Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/918475
I f you think all specialty outdoor retailers are the same, it's definitely time to think again. Yes, Yellow Wood Gear is a family- run operation. Yes, it focuses on customer service and localized expertise. But that's where the similarities with many of its ilk end and a unique concept in outdoor retail begins. Opened less than three years ago in August 2015, this single-door store in Whitefish Bay, WI, has already built a reputation among reps and upper-Midwest locals for doing things differently. They proudly do not sell online and say they have no trouble compet- ing with brands and stores that do. Founders Marty Stilling, his wife Susan, and Moshe Katz, and his wife Debra, along with the Katz's daugh- ter Cyd, are at the store seven days a week. "This is a family-run business on so many levels," says Moshe Katz. "While we are partners in the struc- tural sense, we are more familial, since Cyd and our wives are with us daily. There is always an owner in the store and our customers love knowing we are there for them." The first thing that hits you when visiting the store's website is the mesmerizing Robert Frost poem rotat- ing on the home page, from which the store takes its name: "Two paths diverge in a yellow wood…I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." "We have taken the road less traveled — a brick-and- mortar store with exceptional service, high-quality, cutting-edge brands, both unique and sought-after, that have a social conscience," says Katz. The store's three pillars of "Gear, Passion, and Purpose" further define its personal brand. Says Katz: "Cause marketing is the purpose for our success. We YELLOW WOOD GEAR Puts the SPECIAL Back in SPECIALTY Retail RETAIL BY AARON H. BIBLE Left to right: Moshe Katz, Debra Katz, Cyd Katz, Susan Masket and Marty Stilling. Also pictured is Otis — he's a good pup. "We have taken the road less traveled—a brick and mortar store with exceptional service, high- quality cutting edge brands, both unique and sought- after, that have a social conscience." January 2018 • Outdoor Insight • 31 outdoorinsightmag.com