Camping family connection

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/06/2024 (477 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For Jeff Stevens, it’s the smoky aroma of a mosquito coil. For younger sister Jill Stevens, it’s the zip of a tent flap.

Those sense memories take them back to childhood — to Blue Lake Provincial Park in northwestern Ontario, where they spent a week every summer camping with their parents.

When the siblings woke up each morning, they were ready to go wherever the day might take them. These were carefree days filled with swimming, exploring, cooking and entertaining around the fire.

“The biggest thing that I value from our time camping is the connection with (my) family,” Jill says. “With so little distractions, you had nothing. You had to get along with your brother because he was the only person you had with you, and I think that that served us well over the years.”

Indeed, it has. Today, the Stevens’ aren’t just siblings — they’re business partners, too.

Jeff is president and Jill is chief operating officer at Coghlan’s, the outdoor gear company Norm Coghlan, their maternal grandfather, started in 1959.

From camp forks to tent pegs, Coghlan’s manufactures hundreds of products aimed at making camping, hiking and boating easier and more enjoyable.

The items — sold in green-and-yellow packaging with a red stripe bearing the Coghlan’s logo — are available around the world, including via major retailers such as Cabela’s, Home Hardware and Walmart.

While Coghlan’s may offer hundreds of products today, it started with just one.

Norm was repairing gas camp stoves and lanterns in downtown Winnipeg when a salesman stopped by, offering a device used to make toast on a camping stove.

Norm started selling the camp stove toasters in his gas appliance store.

The items repeatedly sold out. When Norm learned the product would be discontinued, he acquired the remaining inventory and established Coghlan’s Outdoors.

Throughout the years, the company expanded its range of offerings with the goal of making camping more enjoyable.

Its current product line includes more than 400 items, manufactured primarily in China and Taiwan.

Coghlan’s has around 30 full-time employees at its Fort Garry headquarters.

These employees are involved with product development, marketing, sales management, human resources and customer service. Winnipeg employees also fulfill orders for the Canadian and non-U.S. markets.

The company employs a commissioned sales force across Canada and the U.S., and has a third-party warehouse in Kansas City, Mo., that fulfills U.S. orders.

In 2015, Coghlan’s acquired McNett, a Bellingham, Wash.-based company that offers products to care for and repair outdoor gear. Coghlan’s continues to operate the firm under the name Gear Aid.

Last month, Coghlan’s announced its acquisition of Fozzils, another company based in Bellingham. Fozzils is best-known in the outdoor gear market for Snapfold, a line of lightweight flat-pack dishes and collapsible cookware.

Bart Fite, founder of Fozzils, describes Coghlan’s acquisition of his company as “a match made in heaven.”

“After we started talking to them, I realized what great people Jeff and Jill are,” Fite says. “(They) shared our values and saw Fozzils in the same way that we did. They realized that these are unique and interesting products that resonate with true outdoor users and casual users.

“I feel very happy that Fozzils is in the hands of the right people and will go in the right direction with them.”

Coghlan’s will start offering Snapfold products under its banner in 2025.

Additionally, Coghlan’s has spent the last three years rebranding. It has modernized its signature green-and-yellow packaging and launched a new website that allows customers to purchase items directly.

The company has also adopted the slogan: “Be the camp hero.”

“‘Be the camp hero’ is (about being) prepared,” Jeff says. “Bring things that will elevate the experience and make it easier to enjoy time with friends and family and make deeper connections while you’re enjoying the outdoors.”

Coghlan’s introduces a handful of new products annually. This year’s offerings include dry bags, a lightweight rechargeable fan and a 30-foot cord of LED lights consumers can use to spruce up their campsites.

As it rolls out new products, Coghlan’s is committed to sustainability. The company is launching a line of tent pegs made from post-consumer recycled plastic, its dry bags are made from recycled materials and the company is in the midst of phasing out the majority of the single-use plastic it has traditionally used for its packaging.

According to the siblings, it just makes sense for a company that manufactures outdoor gear to care about the planet.

“If we’re not going to look after the environment,” Jill says, “then who will?”

As the siblings walk through the 36,000-square-foot office and warehouse, they stop at an artist’s rendering of Norm that hangs in the lobby. An employee commissioned their mother to paint the portrait.

For Jeff and Jill, it’s a daily reminder of the man who started the company — a man they describe as hardworking, respected and fair to his suppliers, customers and employees.

The siblings aim to treat everyone they encounter the same way.

“Our team is certainly important to us,” Jill says. “Creating a positive, comfortable work environment means a lot to Jeffrey and I, and it’s something we really strive to do.”

“The success of Coghlan’s falls on the team we have,” Jeff adds.

Coghlan’s aims to manufacture products that are uncomplicated, helpful and reliable. Jill says those same words describe the way the business is operated.

“Our team also tries to hone those skills for our customers,” she says. “If a customer has an issue, those are (guidelines) that our team works off of as well.”

Whether you’re making memories outdoors this long weekend in a provincial park or somewhere closer to home, it’s likely Coghlan’s has what you need.

“We want to be approachable, we want to be a company that isn’t elitist in any way,” Jill says. “We’re not trying to only appeal to the extreme backwoods (campers) … We also want to appeal to the person that’s having a campfire in their backyard.”

aaron.epp@freepress.mb.ca