Outdoor retail brand Macpac has been bought by Australian retail group Super Retail for $144 million this week.

Super Retail, which also owns Supercheap Auto, plans to combine Macpac with the other outdoor retailer it owns, called Rays.

Macpac has 54 stores across Australia and New Zealand, while Rays has 15 stores in Australia, which will be combined under the Macpac brand. Macpac’s existing management team will lead the combined business.

Super Retail CEO Peter Birtles said it planned to open new stores and grow the online side of the business.

“The Macpac business has performed extremely well over recent years, yet there remains a significant opportunity to grow the business in the near future through opening new stores and growing its digital and commercial channels,” Birtles said. “The heritage of the business and the quality of its products are assets that have not yet been fully leveraged, and we believe there is an opportunity to develop an experience for customers that brings these assets to the fore.”

However, the market did not react well to the move. Super Retail’s share price fell 15 per cent following the announcement on Tuesday.

Macpac was founded in Christchurch in 1973 and opened its first retail store in 2008. It is expected to generate about $95 million in sales in the year to March.

Australian venture capital firm CHAMP Ventures acquired a 90 per cent stake in Macpac for about $74 million in December 2015. Super Retail has now acquired all of the shares in the business.

Super Retail said it had been discussing acquiring the business for the past five months.

The acquisition takes effect on March 31.

Macpac has been approached for comment.