Christy Sports Expands Rocky Mountain Reach, Buys BootDoctors

In its second acquisition since being acquired itself by Norwest Equity Partners in October 2015, Christy Sports LLC acquired BootDoctors, a retailer of ski, snowboard and bike gear that currently operates out of three locations in Telluride, CO and two locations in Taos, NM.

Terms were not disclosed.

Randy England, director of marketing at Christy Sports, told SGB, ”BD allowed us the opportunity to expand our footprint in Telluride and venture into a new market, Taos.  They are a respected fixture in specialty ski retail with an outstanding reputation for customer service, like Christy Sports.”

BootDoctors sells bikes and water sports retail during the offseason while Christy Sports sells patio furniture at many locations during the summer, but both share a specialty in ski boot fitting. Founded in 1986, BootDoctors has been ranked in the top 60 ski shops in the country by Powder Magazine. Along with their retail and rental offerings, BootDoctors also provides guided tours during the summer months for fly fishing, hiking and biking enthusiasts.

The stores will continue to operate under the BootDoctors nameplate. Said England, “They have an outstanding reputation and we have no plans to deviate from their name or store culture.”

Daily operations of BootDoctors will continue as usual under its current leadership team and staff, with insight and guidance from Christy Sports.

“I have watched BootDoctors grow and thrive over the past 31 years, and I wanted to have a solid succession plan in place that would ensure that our staff and customers continue working with a family operation,” said Bob Gleason, co-owner of BootDoctors, in a statement. “I am confident that partnering with Christy Sports will enable our family values to continue to shine through in how we interact with our customers as well as help shape the future growth of BootDoctors.”

Christy, which opened in 1958, has three shops in Telluride. It has more than 50 locations in Colorado, Utah, Washington and New Mexico. In September 2016, Christy acquired the assets of Dual Sports Inc. of Bellevue, WA, including Sturtevant’s, Ski Mart and the SkiBonkers annual sale event. In September of this year, the retailer revealed it’s taking over the lease of of Vail Resorts-owned Colorado Ski & Golf in Arvada, CO.

Said England, “Christy Sports continues to operate with an outlook toward sustainable and healthy expansion. Future growth opportunities will be assessed on a case by case basis.”