OR Daily – Northern Lights

New Ownership Energizes Northern Lights Trading Company
By: orshowdaily
Published: January 24th, 2009

BY KRIS VERSTEEGEN

Up until last year, Jay Allen had a comfortable life in the Chicago suburbs, working in corporate America and raising his family. He went on vacations every year, and spent most of his free time in the mountains of Montana and Colorado. At the same time, Allen dreamed of owning his own business. In 2007, he decided to act on this dream and began looking for an outdoor company to buy.

“I looked at a number of different outdoor companies. However, when we came to Northern Lights here in Bozeman it was apparent that this was the one. It’s a special store, and this is a great town and everything seemed to line up. It was also an opportunity for us to get out of corporate America and move to the mountains. We have two small children and now we have a great community in which to raise them. For us it’s really a dream that has been realized,” Allen said.

Mike Garcia was the original owner of Northern Lights Trading Company, which he opened in 1982. In 1990, he built a new 15,000-square-foot building in downtown Bozeman, Montana, which Northern Lights Trading Company currently occupies.
2004 was a big year for the company, according to Allen. Northern Lights opened a second store just outside of Bozeman, called The Barn, adding another 15,000-square-foot location. The Barn allowed Northern Lights to create a dedicated boating and paddle sports section, as well as a closeout and off-price clearance section.

In 2007, when Garcia decided that he “had a few more chapters to write” in his life, he decided to find a new owner for the store. Last year Allen acquired Northern Lights and moved his family to Bozeman.

“Going into something like this, where my family and I were kind of putting our financial well-being on the line, I was kind of apprehensive. Now, I feel good about it because it’s such a great community. The people in the town, the people in the community, for me they’ve created a great experience so far,” Allen said.

Allen kept his expectations realistic. He credits the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, a group of independent outdoor shops dedicated to the sustainability of the specialty outdoor channel, for helping him learn the ropes of outdoor retail as quickly as possible.

“The real advantage (of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance) is the opportunity to interact with and collaborate with these other store owners who have been in the industry for 20 plus years. None of us are in the same markets, so you can get a high level of cooperation and free flowing thoughts,” Allen said. “For me, with seven months of experience, that is a really valuable aspect of being a member.”

The economic downturn that hit the country in September initially concerned Allen. However, in Bozeman, the recession has not impacted Northern Lights as of yet. Allen credits his customers for this.

While he doesn’t consider the typical resort skier to be a key part of his demographic, Northern Lights chooses to focus on the local Bozeman community and draws core outdoor athletes from hundreds of miles away.

“Once the weather turned and the snow came in, everyone came out and decided that they had to buy their stuff now. So, I need to put the economy and the weather hand-in-hand,” Allen said.

“Our customer base is driving growth in hardgoods. Our customers are users. They take gear out and they use it five days a week. You also don’t need to travel too far if you want to use the gear. If you want to ice climb, it’s a 30-minute drive. In the summer if you want to go rock climbing, it’s 15 minutes. We have a good proximity to recreation here. People in the city may only go out once or twice a year. Here, people are out there every day,” Allen added.

Allen is not naïve about what a long-lasting downturn could mean for his business. He continues to consult other Grassroots Outdoor Alliance members and is keeping a close eye on store traffic, inventories and sales. He says that January will be the month to watch and should offer more insight into the year to come.

Regardless of which way the economy turns, Allen is confident that Northern Lights will remain a destination retail location for outdoor enthusiasts across Montana and Wyoming.