Brunswick Bowling Products this morning announced that it will acquire the assets of Classic Products Corp., including its four distribution warehouses, inventory, receivables, payables and operational systems, and will transition to exclusive distribution of Brunswick’s Aftermarket and Consumer product lines while continuing to provide distribution for all current brands and products for the United States bowling market through Classic Bowling Products starting in May 2025.
The planned acquisition includes the four distribution warehouses located in Fort Wayne, Indiana; Largo, Florida; Garland, Texas, and Henderson, Nevada.
“Classic Products and its team of outstanding employees have a strong history with servicing the needs of bowling centers, pro shops and retailers,” said Corey Dykstra, Chief Executive Officer of Brunswick Bowling Products. “We look forward to driving continuous improvement and enhanced efficiency for the bowling industry while continuing the tradition of providing outstanding support for the bowling centers, pro shops and retailers across the United States.”
Classic Products’ current owners — Mike Eid, Shawn Spade and Jimmy Land — will remain in their present leadership roles and maintain responsibility for the new “Classic Bowling Products” division for Brunswick Bowling Products.
“This acquisition allows for a smooth transition for Classic Products, our employees and our customers, and I believe that Brunswick Bowling Products is the right partner to continue investing in the people and resources to develop an outstanding distribution model that will support the bowling industry for many years to come,” said Eid.
Key points of the acquisition:
• The plan is for Classic Bowling Products to remain an independent operation as a full-line bowling products distributor supporting bowling centers, pro shops and retailers across the United States, with all the current brands and product lines.
• Current Brunswick distributors may purchase Brunswick Aftermarket and Consumer product lines through April 30, 2025, and may continue to sell these products beyond this date as they liquidate inventory.
• Classic’s four warehouse locations will remain, with plans for a new headquarters warehouse and office in Fort Wayne. There also are plans to add a fifth warehouse location in the northeast region of the United States.
• Brunswick Bowling Products will take ownership of Classic Products Corp. assets, and Classic Bowling Products will continue “business-as-usual” operations with no disruptions to product availability, service or support.
• Brunswick will be retaining Classic Products’ employees and investing in additional resources.
• The deal will have no impact on Brunswick’s product warranties or its Rewards Plus program.
The bowling distributorship business has experienced a great deal of consolidation in recent decades, essentially mirroring the decline in league bowling membership and the number of “serious bowlers” who make multiple purchases over the course of a season. It’s a business that depends largely on volume, and as volume decreased in the consumer products sector, even some long-established distributors found it difficult to survive, prompting a number of acquisitions — but none the size of the deal announced today.
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