by CINCINNATI, Ohio – Watson’s, one of the nation’s largest retailers of home recreational products and furnishings, has acquired Fort Myers, Florida-based Recreational Warehouse, a spa, pool, outdoor kitchen, pool heater and more, home specialty retailer.
The purchase of Recreational Warehouse further increases Watson’s market share in the space. Watson’s will add three southwest Florida corporate locations (Fort Myers, Naples and Port Charlotte) to the company’s current corporate and franchise footprint of 27 locations. In operation since 1968, Watson’s is one of the largest retailers of home recreational products in the nation, featuring outdoor furniture, spas, pools, saunas, billiards, indoor furnishings and more.
“The Florida market has been in our sights for quite some time”, said Erik Mueller, CEO Watson’s. “The Recreational Warehouse people, culture, business model and longevity in their markets ended up being the right fit for us. We are excited to welcome the Recreational Warehouse team into the Watson’s family and to continue to provide some fun and relaxation to the families and homes in Southwest Florida. We see an excellent opportunity for product category expansion within the business model and additional locations in the state.”
“We’re excited to join Watson’s! Our Recreational Warehouse team has built a great business in Southwest Florida over nearly 30 years. We viewed Watson’s as the perfect continuation for our business and we are confident that the commitment and investment by Watson’s will provide even greater opportunities for our dedicated staff and our great customers” says Craig Ecelbarger, CEO Recreational Warehouse.
Recreational Warehouse will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Watson’s, initially integrated as Recreational Warehouse by Watson’s, with a full transition to Watson’s branding over the next several years. Customers should expect to receive the same high quality of customer service and product they have come to expect from Recreational Warehouse and Watson’s.
Cincinnati based partners assisting in the acquisition included Katz Teller and Clark Schaefer.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
