EVERETT – Zumiez Inc. is buying a chain of skateboard-oriented stores, giving the rapidly expanding Everett-based retailer an additional 19 locations at once.
Fast Forward, with headquarters in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, has 16 stores in that state, two in Oklahoma and one in California.
Zumiez, which operates 180 stores, did not disclose how much it will pay for privately held Fast Forward, but it will fund the acquisition from cash on hand. The company believes the new stores could lift per-share earnings by up to 2 cents this year and by 8 to 9 cents next year.
Gerry Anderson, co-owner of Fast Forward, said the 22-year-old retailer aligns well with Zumiez, which sells sports clothing, equipment and accessories geared toward skateboarders, snowboarders and surfers.
“As far as all the apparel lines, the customers we address – you couldn’t get a closer fit, I think, than between us and Zumiez,” Anderson said.
Rick Brooks, president and chief executive officer of Zumiez, added in a statement that the acquisition gives his company “instant access” to customers in Texas. At present, Zumiez has just three stores there, two of which are located near Fast Forward stores.
Sara Hasan, an analyst at Seattle’s McAdams Wright Ragen Inc. who tracks Zumiez, agreed that the jump-start into Texas is a nice step forward as Zumiez continues to expand nationwide.
“It does seem like a really nice fit,” she said. “They have primarily the same brands, the same bent, the same style.”
Within a year and a half of the deal’s completion in the coming months, the Fast Forward stores will be converted into Zumiez locations.
On Tuesday, after one analyst downgraded his outlook for Zumiez’s stock, the company’s shares lost $2.29, or nearly 7 percent, to close at $32.24. The company is scheduled to announce its first-quarter earnings today.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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