A new Hockessin retailer is bringing the great outdoors indoors.
EPScott Outfitters, which opened last week in Hockessin Crossing, offers 3,500-square-feet of outdoor apparel and tools for fly fishermen and hunters, as well as casual business clothes and gifts for men.
“I call it a guy store,” said owner Ralph Jean of Malvern, Pa.
EPScott is a brick-and-mortar retailer of Orvis products, which are typically sold either through catalogues or online, Jean said.
His decision to open the store in Hockessin was based on the catalogue company’s market research, he said. Men living in higher-income households tend to keep up with their outdoor hobbies despite economic conditions, Jean said.
The economic downturn played an even larger role in Jean’s decision to open the store – he was laid off from Wachovia Securities in 2008 and the lifelong hunter and fisherman decided to go into business for himself, combining his love of the outdoors with his knowledge of the consumer and retailing segments he had researched for Wachovia.
Jean doesn’t plan to compete with major chains like Dick’s or Cabella’s, he said, but instead intends to cater to the urban outdoorsman who wants to buy quality clothes for casual work and hobbies at the same place.
Serious fly fisherman will be able to find high-end equipment at EPScott, like $800 rods or $500 reels, he said, while slacks and polo shirts are on sale at the other end of the store. And as the holidays approach, shoppers will find more gifts, like wallets, watches and luggage, on EPScott’s shelves.
Retail success in any environment ultimately depends on customer service, Jean said, and that’s even more important during a recession.
“I think we live in a self-service, big box environment and I want to be the opposite of that,” Jean said.
