Track ‘N Trail has helped Albertans enjoy the great outdoors since 1984 with clothing, equipment, and footwear for Nordic skiing, backpacking, hiking, climbing, mountaineering and trail running. In 2019 Track ‘N Trail opened a second location in St. Albert.
With 36 years in Edmonton and a handful of months in St. Albert, Track ‘N Trail was well established in the community, but still faced challenges when COVID-19 shut businesses down.
“Our online store didn’t have our complete inventory and orders started to drop off during the pandemic,” admits Aron Schilf, general manager. “But we knew we would have the opportunity to get back in front of people. We are a nimble small shop and people want to support us. It’s nice to see our communities supporting local.”
The owners opted for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy for the team, and received vendor support through extended invoice deadlines and discounts. “The outdoor community really came together to help everyone out,” Schilf says.
Track ‘N Trail reopened on May 14 and provides hand sanitizer on site. The staff wear masks and allow a limited number of shoppers at a time in the stores to further increase on-site safety. Currently, in-store, online, and curbside pickup shopping is available.
In this time of social distancing, Track ‘N Trail is seeing a lot of people taking advantage of the great outdoors and finding solace and enjoyment in nature.
“Edmonton and St. Albert have done a remarkable job of keeping (the pandemic) under control,” says Schilf.
“We want everyone to stay safe and keep taking advantage of the outdoors.”
Nerissa McNaughton is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Great West Newspapers. This story was funded by the Facebook Journalism Project Supporting Local News Coverage of COVID-19 Program via the Local Media Foundation.
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