A ban on caribou hunting in much of the Northwest Territories has helped push a Yellowknife sporting goods store to Central Alberta.
Wolverine Guns and Tackle operated in the northern city for five years before closing in January. Owner Bryan Rendell said the decision to cease operations was motivated in part by the hunting restrictions implemented by the N.W.T. government this year.
Ongoing difficulties finding staff and fallout from the economic downturn were also factors, he said.
“My sales actually were down 40 per cent here last year due to the drop in the economy. There were no Americans coming here to hunt.”
Rather than bid farewell to sports retail, Rendell opted to relocate his business. He considered options like Slave Lake and Grande Prairie before settling on the Red Deer region.
“I researched this pretty hard,” said Rendell, explaining that Central Alberta appealed to him because of the dense population and market opportunity here.
He settled on 10,000 square feet in the former Kitchen & Patio premises at Red Deer County’s Liberty Crossing. An April 3 opening is now being targeted.
With about four times the space that it had in Yellowknife, the new Wolverine Guns and Tackle store will boast an indoor archery range with four, 25-yard lanes. A broad selection of bows and related equipment will be in stock, said Rendell.
“We’re probably going to have 500 to 600 guns in the store at any given time,” he added.
“Anything from long rifles to handguns.”
Ammunition, reloading equipment and other accessories and supplies will also be sold.
The “Tackle” part of the business’s name will be represented by a full line of fly-fishing gear and terminal tackle.
In total, Wolverine Guns and Tackle is expected to have about a million dollars worth of inventory, said Rendell. It will include tents, sleeping bags, camp stoves, lanterns, smokers and even camouflage clothing for men, women and children.
“Women are getting more involved in archery and fly-fishing and things like that,” he said of the store’s focus on both male and female customers.
Rendell, who has lived in Yellowknife for 25 years, also operates a glass business there. So he’s entrusted the day-to-day operations of Wolverine Guns and Tackle to Jamie Osmond, who ran Backcountry Sports in Red Deer until it closed last spring.
“I tried to get him to move to Yellowknife a year ago,” said Rendell, who met Osmond while hunting in Africa three years ago.
“We actually grew up probably 10 miles from each other (in Newfoundland) and didn’t know each other.”
Rendell hopes to travel to Red Deer on a monthly basis.
“I would love to be there every day,” he said, acknowledging that outdoors sports are his passion.
“I’ve been hunting since I was probably six years old, if not younger.”
Rendell is optimistic about the prospects for Wolverine Guns and Tackle, pointing to the strengthening Alberta economy and growing popularity of outdoor sports like fly-fishing. A knowledgeable staff and commitment to service should help the business compete against big box stores, he said.
“No matter what part of the store you go into, you’re going to get somebody who knows what they’re talking about,” agreed Osmond.
hrichards@www.reddeeradvocate.com