Outdoor/Adventure/Recreation Companies

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December 03, 2024

by a searcher from The University of Chicago - Booth School of Business in Oakland, CA, USA

Has anyone acquired or tried to acquire businesses in the outdoor/adventure/recreation space? I am thinking about larger tour operators, whether boat/plane/hiking/fishing etc, anything outdoors that has some scale (EBITDA $500K+), but am not interested in retail stores. I am curious if anyone has any experience in this space I could connect with.

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Reply by a searcher
in Costa Mesa, CA, USA
I've looked at a couple and really like this space, especially when you find a niche. One I liked the most had a remote back office with global operations, which sounded like a dream. But they were absolutely wrecked by COVID, something all of these in this space likely experienced. Even the startup I had made in 2019 in the outdoor space was killed by COVID, something to think about if you're going to leverage something like this.


There's one listed on Rejigg that sounds like could be a great fit since you're in SF area. DM me and I'll send you the info.
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Reply by a searcher
from The University of Chicago in Santa Cruz, CA, USA
I have looked at several
(1) Product companies (not your focus) are mostly wrecked post COVID (inventory glut, bad planning###-###-#### likely back to normal, so you might be buying bottom, but most sellers waiting out.
(2) Tour operators in my small sample seem to have a lot of bad reporting and intermixed personal finances, and (for me) end up below 500K threshold. proceed with caution
(3) just like a W2 job, fun industries attract more entrants and depress earnings. YMMV
PS - also bay area and booth alum if you want to connect
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