Yellowknife (Feb 22/06) - Bryan Rendell's business philosophy is simple: provide quality customer service and sell products people want.

Bryan Rendell, the new owner of Wolverine Guns and Tackle was happy to get his venture's grand opening behind him on Saturday and his plan is to lure Yellowknifers through the door with quality products and top-notch service. - David Ryan/NNSL photo

His plan is now rolling along after throwing open the doors of Wolverine Guns and Tackle Saturday for the official grand opening. The original Wolverine Sports store closed last year.

"Our goal is to give Yellowknife a place to buy quality goods and offer all the knowledge we have about those products," he said.

Including buying out Martin Fishing Supplies' retail outlet in November, he has invested $300,000 into the company and is excited to see the business open.

The store features rifles, shotguns, ammunition, bow hunting equipment, optics, navigation systems, fishing gear and a variety of outdoor supplies. "We're bringing in top of the line products from all over Canada, the U.S. and even the Czech Republic," said Rendell.

Despite shipping in items from around the globe, Rendell insisted he'll buy locally whenever possible. One Yellowknife business Wolverine will be dealing with MFS Manufacturing and Wholesale Distribution and its owner Scott Martin. Martin still manufactures fishing tackle and is a wholesaler for hunting/fishing supplies.

"If companies can buy locally, then it promotes business in the NWT rather than depending on a company somewhere else," he said.

Wolverine also wants to cater to tourists who come to the NWT on hunting and fishing excursions looking for the Northern outdoor challenge.

"We want to provide education to people visiting the NWT," said Rendell.

The store's four full- and three part-time staffers all have their personal acquisition licence for firearms so the owner is confident they can provide top notch information to anyone looking for help making an informed buying decision.

"If we can give them a tip about a hot lure or a good place to fish then that's part of our customer service," he said.

The store hopes to offer courses in hunting, navigation and fishing in the near future.