Christy Sports Expands Into Montana with Acquisition Of Lone Mountain Sports
Christy Sports LLC, one of the leading outdoor specialty retailers and service providers in the U.S., has announced the acquisition of the assets of Lone Mountain Sports, a premier ski and snowboard specialty retail and rental operator located at 39 Black Eagle Road in Big Sky, Montana. The acquisition closed on December 17, 2021; financial terms were not disclosed.
Since 1973, Lone Mountain Sports has been the original family-owned and operated ski shop located slope-side at Big Sky Resort, offering the finest selection of high-performance rental and demo equipment along with a full retail shop and precision ski tuning and repair.
The new location aligns with Christy Sports’ key strategic initiative of growth through targeted acquisitions and establishes their presence at Big Sky Resort with a location in the base village. The Montana addition complements their premium network of locations and services available in Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Washington at over 60 metropolitan, resort community and on-mountain stores, and online at www.christysports.com. With a focused investment in their digital transformation, Christy Sports has incorporated a new rental inventory and fulfillment platform to better serve guests across their entire network, including integrating their newest shop at Big Sky this season.
“We are excited to enter our fifth state, Montana, as part of our expansion strategy to best serve our guests and employees everywhere they ski and ride in the Rockies and beyond,” said Matt Gold CEO at Christy Sports LLC. “We will be laser focused to continue Lone Mountain Sports’ tradition of great specialty service while leveraging Christy’s scale and capabilities to deliver inspiring outdoor experiences for customers at Big Sky. I want to thank Scott and Carey Foster for their trust and collaboration, and we look forward to a bright future contributing to the outdoor community and market in Montana.”
Christy Sports and Lone Mountain Sports share a common philosophy of always striving to provide excellent customer service, which played a key role in Scott and Carey Fosters’ decision to sell their business.
“Christy Sports shares our mantra that the best way to make customers happy is with competent and fun employees,” said Scott Foster, owner of Lone Mountain Sports. “Our employees are most important to us, and we asked that they be taken care of in this process and given a chance to continue our legacy of outstanding customer service to guests at Big Sky.”
Lone Mountain Sports will continue to operate in its current location, but the store will transition to the Christy Sports brand name.
“Our goal is to provide guests with the unparalleled convenience of our industry-leading network and digital capabilities at Big Sky, while also maintaining the passion for service of the Lone Mountain Sports team. We feel this is a perfect match and the right strategic entry point for us into the state of Montana,” said Gary Montes de Oca, VP of Business Development at Christy Sports.
