CO TSWOLD OUTDOOR AND SNOW + ROCK
Championing the Outdoors
C
otswold Outdoor is my first retail job. I’ve never worked in any store or been in retail before. In fact, the only reason I wanted to work here is because I used to be a Cotswold Outdoor customer. Funnily enough, the store here in Exeter, where I’m now a manager, was my first outdoor store where I bought all my Duke of Edinburgh equipment. I’ve basically come full circle. I used to be in the military, so I spent a lot of time outdoors whether
I liked it or not! But I love anything and everything outdoors; most of my outdoor activities include hill walking and lightweight camping. I’m also qualified to teach White Water Rafting, I’ve done my summer Mountain Leader course, I canoed the Thames, climbed the Three Peaks, and loads more. The outdoor industry has always interested me, but after leaving the military I got side-tracked. I found a job in IT recruitment leading a team. I got promoted and the money was great, but it didn’t take me long to get bored. Loads of my colleagues didn’t seem to realise that people would do the things I did for fun! You know: go walking, camping, and just be in the outdoors. I couldn’t understand that. I was stuck and not enjoying the desk job life. So, I applied to Cotswold Outdoor for a Saturday job, just to hang around with people that enjoy the things I do. Plus, the discount didn’t hurt either! Then an Assistant Manager role opened and I had to decide. I could stick with the unsatisfying job, with people I didn’t understand, using my salary to do the things I love on the weekend, or I could do everything, every day, with likeminded people that understand my passions. To me, it was a no brainer. I took the plunge
Use your discount
Did you know that as a BMC member you get 15% off in our recommended retail partners Cotswold Outdoor and Snow + Rock?
Your in-store and online discount code is: AF-BMC-M1
and joined Cotswold Outdoor in the Reading store. In the space of 18 months, I moved around managing stores at Reading and Windsor before I was asked to head one of Cotswold Outdoor’s flagship stores in Exeter.
IT’S ALL IN A DAY’S WORK
After joining Cotswold Outdoor, I don’t feel like I’ve done a day’s work in 18 months. But I’ve not been slacking; I’m now running one of our most successful stores! It just doesn’t feel like work because I enjoy it so much. The
60 | CLIMB. WALK. JOIN.
“AFTER JOINING COTSWOLD OUTDOOR, I DON’T FEEL LIKE I’VE DONE A
DAY’S WORK IN 18 MONTHS!”
Here he is: the people’s champion, Marcus Freeman
He joined 18 months ago and never looked back. What made Marcus join the Cotswold Outdoor family and why does he love it so much?
staff and the customers are the type of people I’d look to hang out with. They might be going somewhere that you’ve been, or you’ll be learning about new routes and adventures that they’re recommending. I get a lot out of it, and love encouraging people to go and do the things that I enjoy and explore, to experience the things and places that I’ve been.
I’m on the shop floor most of the time. Probably around 70% of my day is spent with customers, and then I cram everything else I’m meant to be doing into the other 30%. I try to lead by example, especially with regards to customer service. We start conversations with customers – ask if they have a trip in mind, where they are going and what they are doing – all to build a rapport. I believe that’s why we get a lot of returning customers: we remember them and sometimes they remember us too! It’s about building relationships – when I left the Reading store, I had about five hugs from different customers who found out. It goes to show that they’re genuinely interested and care on a personal level. All the product training really pays off when you know you can offer genuine advice to every customer and make sure they’ve got what they need
by the time they leave the store. Even more importantly, they feel more informed about what they’re doing and the kit they’ll be using out there.
WHAT’S THE FUTURE OF OUTDOOR RETAIL?
Outdoor stores aren’t going anywhere. Online sales drives competition and with footfall decreasing on the retail high street in general, it’s definitely becoming more challenging. Our company is about helping customers to find the right products, rather than the cheapest, with expert advice and customer service. Plus our price match service means that our stores can compete with online retailers, so you can use that towards something that will actually fit and be useful, rather than the boot you bought purely because it was on sale. However, the big thing is, people buy from people. You can watch as many video reviews on stoves or whichever item you’re buying, or trawl through hundreds of online feedback reviews, but when the person in front of you is saying, “I used the MSR WindBurner Stove System in Snowdonia when it was chucking it down, the wind was threatening to blow our tent away, and we still managed to boil up a brew and cook our food before it went dark… I’ve used a Jetboil before, but this is just fantastic and weighs next to nothing”, then the customer is much more likely to buy it and love it. For me, that makes all the difference.
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