Frances Sologuk and Osoyoos Home Hardware

Michael McLarney, Hardlines President and podcast host, interviews Frances Sologuk, owner of Osoyoos Home Hardware, in Southern British Columbia.

 

Key Takeaways:

[:56] Michael welcomes Frances to the podcast and introduces the topic, Osoyoos Home Hardware.

 

[1:20] Frances thanks Michael and Hardlines for giving Osoyoos Home Hardware a voice.

 

[1:57] Frances was born in Northern Ontario into a retail family. She first became a schoolteacher. In 1973 her family moved to British Columbia to the Okanagan Valley, discovered the small town of Osoyoos, and fell in love. She loves the weather. Osoyoos has a population of 5,000. Osoyoos Home Hardware serves a rural area of around 7,000 people.

 

[3:50] Frances refers to her hardware store as part store and part museum. When her family bought Osoyoos Home Hardware in 1985, they knew they wanted to keep the tradition. The store has been on the same corner since 1942 and has been owned by only two families.

 

[4:19] The Sologuk family wanted to honor the Fairweather family who started the store. They started “un-renovating” and discovering the history and connection that the store had to the community.

 

[6:07] When the Sologuk family tore down the “modern” suspended ceiling and siding, they discovered beautiful lumber and doors added in from a former ski shop on a ski hill at Camp McKinney. The Fairweathers originally had a store on a 30 ft. by 100 ft. lot. The store now is 90 ft. by 100 ft. with a big warehouse in the back.

 

[8:08] The Sologuks started doing some homework. Mrs. Fairweather was still living and shared with them pictures and the history of how they hauled everything down from the gold mine at Camp McKinney on Mount Baldy. There is a photograph of some of the timbers in the gold mine that are now seen in the store. The mining camp is about 45 minutes away from Osoyoos.

 

[9:18] The Fairweathers were instrumental in starting the ski hill. A ski shop was part of the original store, although when the Sologuks bought it, it was covered with suspended ceilings. When the ceiling was taken down, they discovered a beautiful peaked roof with a tree trunk through it. They wanted to keep that on display.

 

[10:58] The Fairweathers trucked up to the mountain and hauled back everything they found, including a holding cell door made of tin and a beautiful thick wood door with a wrought iron handle. They built rooms around these doors.

 

[12:31] The store has five sets of stairs. Merchandising teaches that customers avoid stairs, but the Sologuks felt that if they made it intriguing enough, people would be afraid of missing something if they go downstairs. The stairs work well for the store.

 

[13:55] Osoyoos Home Hardware has become a destination store and the local community members play a part in its success. Anybody who visits Osoyoos comes to Osoyoos Home Hardware.

 

[14:53] The original hardware store is still the hardware section of the store. Two joining lots were purchased in 1955 and the division between the old and the new is clear. The Sologuks put a train around inside the store on a suspended track. The track goes from the checkout through windows made in the dividing wall. In December, it’s a Santa train, playing carols.

 

[16:36] Joining the two sides of the basement took some engineering. The cement wall was about 16 inches thick. The cement piece they cut out for the door was too heavy to lift out of the store. So they pushed it over and built a display case on it, exposing the workmanship of the cut wall with its petrified wood and square rebar.

 

[20:16] Osoyoos Home Hardware caters to the needs of its community. Those needs change with the seasons. Osoyoos Lake is the warmest freshwater lake in Canada. In the summer, they sell a lot of inflatables. The inflatables with the best-looking girl on the package sell out first!

 

[22:10] Osoyoos Home Hardware is a good hardware store with amazing people working for them. They couldn’t do it without the modern technology and the relationships with their supplier and head office, Home Hardware. But when the customers walk in, … what they experience is a nostalgic, old-fashioned shopping experience.

 

[23:36] Frances, over 70, has discovered that young people appreciate the old-fashioned shopping experience just as much as she does. If you can be a good brick-and-mortar store that becomes such an integral part of your community that people would dearly miss if you weren’t there, then you’ve done something right. That satisfaction can’t be bought.

 

[25:08] Osoyoos Home Hardware is a business. They employ 24 people. It’s a family business that values hard work, commitment, dedication, and caring about its customers, employees, and its community. Frances feels fortunate to be able to work in her community, have her business be respected, and be such a part of her community. It is a business, not just a museum.

 

[27:00] Michael tips his hat to Frances and Oyosoos Home Hardware and thanks Frances for being on What’s in Store and sharing her story. Frances thanks Michael for highlighting all the independents.

 

About Us:

What’s in Store is a podcast series of the Hardlines Information Network, brought to you by RDTS: Innovative strategies to maximize your ROI.

Resources:

Hardlines.ca

Michael McLarney

Sponsor: Jeld-Wen

Frances Sologuk

Osoyoos Home Hardware

Osoyoos, British Columbia

Welcome to Osoyoos Home Hardware

 

Quotes:

“When we bought the store in 1985, we knew that we wanted to keep the tradition. The store has been on the same corner since 1942. It has been a hardware store since 1942 and there have only been two families that have owned it.” — Frances

 

“When people ask us what our plan was, we just started in one corner and we started “un-renovating” and discovering all the wonderful history and connection … that that building had to the community.” — Frances

 

“As a business owner, I really think that the culture of a business, the history of the business, and what your employees become part of is probably some of the best training you can do.” — Frances

 

“It really has become a destination store. I think the biggest compliment or the biggest thing for us is when we see our local community members bring everybody to the store. Whoever comes to visit comes to Osoyoos Home Hardware. … The locals are part of the store.” — Frances

 

“My favorite words in life are ‘We will make it work.’” — Frances

 

“We are a good hardware store. We have amazing people. … We couldn’t do it without … modern technology; … without our relationship with … Home Hardware. But the customer, when they walk in, … what they experience is a nostalgic, old-fashioned shopping experience.” — Frances

 

“If you can be a really good brick-and-mortar store, and if you can give a shopping experience that no one else [does], … and … become such an integral part of your community that people would dearly miss if you weren't there, … then you’ve done something right.” — Frances