Utica-based outdoor power equipment retailer Weingartz Supply Co. and Richmond-based powersports and outdoor power equipment retail and service provider Ball Equipment today announced a joint venture agreement to combine resources to maximize e-commerce opportunities in the outdoor equipment and powersports industries.
Under the agreement, both Ball’s and Weingartz’s e-commerce marketing and fulfillment operations will be consolidated and relocated to a newly acquired 45,000-square foot warehouse in Chesterfield Township. All e-commerce at the facility will continue to be independently owned by Ball and Weingartz, and sales will remain independent of both companies’ respective online sales channels.
“Finding a partner with Ball’s expertise in e-commerce while sharing common retail backgrounds and values has really been invigorating,” says Dan Weingartz, president of Weingartz. “Collaboration of our strengths and capabilities allows for very high expectations of growth together.”
Ball and Weingartz will form a new jointly owned entity, BW Retail Solutions, that will manage marketing, fulfillment, and customer service for both organizations’ e-commerce businesses. Chris Ball, vice president of Ball, will serve as CEO of the new venture. As part of the joint venture, Ball has also sold a minority share of its stock to Weingartz’s owners.
“Together our organizations combine more than 145 years of industry knowledge, experience, and trust in our communities,” says Ball. “We know that as retail environments change, we have to continue to innovate, diversify, and stand together with like-minded partners in order to be successful. This joint venture begins a new chapter in the long history of both family-owned companies.”
