Arizona Hiking Shack relocated to larger Phoenix space
Post on: 2011-09-05 By: admin
After looking for a new location in northeast Phoenix for about five years, Arizona Hiking Shack reopened this summer in east Phoenix.
The Shack, as the store is known, sells equipment for hikers, climbers, cavers and others involved in outdoor sports.
"We're a true specialty shop, which means all the sales are users of the products we sell," store co-owner Dale Stewart said. "We live and breathe what we love doing."
The nearly 40-year-old business was in a roughly 3,000-square-foot building at 11649 N. Cave Creek Road, near Cactus Road, until it closed in June. it's The new 11,000-square-foot location is at 3244 E. Thomas Road.
"It's been exciting in the sense that we're going to have more space for more merchandise for the next five to six months," said Jim Holt, who works in sales in the shop's footwear department.
Stewart had hoped to stay in northeast Phoenix.
"He (Stewart) looked for quite a few years and couldn't find anything," Holt said. "The market was crazy for a while and even when it cooled off, he still couldn't find anything."
Edward Gomillion, executive director of the North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, said many chamber businesses are relocating, but have managed to stay within north Phoenix.
"A lot of the feedback I'm getting is that the landlords are not willing to negotiate, so they (tenants) are moving to newer, heavier-trafficked areas for the same or a lower lease," he said. "If they (Shack owners) had specific requirements, a building that fit them might not have been available in north Phoenix."
Although the new location has been open for about two months, the moving process isn't complete.
"We're still digging out boxes and getting squared away to do business," Holt said. "We're not a chain, so we don't have the resources and deep pockets to have someone do everything for us."
Shack owners wanted a bigger store to accommodate its growing water sports rental business. But an expansion in merchandise might not start immediately.
"Most of the changes won't happen until the first of the year," Holt said. "When we made the move here, we'd already purchased goods from August to December based on our old square footage."
Moving away from the Phoenix Mountains Preserve is not expected to affect business. The location does not appear to be a major factor for shoppers, Holt said.
"Most of the people who came in weren't coming right off the mountain to begin with," he said. "For some of the folks, they might not be looking to come in until hiking season starts."
Pat Doyle, a northeast Phoenix resident, has shopped at the Shack for boots, packs and raft equipment more than 20 years. He said the move to east Phoenix was inconvenient for him, but it won't stop him from making the commute.
Holt said Doyle's sentiments are common among shoppers.
"There's a little movement throughout the country to buy local, which is good because any dollar you spend here most likely is going to stay right here in the state," Holt said.
Most customers don't come to the Shack weekly - or even more than once a year.
"We're not like a grocery store," Holt said. "This is an industry predicated on buying new gear and upgrading old gear. Some people only buy a new backpack every 10 years."
However, the store sought to be closer to Loop 202, Interstate 10 and the store's East Valley customers.
"We wanted to be closer to the east side of the Valley where most of the lakes and river running goes on," Holt said.
Holt said business has been good despite the sour economy.
"There's no rhyme or reason," he said. "Maybe we just hit a cycle year where customers needed new things."
Information: hikingshack.com.
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Article original from: http://www.azcentral.com/community/phoenix/articles/2011/08/31/20110831arizona-hiking-shack-relocated-larger-phoenix-space.html
