Backwoods signs letter of intent to buy Dynamic Earth in Springfield, Mo.

AUSTIN, Texas (AUGUST 1, 2014) — Backwoods today announced the signing of a letter of intent with Dynamic Earth, a specialty outdoor retail store Springfield, Missouri. A period of due diligence is now underway with an anticipated acquisition date of September 15, 2014. The doors will remain open throughout the due diligence and transition periods. Both family owned companies, Dynamic Earth opened in November 2002, and Backwoods originally opened in 1973.

With the anticipated purchase of Dynamic Earth, we are thrilled to contemplate a presence in Springfield, Missouri. We plan to maintain the atmosphere and culture of the store and continue the successes of the company’s history in this community. Our intent is to keep much of the customer experience the same.” Jennifer Mull, CEO of Backwoods, said. “When the company’s owner, Matt O’Reilly, made the decision to sell the store, we began discussions and found a lot of common ground between our two companies philosophies. As our discussions continued, it made more and more sense for Backwoods to acquire Dynamic Earth. Our thoughts about customer experience are quite similar and both companies strive to inspire people to lead active, adventurous lives—this provided a lot of synergy between our two companies. We look forward to learning more about the existing customers, working with the Dynamic Earth staff, and growing the brand in such a well established location for outdoor recreation.”

A single-store shop located in Springfield, Dynamic Earth first opened its doors on November 13, 2002. Dynamic Earth has grown from a new and used hard-goods only store and has since expanded twice to be a full line specialty store focused on core segments such as paddling, climbing, adventure travel, sportswear, and sustainable lifestyle options. In order to accommodate Dynamic Earth’s growth as well as the growth of their sister company Dynamic Body, Matt OReilly and his sister Lindsay constructed the Green Circle Shopping Center in 2008; the countries first LEED Platinum commercial retail shopping center which earned Dynamic Earth SNEWS magazines Sustainable Retailer of the Year in 2009. Since that time, Matt has been pursuing other commercial and community development projects and has decided to move his focus to new continuing endeavors along that path “I’ve had the privilege to have a fantastic team which has allowed me to develop and pursue other ventures in the last several years while still fostering Dynamic Earth as a strong community retailer. In selling my business I had very specific ideas about an ideal successor to be sure that the staff and the customers continued to be taken care of. ”Matt O’Reilly, owner of Dynamic Earth, said. “I could not have hoped for a better fit than Backwoods and am very excited about the future of Dynamic Earth. I believe they will be better operators than we ever were and our outdoor community and customers will be better off because of it. It’s a company I’m very thrilled to pass the torch to.”

About Backwoods
Founded in 1973, Backwoods is an Austin-based, family owned and operated outdoor gear and apparel store. Backwoods’ corporate office is located at 3300 North I-35, Suite 149, Austin Texas 78705. With nine locations throughout Texas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Kansas, Backwoods has sold quality products with exceptional customer service for more than 40 years. Backwoods offers equipment and expertise to help customers fulfill their travel plans with a range of adventures such as hiking, trekking, fishing, climbing, camping, trail running, kayaking, paddling, adventure trips and yoga. In 2004, Backwoods took their mission a step further and created Backwoods Adventures, a travel company that provides unique, personal, first-rate experiences. Backwoods Adventures is currently planning trips on six different continents. For more information go to www.backwoods.com.