Urban Tactical 2.0

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/02/2022 (1328 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What began as one man’s business venture — launched in the board room of the family business — has become a premier destination for outdoor and industry products.

Urban Tactical founder and CEO Geoff Gray has watched his company swell from a flagship store in St. James with five employees to a team of 100 in two provinces. The latest step for Gray’s company is a new, 40,000-square-foot hub for adventure enthusiasts located at 830 Century St.

Those familiar with Urban Tactical’s first Winnipeg shop won’t have a hard time finding the second.

Using a pair of Urban Tactical’s Vortex Raptor 8.5×32 binoculars, one could see the new facility from the parking lot of the original. Alternatively, one could shine a FENIX LR50R flashlight from one building to the other and still have about 941 metres of luminance to spare.
It’s just down the street.

Gray’s parents founded Corporate Security Supply in 1995. Gray’s mother was in the banking industry; his father was a former police officer. The pair specialized in products used to move and handle sensitive information. First, they focused on security bags and seals before branching out to gun lockers and bags, material for evidence control, and the back-end tools police use.

Frontline workers began to ask Gray whether the company sold more everyday — yet specialty — products like shoes, flashlights, and duty belts. Gray tapped into this market and, in 2008, he came up with the name Urban Tactical.

“It grew and grew and grew,” said Gray, who joked he was both Manitoba’s youngest and oldest boy scout. During this time, Gray developed an appreciation for quality, lightweight gear.

Urban Tactical now offers a range of gear for the outdoors, building on its previous stock targeted to first responders, search and rescue experts, and security personnel. The expansion was natural, as many folks in those lines of work have an affinity for outdoor survival and leisure, Gray said.

As a result, Urban Tactical now carries cult brands, such as Yeti and Fjällräven, and an array of hiking gear — with a utilitarian edge.

“That’s the thing about our brand,” Paul Kochanski, director of sales, said. “Those are all products we believe in. We use them. We know how they operate. We encourage our staff to try them out, so we can share those experiences with customers.”

Urban Tactical hopes to recreate the community it fostered at its previous location, both through its products and the other offerings it has in the works.

An in-store café, a slate of educational courses and classes, and an off-leash dog park for staff and customers will roll out in the upcoming weeks. The facility is also looking to host training in first-aid, outdoor cooking, and canine handling, to name a few.

“People meet at urban tactical,” Gray said. “We want to offer them a hot soup and a sandwich, a salad, a wicked cup of coffee, and a bagel in the morning.”

The Urban Tactical team is exploring the possibility of launching satellite stores coast to coast, given the Winnipeg warehouse’s capacity to store and distribute products.

“It’s a really exciting new adventure we’re on,” Kochanski said.