park, TX (August 2026), Oklahoma City (Spring 2028), and Blaine, MN (Spring 2028), each contributing 250,000–300,000+ square feet of retail footprint and hundreds of jobs per location.
Scheels firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Scheels
- Legal name
- Scheels All Sports, Inc.
- Website
- https://scheels.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1902
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 5,001–10,000 employees
- Short description
- Scheels is an employee-owned sporting goods retailer operating approximately 37–38 large-format stores and an e-commerce platform across the U.S. It sells sporting goods, outdoor equipment, athletic apparel, and footwear under hundreds of brands, supplemented by a co-branded Visa credit card program.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Scheels industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Sporting Goods Retail
- NAICS
- Sporting Goods Retailers (45911), Sporting Goods, Hobby, and Musical Instrument Retailers (4591)
- SIC
- Retail-Miscellaneous Retail (5900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sporting Goods & Outdoor Inventory-led Online Retailers (CRAFADAJ)
Keywords
Where Scheels is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fargo
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
Scheels business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Retail Merchandise Sales: SCHEELS generates the majority of revenue through retail sales of sporting goods, clothing, footwear, hunting gear, outdoor equipment, and accessories across physical store locations and its e-commerce platform. The company operates on a standard retail margin model, buying products from brands and selling to consumers at marked-up prices.
- SCHEELS Visa Co-Branded Credit Card: Revenue from interchange fees and partnership economics on the SCHEELS Visa credit card issued through First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). Card holders earn reward points redeemable at SCHEELS; the retailer benefits from transaction fees and Visa network economics.
- SCHEELS Private Label / Exclusives: Sale of SCHEELS-branded products (Scheels Outfitters) and exclusive collaborations/collections, such as the HydroJug x SCHEELS Midnight Floral Traveler Tumbler, generating higher margin on proprietary merchandise.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Standard retail pricing with seasonal promotions |
| Subscription | Monthly | SCHEELS Visa Credit Card Rewards Program |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Cardmember Appreciation Event Tiered Discounts |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Scheels product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Scheels is an employee-owned sporting goods retailer operating large-format experiential retail stores (typically 200,000-300,000+ sq ft) alongside a direct e-commerce platform (scheels.com). The company sells sporting goods, outdoor equipment, hunting gear, athletic apparel, footwear, fitness equipment, drinkware, and nutrition products from hundreds of brands including Nike, HOKA, adidas, SITKA, First Lite, YETI, and Stanley, with supplementary revenue from the co-branded SCHEELS Visa credit card program and exclusive private-label merchandise.
Product overview
SCHEELS is an employee-owned sporting goods retailer operating both physical stores and an e-commerce platform (scheels.com). The company offers an extensive portfolio of sporting goods, outdoor equipment, and athletic apparel across multiple categories. Core offerings include hunting gear (clothing, footwear, optics, trail cameras, archery, treestands, blinds), team sports equipment (football, volleyball, soccer, golf, baseball), fitness equipment, and footwear from major athletic brands. The company operates dedicated retail locations with an experiential focus (including attractions like indoor Ferris wheels) and offers digital services through its website and mobile application. SCHEELS also provides financial products through its co-branded Visa credit card program and sells exclusive brand collaborations and products such as the HydroJug x SCHEELS Midnight Floral collection. The product portfolio spans hundreds of brands including Nike, HOKA, adidas, Under Armour, YETI, and specialty outdoor labels like SITKA, First Lite, and Crispi.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- SCHEELS Visa: Co-branded credit card program offered in partnership with First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO), providing rewards and special financing for cardmembers.
Products and services
- Hunting Gear
- Team Sports Equipment
Quantifiable outcome
- 38th store planned by 2028 with Oklahoma City expansion bringing 500+ jobs
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Scheels
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Scheels technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration3 records
Feature3 records
Scheels partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core, flagship and minor.
- NFM (Nebraska Furniture Mart)coreSCHEELS is the second-largest retail tenant in the NFM-anchored CedarView development in Cedar Park, TX. The partnership positions SCHEELS as a major anchor tenant within a mixed-use development anchored by Nebraska Furniture Mart, benefiting from shared infrastructure investments and cross-shopping traffic.
- AdyenflagshipSCHEELS is an early participant merchant in Adyen Agentic, a suite of modular APIs enabling enterprise retailers to integrate with conversational AI commerce platforms (Agentic Feed for product catalogs, Agentic Cart for checkout, Agentic Payments for transactions). This partnership positions Scheels at the forefront of AI-driven commerce integration.
- STEPRminorSTEPR, the category leader in home stair-climbing equipment, partnered with Scheels alongside Rogue Fitness, ABT, and Johnson Fitness to expand into more than 450 Dick's Sporting Goods locations. Scheels serves as a retail channel for STEPR's fitness equipment.
- Stoke ShoesminorStoke Shoes, a sneaker startup targeting men aged 25-54, secured retail commitments from Scheels alongside Rack Room, Academy, and Shoe Sensation for its FoMo and Versa styles. Scheels is one of several national chains carrying Stoke Shoes in its initial retail expansion.
- Bass Pro Shops and Cabela'scorePacBak announced strategic retail partnerships with SCHEELS, Bass Pro Shops, and Cabela's to expand distribution of outdoor gear products. SCHEELS carries PacBak's full product line at select store locations. The three-outlet partnership gives PacBak broad coverage in the outdoor specialty retail channel.
- Stanley 1913coreStanley 1913 distributes its sports-themed drinkware products (Quencher tumblers, Messi, Caitlin Clark, Arsenal, PSG collections) through Scheels alongside Dick's Sporting Goods, Academy, and JD Sports. The partnership translates Stanley's cultural relevance into retail scale.
- City of Springfield, Illinois / Sports Park DevelopmentcoreSCHEELS Sports Park in Springfield, Illinois is a $67 million project anchoring a youth sports complex development. The partnership between SCHEELS and municipal development authorities exemplifies public-private partnership models in youth sports infrastructure, with SCHEELS serving as an anchor tenant driving economic development.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves10 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Scheels competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
Direct peers
- REI Co-op: Member-owned outdoor and sporting goods co-op with strong omnichannel and brand authority. Competes with SCHEELS on outdoor apparel, footwear, hiking, and premium brand assortment; both operate large-format experiential flagships.
- Bass Pro Shops: Private outdoor and hunting-focused mega-retailer (with Cabela's) operating destination-format stores. Overlaps directly with SCHEELS' hunting, optics, outdoor gear, and large-format experiential positioning. PacBak and Stanley partnerships span both retailers.
- Academy Sports + Outdoors: Public sporting goods and outdoor retailer with $5B+ revenue and 280+ stores, particularly dense in Texas and the South. Direct competitor for hunting, outdoor, team sports, and footwear; SCHEELS' Texas expansion (Cedar Park, OKC) directly enters Academy's home turf.
- Hibbett Sports: Regional sporting goods retailer (now JD Sports-owned) focused on team sports, footwear, and apparel in smaller-format stores. Overlaps with SCHEELS on footwear (HOKA, Nike) and team sports equipment at smaller scale.
- Sportsman's Warehouse: Specialty hunting, fishing, and outdoor retailer with ~120 stores. Direct competitor in firearms-accessories, hunting, optics, and outdoor gear categories that anchor SCHEELS' hunting assortment.
- Dick's Sporting Goods: Public, $13B+ revenue sporting goods retailer with 730+ House of Sport mega-format stores. Direct competitor across hunting, team sports, footwear, and apparel; overlapping experiential retail and loyalty programs make it SCHEELS' closest public peer.
Emerging players
- Backcountry: Online outdoor and active-lifestyle retailer owned by TSG Consumer Partners. Competes with SCHEELS on premium outdoor apparel, footwear, and gear via e-commerce without a comparable physical mega-store footprint.
- Decathlon: Global sporting goods retailer with private-label assortment across team, outdoor, fitness, and cycling. Emerging U.S. presence competes with SCHEELS on price-value and category breadth, particularly in team sports and fitness equipment.
- Public Lands: Outdoor-specialty DTC retailer (backed by REI) selling hiking, camping, hunting, and fishing gear. Overlaps with SCHEELS' outdoor and hunting categories through digital channels without a comparable physical footprint.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Scheels social profiles
Digital presenceScheels compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Scheels financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Scheels leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Scheels funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Scheels M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Scheels
What does Scheels do?
Scheels is an employee-owned sporting goods retailer operating large-format experiential retail stores (typically 200,000-300,000+ sq ft) alongside a direct e-commerce platform (scheels.com). The company sells sporting goods, outdoor equipment, hunting gear, athletic apparel, footwear, fitness equipment, drinkware, and nutrition products from hundreds of brands including Nike, HOKA, adidas, SITKA, First Lite, YETI, and Stanley, with supplementary revenue from the co-branded SCHEELS Visa credit card program and exclusive private-label merchandise.
Is Scheels a public or private company?
Scheels is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Scheels founded?
Scheels was founded in 1902. It employs 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Where is Scheels based?
Scheels is headquartered in Fargo, United States, in the North America region.
How does Scheels make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Retail Merchandise Sales are the primary driver. The others are SCHEELS Visa Co-Branded Credit Card and SCHEELS Private Label / Exclusives.
Who are Scheels's main competitors?
JD Sports is listed as an others. Direct peers are REI Co-op, Bass Pro Shops, Academy Sports + Outdoors, Hibbett Sports, Sportsman's Warehouse and Dick's Sporting Goods. Emerging players are Backcountry, Decathlon and Public Lands.
Does Scheels have an API?
No public API is recorded for Scheels.
What industry is Scheels in?
Scheels's product category is Sporting Goods Retail. Its primary akta.pro industry code is CRAFADAJ, Sporting Goods & Outdoor Inventory-led Online Retailers. Its NAICS code is 45911 and its SIC code is 5900.