Darren Bush, the owner of Rutabaga Paddlesports, surprised the outdoor community with his recent announcement that he plans to shutter his store in Madison, WI, at the close of 2025, although he believes paddling retail can work with top-notch service.
In an interview with SGB Executive, Bush contends that lack of service is the core reason for all outdoor specialty retailers’ struggles, and he believes it’s an issue facing all brick-and-mortar stores.
“Outdoor retail isn’t a problem; all retail is the problem,” said Bush. “We have vending machines, and we have good service. If you sell a commodity, you’re screwed unless you give good service.”
Bush is closing the store and stepping away from retail after 30 years to pursue a career as a hospice chaplain.
About four years ago, during the construction of Rutabaga’s new store a few miles from his old store in Madison, WI, Bush suffered a heart attack that led him to volunteer as a chaplain, and he’s now pursuing certification to make it a career. He has two decades of experience working with members of his church, including five years as an LDS bishop. The hospice experience was rewarding personally, as Bush was able to help others transition from this world to the next. Bush said, “In the space of four months, I’ve had at least four or five experiences I don’t hesitate to call spiritual, where it was like, ‘This is what you’re supposed to do. You gotta listen.’ So, I listened.”
Bush also believes he’s “good at it,” including the varied administration tasks chaplaincy requires to ensure patients are treated well in their final days, as well as the “connecting to people part” of the role that’s been the driver of his focus in building a paddling community at Rutabaga.
Bush plans to continue the most community-driven aspects of Rutabaga’s business: Canoecopia, the largest annual consumer paddle sports expo globally, as well as boat rentals and classes.
Along with his wife, Bush will continue to produce Canoecopia, which takes place annually in March in Madison. Beyond the expo, the venue also hosts clinics and presentations featuring paddling legends.
Bush said having the expo not rely on the Rutabaga store’s inventory “makes things a lot simpler” in orchestrating Canoecopia, but he’s also made other adjustments. His plan calls for working as a chaplain part-time from October through April, then shifting to full-time during the other months to allow time to give Canoecopia the attention it deserves. Said Bush, “It’s been a very successful event for us, and I love what it does in how it just keeps this community tight and together.”
Beyond Canoecopia, Bush plans to continue to offer boat rentals at Olbrich Park in Madison, and he’s had conversations with friends who could continue offering canoe and kayak classes.
The rental business is a smaller operation with about 60 boats. Bush is farming that out to two college students with a profit-sharing incentive. Said Bush, “They’ve got a lot of ideas and are just stoked about taking this on and doing it themselves.”
Retail Grind
Bush admitted that the shift into chaplaincy is partly because he’s ready to retire from retail. He said, “As time has gone by, you realize increasingly that retail is a young man’s game…I’m 63, right? I’ve been doing this a long time.”
Bush began his journey with Rutabaga, which was started in 1976, as a weekend part-timer selling canoes in 1990 while working as a statistician for the state of Wisconsin. Said Bush, “I was moonlighting there just for fun because I was staring at a computer screen all day, looking at cancer data. Going to the shop and talking to people about boats was just a lot more energizing.”
He became a full-time manager in 1994, a general manager in 2000, a co-owner in 2002, and a sole owner with his wife in 2007.
Bush thought he would work retail “for a couple of years and move on,” but he stayed because he “kept learning,” including by taking on different tasks as he was promoted earlier in his career, and by guiding the business as owner through the recession and the pandemic. Rutabaga also had to adjust to heightened competition from big-box retailers, including Bass Pro, REI and Walmart, as well as the emergence of online competitors.
“We were early adopters in e-commerce, but then we got leapfrogged because we didn’t have the resources of Amazon, Backcountry and all those folks,” said Bush. “So, we always figured out a way to leapfrog them again in our small way.”
Surprisingly, Bush did not expect to sell the well-known and “viable” store operation. He said, “I would love for it to continue, but it’s got to be on my terms.” But, since his announcement, he’s heard from numerous prospective buyers who would commit to delivering the service levels that have earned Rutabaga a 4.9 customer rating on Google with thousands of reviews. “At this point, I’m open to talking to someone who can carry on the brand in the way I would approve. I didn’t expect so many people to call me. We’ll see what happens.”
He added of the high rating, “4.9 stars just doesn’t happen. It requires being intentional. So, we could keep going, but I’m ready for the next chapter. And I would want to make sure the person who would take over would have the same level of customer service, attention to detail, and, frankly, love for the customer — not just me selling it to cash out.”
Bush noted he’s not alone in facing succession issues, pointing to the number of “gray hair and old bald guys” walking at the Outdoor Retailer and Switchback shows. He added, “At AFFTA, the fly-fishing show, I saw three women there and then a bunch of old, gray guys with beards wearing their guide shirts. This is not a growth plan. If we’re going to grow not just in paddlesports but in all outdoor, we need to bring young people in.”
He also said retail has become tougher over the years with online pressures, including many vendors now selling direct. Competition for youth outdoor activities is also coming from virtual entertainment. Bush said, “My biggest competitor isn’t REI or Dick’s. It’s virtual. It’s screens. It’s dopamine fixes from TikTok.”
A particular challenge with kayaks and canoes is “the stuff doesn’t die,” observed Bush. He elaborated, “Watercraft is one of the most durable things that you can get. Mountain bikes wear out. There are always some new technologies for skis. So, there’s always churn in most other outdoor categories. But I have a boat from 1988 that I still paddle all the time.”
Bush said the challenges make it critical for paddling shops to continually bring in new customers and create paddling enthusiasts through classes, rentals and elite in-store service.
He stressed that any outdoor specialty operator looking to stand out for service can’t skimp on staffing, that’s a typical money-saving tactic for retail.
“I was just in a well-known national chain that is supposed to be known for its service. The place was a mess, and there were no employees.” Bush said, “It’s the people that are giving the great service at Rutabaga, and that’s because they’re well compensated, and I pay health insurance for my staff. It’s all this stuff you don’t have to do if you sell commodities.”
Bush is hopeful he can still find someone to take over the retail business after they understand what it takes for success. Said Bush, “If someone’s 38 and says to me, ‘I hate my job. I want to do something different,’ I will be very upfront with them and say this is very different. And if they go into it eyes wide open and say, ‘I really want to make this work,’ I’ll be their biggest cheerleader.”
He added, “But I’m not going to sell it to a couple of private equity bros. that will expand and make four Rutabagas, and they all suck.”
Padding Retail’s Prospects
Bush still believes outdoor specialty has an opportunity to thrive with a strong service component, citing, for example, The Trail Head in Missoula, MT, which now focuses heavily on consignment. He believes rentals will be critical going forward in outdoor specialty, given the financial pressures facing younger generations. Said Bush, “The economy is not great for Millennials and Gen-Z. They’re being more frugal.”
Bush also cited Brooklyn-based Gear To Go Outfitters, which operates as a one-stop online shop for an outdoor weekend getaway for New Yorkers. The rental offering includes everything you need for a weekend away: a sleeping bag, tent, stove, freeze-dried food, and other camping necessities, even bear barrels. Said Bush, “It’s brilliant because people in New York, where my daughter lives, do not have space for gear, but they still want those outdoor activities, especially Millennials. They want activities, not necessarily owning the gear.
On the vendor side, Bush said that while the consolidation in the paddle space back in the 90s provided some nice pay days for many of his friends who were founders of their companies, it’s been disruptive. Bush said, “Pretty soon, there are only a few players, and then Pelican goes bankrupt, and who knows what happens when they rise from the ashes.”
On the positive side, he believes the consolidation is leading to an emergence of a new crop of entrepreneurs who deserve support from independents.
“There’s a bunch of new boat brands popping up now that are generally people that left big boat brands, starting their own thing, and small specialty shops are automatically gravitating towards those people because they’re our folks,” said Bush. “They’re scrappy, and it’s going to be a tough road, because the big guys can come in and undercut them with pricing with a promise of a 43 percent margin if they prepay. I’d rather get a 36 percent or 37 percent margin from a young guy who’s going to hustle and take care of me.”
Connections
Bush intends to stay connected with the paddling community as he guides Canoecopia, but he still faces the daunting task of sharing the news of his shift to chaplaincy and the store closing with his community, particularly his close-knit staff. He said, “Frankly, when I announced it to the staff, I was in tears, and one of them stood up and started clapping and just said, ‘Thanks for 30-something great years. We understand why you’re doing this.”
He’s had heart-to-heart conversations with several staffers, and he’s confident they will find promising career opportunities. Bush said, “My employees are so freaking competent. Many of them have job offers already.”
He’s also received hundreds of e-mails and letters from customers thanking him for the experiences they gained at his store, and many are grateful that Canoecopia is continuing. Many offered congratulations and blessings as he embarks on his new career as a hospice chaplain, with several sharing their personal experiences caring for an aging or dying family member.
Many expressed confidence that Bush is well-suited to the role, given his experience serving customers at Rutabaga. Bush is hopeful they’re right.
Said Bush of chaplaincy duties, “For a lot of people, it’s like, ‘Oh, I don’t need a chaplain. I’m not religious.’ And I’ll say, ‘Good! I’m not here for your religious care; I’m here for your spiritual care. So, what can I do for you?’ Everybody needs that. Sometimes they’ll say, ‘Nothing. I’m good, but, man, you should talk to my kids.’ So, three-quarters of what chaplains do is talk to family, helping them get through it.”
Bush added, “So, I hear I’m good at it. I’m not one to blow my own horn. In the store, people come in and they’re not looking for a boat. They’re looking for a release from the pressures of the world. They’re looking for a way to recreate themselves. They’re looking for peace. All the same things people go to chaplains for. They want to know that they’re seen and heard and loved.”
Images courtesy Rutabaga Sports, credit for lead photo to Anthony Souffle
