Academy Sports + Outdoors Snapshot
Academy is near the head of the class among sporting goods retailers. It's one of the leading full-line sporting goods chains in the US with more than 135 Academy Sports + Outdoors stores in Texas and about 10 other southeastern states. Academy's low-frills stores carry clothing, shoes, and equipment for almost any sport and outdoor activity, including camping, golf, hunting, fishing, and boating. The company, which also operates a catalog and e-commerce site, dates back to a San Antonio tire shop opened by Max Gochman in 1938. The business moved into military surplus items and during the 1980s began focusing on sports and outdoor goods. Academy was acquired by the investment firm KKR in 2011.