This morning’s Globe and Mail has a feature story on Sail Outdoors which is the newest entrant to Ontario’s retail sporting goods landscape. A big box retailer based out of Quebec, Sail is the latest juggernaut small retailers like us have to respond to – and we are certain it will not be the last. The last big box retailer that came to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was Bass Pro in 2003 and at the time it scared the heck out of us. We were just entering our fifth year in business and finally getting our feet under us for the first time when Bass Pro announced they were opening. After an initial panic attack I scraped the money together to attend the Fly Fishing Retailer’s Trade Show held in Denver that year with the intent of getting as much advice as possible from fellow fly shop owners in attendance. I ended hijacking one of the breakfast sessions when I stood to ask a question, as I said at the time, “Not so much for the members of the speaker’s panel but rather for the 200+ other people in the room.” I went on to explain where I was from, that Bass Pro had announced they were coming to the GTA and asked two questions. First, had any other fly shop owner been in a similar position and secondly, if so, what they had done in response. I recall clearly the comments I heard that morning and what it came down to was this: the entrance of Big Box retailers to a market does not cause the demise of small fly shops but it hastens the demise of poorly run businesses. The other thing I heard loud and clear is that Big Box retailers cannot provide the customer service you find in a good small retailer. They do not do customer returns or special orders – but we do.
Our current circumstances are similar to what we faced in 2003. We are just now getting our feet back under us after the crash of September 2008 and Sail is the new Goliath with whom we have to do battle. I went to Ottawa a few months ago to visit their store there before they opened in Vaughan and what I saw made me feel a bit more comfortable. Sail has a nice loking fly fishing section in their stores but they do not have the scope or depth of inventory we carry. For example, they carry Simms waders, wading jackets and boots but only in the basic size run of small, medium, large and extra large. If a customer needs a medium king they can’t buy it at Sail. If a customer has a warranty problem with a purchase at a Big Box retailer they also have to deal with the manufacturer directly. If a customer has a question they need answered the people behind the counter often do not have the knowledge or expertise to answer it. That is not the case if you are shopping at WILSON’S.
So with Sail planning to open a third store in the GTA this spring at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke and a fourth in Burlington, under the circumstances you might be asking yourself why we are even considering opening another store? Sail has millions of dollars to invest overnight in stock they can sell at a discount but our store’s inventory has been slowly built up over the years through the efforts of our team in the store and our owner whose income is earned solely through his ‘day job’ in commercial real estate. The odds are not exactly stacked in our favour but every member of our team believes in our shared vision to make WILSON’S the best independent fly fishing outfitter in Canada. To reach this goal we have to continue to build the business and our customer base and the best way to do this is to focus on expanding our guiding and school program. The quickest way to do that is to open a second WILSON’S Fly Shop on the banks of the Grand River and the recent closing of Grand River Troutfitters in Fergus has unexpectedly presented us that opportunity.
The last three years in particular have been incredibly stressful and, as we mentioned in a previous blog entry, we can’t afford to do this – but we can’t afford to pass up the opportunity. You can call it crazy, stupid, foolhardy… or perhaps brave. We just know that in order to survive in this business a good defense is a good offense.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/courting-the-granola-and-gun-crowds/article2338622/
Queen Street West) but we will be in Unit 6 which is a smaller suite just to the west beside Hooligan’s Cafe. The space is currently occupied by Grand River Running who are vacating at the end of the month and we will be taking over the space on April 1st to do our fixturing. Our hope is to have a soft opening on Sunday April 15 with a “Fly Fishing Town Hall” for anyone wishing to attend where we will be soliciting advice from the fly fishing community on what it is you would like us to carry in the store. With your guidance we hope to get organized just in time for the trout opener on the 28th. We also hope everyone will attend our “Grand Opening” (pun intended) on Sunday May 27th because we will be having draws for prizes throughout the day and a barbecue manned by Randy Wilson and his crew!
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