Eastern Mountain Sports

Eastern Mountain Sports was founded in 1967 in Wellesley, Massachusetts, by two outdoor enthusiasts, Alan McDonough and Roger Furst. The first shop carried the Gerry equipment line and downhill skis; by 1968 the company had expanded into a 10,000-square-foot store on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. Over the following decades EMS passed through a long chain of owners - The Franklin Mint, Warner Communications, the Brenninkmeijer family's American Retail Group, J.H. Whitney & Company, Versa Capital Management and UK retailer Sports Direct - and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection three separate times: 2016, 2017, and again in 2024. In September 2024, British outdoor retailer Mountain Warehouse bought EMS for $10 million. As of late 2025 EMS operates six physical stores in the northeastern United States alongside its e-commerce site.