THE COUNTRY SPORTS SHOP

We sit down for a chat with Chris Lamb, co-owner of The Countr y Sports Shop in Devon, about the complexities of running his business in the wake of the tragic Plymouth shootings.

Q. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN BUSINESS AND HOW DID YOU GET STARTED?

A: I’ve been fishing since I was a child, and it all started with the wholesaling of fishing tackle. We gradually moved into retailing the tackle, and it’s a natural leap from fishing to shooting and hunting. We began to see a greater demand for guns and shooting-related products, so I took the leap and focused purely on the gun trade in 2011.

“WE BEGAN TO NOTICE MORE AND MORE CUSTOMERS COMING IN WANTING TARGET SHOOTING GUNS AND AMMO...”

Q. HOW HAS YOUR BUSINESS CHANGED SINCE YOU FIRST OPENED YOUR DOORS?

A: When we first started we were primarily targeting the hunting and pest control side of the industry, since that made up the vast majority of our customers. Over the years that’s changed dramatically and we now have a much greater focus on target shooting. This change has been driven by demand – we began to notice more and more customers coming in wanting target-shooting guns and ammo, and of course with that came the reloading supplies which is a huge part of the business now.

In my personal opinion, hunting is dropping off due to the lack of instant results – when you go out hunting there’s absolutely no guarantee that you’ll actually shoot anything and if you do it’s probably just the one shot. In comparison, with targets you get instant results and you can shoot all day if you want. I really think this is the way the world is going – we don’t have to wait for anything anymore, whether that’s next-day delivery of something you bought online or binge watching an entire TV series in a couple of days. I think this shift towards instant gratification is translating into other areas of our lives.

The other huge change from a business point of view is that we’ve diversified into outdoor cooking equipment, so we now stock a good range of Yeti mugs, BBQs and smokers. This was a necessary step to stabilise the business, and after the pandemic there was a lot of growth in the outdoor cooking sector as people were staying home and finding things to do outside in that lovely weather we had. It links closely to shooting and hunting as well, making it a nice fit for the store and Yeti in particular is such a popular brand – on a quiet day we’ll still sell 15 Yeti mugs!

Q. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE TOUGHEST CHALLENGES YOU’VE FACED AS A RETAILER IN THE SHOOTING INDUSTRY?

A: Covid was obviously a challenge. We found it very unusual and quite confusing because no-one could tell us for sure if we were classed as essential or non-essential. A golf shop was considered non-essential – obviously – but the shooting industry was a grey area. If you’re a target shooter it’s clearly a hobby and therefore non-essential, but if you’re a pest controller, farmer or deer manager it’s very essential that you can continue to purchase the items needed to do your job. We weren’t sure if we could stay open or not, so it was a very uncertain time for us. We were of course trying to do the right thing, and that meant we did have to say no to some customers when they phoned for ammo or items that would be deemed non-essential.

The greater challenge by far, however, was the aftermath of the tragic shootings in Plymouth. It was awful and so sad, but it never occurred to us to consider how it might affect our business. We came to work and realised that Devon and Cornwall licensing had effectively closed its doors. People wanted to buy things but couldn’t get a license. It was literally taking years, and by that time a lot of people had simply lost interest and taken up golf or something. There were also people who had shot for a long time giving up or being unable to buy anything because the renewals were taking too long.

I personally thought the whole situation was almost like the Post Office scandal. The government was telling the postmasters “ You’re stealing money. We’ve got proof. You’re in the wrong.” But it turns out it was the system that was wrong and the postmasters did nothing but still ended up taking a huge hit financially and often losing their businesses. We felt the same. We couldn’t go to the government and say “Your police force is affecting my business because of their incompetence.” We hadn’t done anything wrong personally and had made no mistakes, but as a business we were going to suffer serious repercussions and there was absolutely nothing we could do about it. It was very difficult and the licensing is still not back on track.

“YOU CAN’T PLEASE EVERYONE. THERE ARE SO MANY BRANDS IN THE SHOOTING INDUSTRY, AND IF YOU TRY AND STOCK ALL OF THEM YOU’LL GO BUST IN THE PROCESS.”

Q. WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST AND WORST BUSINESS DECISIONS?

A: The best decision was diversifying out of the shooting industry, which stabilised the business. The worst decision was not diversifying earlier! We should have realised how dependent we were on Devon and Cornwall police for our business to continue to operate.

Q. IF YOU WERE TO START AGAIN, IS THERE ANYTHING YOU’D DO DIFFERENTLY?

A:. Without wanting to keep going on about it, I think the main thing I’d do differently is that I wouldn’t put all my eggs in one basket. I’d perhaps move into clothing or something else earlier, something that can be sold online, and I’d try to hit the online side of things pretty hard. I think most shops have some sort of side hustle, whether it’s also selling fishing tackle or even engineering parts for other industries.

We took the decision to drop the fishing tackle and focus on guns because the sales for guns were stronger – but of course the issues mentioned earlier make that side of the business quite vulnerable.

Q. IF YOU COULD GIVE JUST ONE PIECE OF ADVICE TO A NEW RETAILER IN THIS INDUSTRY, WHAT WOULD THAT BE?

A: You can’t please everyone. There are so many brands in the shooting industry, and if you try to stock all of them you’ll go bust in the process! Just look at optics and air rifles – there are countless options and you’d have to have extremely deep pockets to get all the different brands in.

I don’t think you necessarily need to specialise, but stick to the brands you know best and that you work with best and know to be good quality. Accept the fact that you’ll have customers who walk in and ask for something you can’t get, and might go elsewhere if you can’t convince them to purchase something you do stock that satisfies their needs.

Q. WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE TO BE THE KEY INGREDIENTS OF A SUCCESSFUL RETAIL BUSINESS IN THIS SECTOR?

A: Definitely a personal connection with your customers – a personal touch. I’m not sure why, but new customers often seem to be on the defensive when they first come into the shop, as if they think you’ll try to screw them over. So building up trust with your customers is absolutely vital.

This is especially true when you’re working with firearms, because very often it’s not something they can try before they buy, so they must trust that you’re advising them well and helping them make a really good purchase before they part with their hard-earned cash. It’s basically the opposite of a supermarket mentality, in which everyone is just another customer walking through the door.

So really get to know the customers, their wants and needs, and work on building up trust.

Q. ARE YOU PLANNING ANY FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS?

A:The honest answer is no, not really. We’re still kind of waiting to see what happens with the police licensing as they have not caught up yet. There are still lots of people waiting on renewals and grants, and we’re waiting with bated breath to see how things will look when licensing is moving at a normal pace again here.

There aren’t loads of youngsters coming through that we’ve seen either, so until we know what sort of demographic we’re working with and what demand is like for certain products, we’ll hold off on any big business decisions.

The BBQ industry is still growing, so we’re putting a lot of time and energy into that and watching what’s happening there.

Q. FINALLY, WHAT’S YOUR MOST CONSISTENTLY POPULAR PRODUCT OR BIGGEST SELLER?

A: As a business, it’s got to be Yeti. From the shooting side of things, I would say the best seller for licence holders is .22 ammunition. We’ve noticed lots of people seem to be moving away from centrefire, and I think that’s because shooting a .22 is much cheaper and there are way more opportunities and areas where you can shoot them.

For shotguns, ATA sell very well here, and thermal and NV are consistently popular too.