Outdoor Insight

s /UTDOOR )NSIGHT s *ULY outdoorinsightmag.com I t all begins with paddlesports at Rutabaga Paddlesports. With a lake literally in its backyard, the specialty store is as special as they come. And for almost 50 years the retailer in Madison, WI, has learned that size does not matter. It is independents such as Rutabaga – along with the likes of Skinny Skis in Jackson, WY, Ute Mountaineer in Aspen and The Elephant's Perch in Idaho – that put the special in specialty outdoor retailing by doing one main thing and do- ing it very, very well. Well, maybe not just one thing. Rutabaga primarily sells paddlesports, but it also carries camping gear. And it carries apparel, as well, because, as owner and chief paddling evan- gelist Darren Bush, explains, "Most of us wear clothing, too." But even that apparel has a paddling bent. "We call it fash- ionable technical clothing," Bush explains. "To us that means brands that have a dual function — you'd be at home on the water, but not feel like a geek walking into a supermarket wear- ing those pieces." Rutabaga has been in business in some form since the early 1970s, growing into its current incarnation for the past 24 years. Bush started working weekends for Rutabaga back in 1990 and bought the company in 2002. It currently has between 20 and 25 employees, depending on the season, and its instructional program has two full-time staff plus a dozen seasonal instructors. Bush is hard-pressed to describe a "typical" Rutabaga cus- tomer. "There's no such thing as a typical customer, except in one way — they either love time on or near water, or they want to," he says. "There are so many different groups that fit this description, from kayak anglers to cabin owners to young families introducing their kids to the water." Specializing in a niche sport allows Rutabaga to service that diverse customer base. But for even the most casual or novice customer, Rutabaga brings a passion that sets it apart from the big boys of outdoor specialty retail. "Our mission is to connect people with the natural world, specifically water," Bush explains. "Everything we do points toward that mission. If it doesn't enhance a person's potential interaction with the water, we don't put effort into it." Events with a goal of connecting people to the natural world are also a core part of Rutabaga's DNA. Canoecopia is its consumer event with an educational component early each spring. Its Sea Kayak Symposium aims to move people from participant to enthusiast. Rutabaga also recently opened an off-site rental location in a city park. For more proof of its commitment, visitors need look no further than its staff parking lot. "Every car in our parking lot has a rack on it," says Bush. "Most of them have boats on them as they're either coming or going from a trip." You won't see that at any big-box store and therein lies Rutabaga's ultimate advantage. "Many specialty retailers are concerned about giant box stores taking over the world, but the truth is they're like the Death Star — they have significant flaws that can be exploited," he says. "They're big, ponderous and unable to make things happen quickly, since they're run from an office building somewhere. They have a national view, not a local one. "They tend to be conservative, and they're unlikely to take risks," he adds. "Specialty stores can take risks, move quickly and connect with local culture." He feels much the same about Internet competition, which he admits has a good model for selling commodities. "We probably lose some sales there, just because we're out of small purple widgets when someone wants a small purple widget," he explains. "But if they're in our shop, chances are we have something that'll suit them. If not, well then, bad on us for not keeping up on the widget orders." Rather than the obvious suspects, Bush sees Rutabaga's – and all of spe- cialty outdoor retailing's – primary competition as Netflix, Hulu and YouTube, which compete for customers' discretionary time. How to compete? "We need to explain the value of the outdoor experience to our community, show them that it's a better, more profound experience than binge-watching episodes of the show du jour," he says. "I admit that sometimes after a long day, I just want to watch the Great British Bake Off with my wife, but my rec- reational diet is more varied and healthy." With just the one store on a lake in Wisconsin, Rutabaga does face the challenge of being a One-Store Wonder in a world of gigantic retailers. But Bush has no plans to expand. "I would argue that having one store is easier than multiple stores," he says. "My philosophy is that it's better to create a destination where customers will come to you. When a customer from Chicago says 'You should open a store in Chicago,' I just smile and say, 'But you're here, aren't you?'" O 20 17 RUTABAGA PADDLE SPORTS PADDLE ON IN BULLET POINTS Rutabaga may be the only store in the coun- try named after the lyrics of a Frank Zappa song. Check out "Call Any Vegetable" and you'll find these lyrics: Call any vegetable / And the chances are good / That a vegetable will respond to you-hoooo / Ruta-bay-ay-ayga ruta- bay-ay-ayga / Ruta-bay- ay-ayga ruta-bay-ay-ayga / Ruta-bayyyyy . . . Rutabaga does have a small but thriving e-commerce business. "Instead of opening a second location, we decided to make a virtual second location," Darren Bush says. "We are strategic about what goes on the web and what does not." For example, it doesn't offer Chacos online because it can't do Zap- pos better than Zappos, but it does sell them in the shop. Its Rutabaga.com is designed as a mirror of the experience custom- ers would get if they walked in its doors. TRAIL MIX Headquarters Madison, WI Stores One Website rutabaga.com Sales Undisclosed One goal: Getting people out on the water. Caption here and be never more than one line long Paddling is the heart – and soul – of Rutabaga Paddlesports.

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