Sierra Trading Post

Sierra Trading Post began in 1986 as a small mail-order operation, starting with a hand-drawn, 16-page catalogue offering brand-name overstocks, closeouts, and factory seconds at deep discounts. The business built its model around buying up excess inventory from outdoor and apparel brands and reselling it to customers at 35 to 70 percent off original retail prices, a treasure-hunt format that built a loyal mail-order following through the 1990s. The company launched e-commerce in 1999 and grew quickly on the back of online sales, eventually surpassing $200 million in annual revenue and adding physical outlet stores in Wyoming, Idaho, and Nevada alongside its catalogue and website business, with its main operations based in Cheyenne, Wyoming, including a call center also located in Cody. On December 21, 2012, The TJX Companies — parent of T.J. Maxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods — acquired Sierra Trading Post for approximately $200 million, taking on its Cheyenne office, fulfillment center, photography studios, both call centers, and its four outlet stores. Under TJX, the business was later folded into TJX's off-price retail structure and eventually rebranded as Sierra, continuing to sell discounted outdoor, athletic, and lifestyle gear both online and through physical outlet locations across the United States, carrying forward the original overstock-and-closeout model that built the company.