Riding the (pandemic) wave: outdoor sports retailers in Cape Breton report record sales

Outdoor sports stores in Cape Breton have been reporting record sales, as more people turn to outdoor activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several store owners said they are having difficulties keeping products in stock because of the demand.

Bill Goldston, the owner of FrameWork Cycle and Fitness in Sydney,said they had their best months forsales ever in March, April, Mayand June.

FrameWork had sold out most of its stock by the end of June and hashad a difficult time getting things sent in from suppliers.

"We have no bikes left virtually, and a lot of parts are very difficult to get," Goldstontold host Steve Sutherland of Cape Breton's Information Morning."That's kind of impacting us now."

Goldston said many people started to buy bikes and fitness equipment when the gyms closed down at the start of the pandemic.

Gord MacDonald, the store manager at Team Green Diamond Powersportsin Sydney, said all of their products, from ATVs to Sea-Doos, have been clearing out.

MacDonald said people are already putting money down on next year's product lines because the store ishaving a hard time replenishing itsstock this year.

"In March we were looking at it and just kind of wondered, 'Well, how bad is this going to be,' and to see where it is, it's pleasantly surprising," said MacDonald. "It just really depends on the products that you're selling during the pandemic times."

Busiest summer ever

Ryan Mansfield, owner of Highline Boardshopin Sydney River, said the store has had itsbusiest summer since opening16 years ago. He said a lot of skateboards are being soldand not to their typical customers.

"We're seeing a huge spike in females picking up skateboards, which is welcome news," said Mansfield.

Mansfield said they have sold more boards to females over this summer than in any previous summer, and many older people that used to skateboard have been picking up the sport again.

Goldston said many people have takenmoney they would have spentbut couldn't because of the pandemic and are spending it on outdoor sports locally.

'A lot of money on the table'

"There's no vacations, they're not going to Hawaii, they're not going to Florida, they're not going to Dominican and there's no plan to go there and anywhere in the near future, so that leaves a lot of money on the table," said Goldston.

Terry Smith, the executive director of Destination Cape Breton, said many tourism operators are down substantially in revenue this year, but operators offering outdoor sportsare bucking the trend.

"Some of our outdoor experience operators, they're having decent seasons actually," said Smith.