Scheels

Scheels traces to 1902, when German immigrant Frederick A. Scheel used $300 earned from his first potato harvest as a down payment on a small hardware store in Sabin, Minnesota. The business stayed in hardware for decades until 1972, when stores began adding athletic shoes and clothing, starting with a new location at West Acres Mall in Fargo, North Dakota. Steve D. Scheel pushed his father, Fred B. Scheel, to commit to sporting goods over hardware, and by 1980 the chain had converted entirely to the sporting-goods format. The company's signature feature, an indoor Ferris wheel, debuted at a store in Omaha, Nebraska, and has since become a recurring element in newer Scheels locations alongside aquariums with working scuba divers and presidential sculptures. Under Steve D. Scheel's leadership, the employee-owned company grew to more than 13,000 associates and over 30 stores across 16 states, including some of the largest single sporting-goods stores in the United States.