The exterior of an R.P. Home & Harvest store is shown. A Minnesota-based retailer named Runnings is acquiring R.P. locations in the Midwest. R.P. has a store at 3660 Commerce Drive in Warsaw. Photo provided.

MARSHALL, MINN. — Runnings, a Minnesota-based retailer, recently reached an agreement to purchase R.P. Home & Harvest, a family-owned company with 22 locations and one distribution facility across Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin, including a store in Warsaw.

Upon completion of the acquisition, Runnings’ footprint will expand to 80 locations, serving customers in 12 states from New York to Montana.

“From the customers and the communities to the employees and vendors, we truly feel this is an excellent opportunity for everyone involved,” said Brian Odegaard, president of Runnings. “These stores and communities are very similar to the markets we presently serve and, after many discussions with R.P. Home & Harvest’s leadership, both companies knew this would be a great fit from a culture, values and operations standpoint.”

“It’s pretty amazing how quickly this all came together,” said Jason Plummer, president of R.P. Home & Harvest. “Just a couple of months ago this wasn’t even on the radar but when a win-win opportunity appears, it is an exciting thing. Runnings has been doing this for over 75 years, and they are one of the top farm, home and outdoor-store companies in America, extremely well-regarded by customers and competitors. We are both family-owned companies and that means a lot to us. This deal would not have come together if we did not have the utmost confidence that Runnings will do a phenomenal job for all stakeholders.”

The transaction between Runnings and R.P. Home & Harvest is scheduled to close in June. The stores will continue operating as R.P. Home & Harvest for a limited period of time as Runnings transitions the stores to their brand.

“I have personally visited many of the R.P. Home & Harvest stores, and I was thoroughly impressed, especially with some of the team members I encountered,” said Odegaard. “We can’t wait to add these stores and the R.P. Home & Harvest team members to our growing company.”

“There is a long list of employees, vendors and other hardworking people who brought these stores out of the ashes of a bad situation, literally going from empty stores to serving customers in a matter of weeks during a very tough economic time. I know the communities and customers appreciated this unbelievable effort, and this transaction with Runnings is only going to add the next great chapter to this story,” added Plummer. “My family is active in many of these markets through other business and civic activity, and I can’t wait to see Runnings take these stores to the next level.”