The business of leisure.

Trying to be diversified in a specialized industry may seem an oxymoron to most, but in terms of recreation-based products it's an essential statement often uttered to help a company strive in a competitive market. Needless to say there is a plethora of products that one can choose to specialize in. For instance, the amount of adjectives that you could place in front of the word "boat" quite accurately reflects the huge amount of unique boats on the market. Likewise, the different after-market pieces you can dream have for your snowmobile is probably already being manufactured and sold.

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Boats, snowmobiles, personal watercraft, and various other products that aid in our recreational activities through the summer and winter have become the new fashion accessory: No one wants something that's the same as someone else's, that's obvious, but for professionals young and old, the time and research that goes in to customizing their vehicle of choice or purchasing a new one is almost an obsession.

Recreation is a term that applies to many things. Things such as shuffleboard, air hockey, dartboards, swimming pools, hot tubs, jogging, sports and yoga can all be classified as recreation. For businesses with the word "recreation" in their title it can be guaranteed that they'll receive a phone call at some point in the year asking if they sell pool tables (regardless of whether they do or don't). For the purpose of this article, recreation applies to the other side of the spectrum, taking in boats, RVs, snowmobiles, personal watercraft, motorized cycles and everything else in between.

Recreational toys are almost always seasonal. This has meant that distributors and dealers have had to stay on top of their game in preparation of the influx of business when either the first snow hits the ground or when that last piece of ice melts off the lake. Regardless of the season, people start to get the itch and everyone tends to have the same idea: get that toy in for service and get it out immediately. Unfortunately that usually means that everyone does this all at once, swamping the recreation businesspeople. The key to dealing with this scenario is timely turnaround service and matching customers with a piece of equipment that fits their needs.

"From April to the end of October it's full bore for us," says Lee DeBruin, president of Saskatoon Watersports. "People tend to order new boats during the winter and want them ready to go by the May long weekend. Doing maintenance and repairs on boats demands that we do the job effectively and in a timely manner. Winter is a blessing to get a bit of a breather."

Weather permitting, the May long weekend is usually the unofficial kick-off to summer in Saskatchewan. This year however, Saskatchewan residents might have been tempted to fish in their ice shacks still. Despite the cold clutches of winter lingering, people flocked to recreational sites across our province to try out recently acquired toys, de-winterize cabins and prepare for the rest of the summer. Testament to this can be seen at the Saskatchewan All-Terrain Vehicle website (saskatv.com). This website is chock-full of important information regarding training, FAQ's, tech talk, pictures, videos, discussion and a friend-finder for when someone is visiting a new area of Saskatchewan and is looking for someone to ride with. If all-terrain vehicles aren't your thing, Saskatchewan has lakes from the top of the province to the bottom. Throughout the year people from other parts of Canada and abroad will flock to these lakes for watersports and fishing.

With natural resources in such abundance, it's understandable why some Saskatchewan businesspeople choose to establish themselves in this niche. One of the pioneers of the industry is Saskatoon's Pally Performance, which was launched 17 years ago by David and Susan Pally. Unlike most businesses that take on other seasonal activity--for example boat stores will carry snowmobiles and their accompanying accessories over winter Pally Performance is a marine-only store year-round.

Employing a staff of 12, Susan Pally says their mechanics will work "an insane amount" of hours over the summer. As such one or two of them may request some time off over the winter to recharge their batteries, but this past year Pally's kept all of their staff employed over the winter.

"We try to do all of our rebuilds in the winter," Susan Pally explains of their wintertime activity. "Plus we manufacture transom jacks and we do a lot of that then as well. Actually don't really slow down at all until Christmas because our winterizing carries us right straight through until then."

Establishing a business in the marine industry was a natural progression for David, who's had a lifelong passion for boats. Aside from the usual fishing and boating activities most people can relate to, Pally's involvement extended beyond that. As a Formula One boat racer, Pally used to shoot across the water at races like the Northern River Roar, which was held annually in Saskatoon for a number of years. He also traveled to race in Formula One events in places like California and Florida.

Since the cessation of the River Roar, David has put his racing on the back burner. Susan adds, however, that business has been so hectic, it's unlikely David would have the time to commit to racing these days anyway. Indeed the business has always been top priority and that commitment has paid off with a growing and loyal customer base.

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In fact last year Pally Performance earned several awards from Godrey Marine, a major U.S. boat manufacturer, for being their top international seller for several lines of boats. Susan says their 2008 pontoon boat sales, for example, were about triple their normal volume. Although sales are softer this year, Pally compares 2009's sales to those in 2006 and 2007, which were decent years, but not the huge spike that occured last year. Although their product line is well-received, Susan says it's their service that keeps their customers happy.

"We believe that the greatest asset to keeping existing customers is honesty, integrity and just plain hard work, because that is the kind of people that live and work in our province, and that's how we like to treated," says Pally.

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Recent years have brought about many upsides and downsides to the recreation world in Saskatchewan. The United States' market directly affects the pricing and distribution of certain toys to our province, and their prices will determine our prices for the better or worst. With the amount of disposable income in the last two or three years, people have been spending on their wants as opposed to their needs. With this influx of business there have been more specialized recreational vehicle stores opening in Saskatchewan. Due to the lack of customer confidence in the industry and depending on the value of the Canadian dollar, sales are expected to drop for the 2009-2010 seasons. These are only predictions and have no bearing on how the industry will do. Take Recreation Supply, for example. Recently they've upgraded to a larger store in Saskatoon, taken on more staff and there are always customers in the store. It doesn't exactly fit the mould of an industry struggling to get by.

Saskatchewan, as we all know, is defying the odds of the economic downturn. With the Canadian government predicting a country-wide high rate of unemployment and job loss, our province has managed to do the opposite. According to the Government of Saskatchewan website, we are the only province in Canada that has seen growth over the past year. With an increase of 9,700 workers in our province from April 2008 to April 2009, our future is still looking bright. As long as people are working and are secure in their jobs they will spend money on boats, ATVs, RVs, dirt bikes, motorcycles and boats. This can be seen in every town and city in our province and at every regional or provincial park. People are going to spend money in Saskatchewan regardless of what is going on in the rest of the world.

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Word of mouth and various events throughout Saskatchewan offer some unique opportunities to showcase what is up-and-coming and available in the recreation world. The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation's Sports and Leisure Show, The Man Show and Northern River Roar (with rumours of a return) are always excellent opportunities to talk with new people, see what the competition is doing and reconnect with existing customers. A much simpler way to establish a new customer is to let them see the equipment in action. Whether it's going for a spin on the lake in a new boat or going for a ride through the hills on a snowmobile, dirt bike or ATV, it's bound to catch someone's attention.

Whether the company has been in the business about 35 years like Recreation Supply, or about eight years like Saskatoon Watersports, the key to success will be people who have created a smart business plan and are passionate about what they do. This is true to every business, but these people have done their homework in the office and in the field (literally sometimes) and they have been very successful in matching products to their customers' needs in a timely fashion. People in this industry are always furthering their education, whether that involves going to product-specific seminars or making an appearance at trade shows, these people are learning every day so that they may share this knowledge with other people who are enthusiastic about the recreation world.

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Recreation is a family affair no matter what context you take the word into. Recreation is a way for families to be united in a single activity and a common interest. Dirt bikes, ATVs, boats and snowmobiles come in all shapes and sizes. RVs are a way for the whole family to get out and enjoy what the rest of the world has to offer. Boats are becoming more and more family friendly, even with the very specific tournament boats. All of these things are a great way to spend any season and Saskatchewan has a plethora of different locations that are within driving distance at the public's disposal. Start small and work your way up in the recreation industry.

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