Approaching from a different angle
Company with two Labrador salmon angling lodges opens St. John’s outfitting shop
“I would classify us as a pretty comprehensive outdoor store. Our focus is fly fishing, but right there with it would be hiking, hunting. As we continue to grow, we’ll add the archery and firearms to the store. We’ll be full-service.” Tyrone Buckle
Atlantic Rivers Outfitting Company is taking a multifaceted approach to reeling in sales at its St. John’s shop.
A companion business to a pair of luxurious Labrador salmon angling lodges, the Water Street store opened last spring. In addition to its retail section, the store has a large meeting space where staff conduct free workshops.
“Even though it’s not a revenue-generating portion of our business, it will fuel new blood to the sports and that will probably turn into business,” explained acting manager Tyrone Buckle, seated in Atlantic Rivers’ comfortable meeting space. “But that’s not the goal. The goal is to build a community, and naturally from that, the store should profit.
“We’re seeing a lot of people wanting to learn how to fly tie, wanting to learn how to cast. Even inquiries about how do I catch a moose ... Those are some of the types of workshops we’re getting too.”
Buckle is also the director of operations for the internationally renowned LOOP Tackle brand in North America and South America. Chris Verbiski, co-discoverer of the Voisey’s Bay nickel mine, owns both LOOP Tackle and Atlantic Rivers, including the retail store and the two fishing lodges. LOOP’S Canadian home base is St. John’s, and the company was moving out of a leased property into the newly-built Water Street space when the vision for the retail store was first discussed.
“The thought was to have a LOOP showroom in that same facility,” Buckle explained. “As we started down that road, we bought this building and started designing what a LOOP showroom would look like, and the more we thought about it with the people going to the lodges, you want those extra few things that they may need as they go north fishing.
“As we started to think about bringing in some of those things, the store took on a shape of its own.”
WIDE SELECTION
The concept went from being just a showroom for LOOP Tackle gear to a place where outfitting enthusiasts could check off a variety of needs. Atlantic Rivers carries camouflage and clothing apparel that could look good whether you’re in the woods or at home, hiking and hunting boots and hunting and camping gear, amongst other items.
“I would classify us as a pretty comprehensive outdoor store,” Buckle said. “Our focus is fly fishing, but right there with it would be hiking, hunting. As we continue to grow, we’ll add the archery and firearms to the store. We’ll be full-service.”
The isolating nature of COVID-19 has increased interest in wide-open outdoor spaces. Atlantic Rivers intended to open the store last April, but had to wait until the following month as public health and safety restrictions were reduced.
“What we’ve noticed during COVID is people, where they can’t travel, are thinking, how can I entertain myself? How can I spend quality time with my family while still being here in Newfoundland? It’s not going to Disneyland or P.E.I. …
“We’re blessed. Newfoundland has some of the richest angling, hunting and hiking experiences in the world, and I think, luckily, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are reaching back to some traditional things that we used to do ... There’s a lot of beautiful places, and I think people are just really grabbing on to it now and realizing how much worth is there and how close to home some absolutely fantastic experiences are.”
Buckle also expects people have extra money to spend on outdoor recreation gear, since they’re not planning vacations elsewhere.
“That’s probably money you can take and invest in your family ... Maybe it’s a bike, maybe it’s a fly rod. And luckily for us, it’s been quite a few fly rods.”