Boundary Waters Quetico Forum :: Group Forum: Woodland Caribou Provincial Park :: Big blow in RL
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dentondoc |
donr: "I did not catch the new owner’s name." I'll venture a guess that it could be "Richard," since that is the name that appears in the email address on their web page. dd |
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nocsious |
This is the video posted on September 27th. www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGOrw9hg0Rk |
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Jaywalker |
sns: "Interestingly, Chukuni Outdoor Supply seems to have been around for some time - looks like an established hunting/fishing oriented outdoors shop with a facebook page and a website. Looking back through his FB and Instagram accounts, I don't see any evidence it was a business much before this spring (though I could be wrong. Edit: his FB page and logo went up in January, and looks like his gun range was built some time before). I did notice he posted in June that he no longer would accept RLO gift certificates, which puzzled me. Perhaps he has been using part of the space at RLO since then? It doesn't take long looking through his FB posts and photos to see his primary interest is guns. His new website does have a short section on outfitting, but not a lot - at least yet. The old RLO site is still up which makes sense; they probably paid for it's hosting a year at a time, so it could sit there for many months. I'll be curious to watch if the new owner changes any of it, as it may foreshadow his plans for how he wants to manage his business. I wish Harlan and his wife good luck in their new next adventure. |
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HowardSprague |
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joewildlife |
I was just wondering where his Facebook posts were...came here to find out what happened and sure enough... Sad day, I really enjoyed learning about the park, through his passion for it. Joe |
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sns |
adam: "Didn't pay his sponsorship bill so not surprising. " Ugh. Not good. Don't know if you've spoken to Albert at Goldseekers, but I bet he'd at least consider sponsoring. |
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sns |
Marten: "Albert at Goldseekers will take good care of you." 100%. Am repeat customer and he's got decades of experience outfitting WCPP paddlers. And you can always pick Marten's brain on trip options for the park - not many more knowledgeable outside of Red Lake itself. |
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hobbydog |
donr: "I did not catch the new owner’s name as I was processing that Harlan was no longer around. If I had to speculate, I would say the name change was an effort to separate the business from some of the churn between Harlan and other people in Red Lake." Yeah, I think there is way more to the story. |
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dentondoc |
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Marten |
HowardSprague: "Oh man, too bad. Sorry to hear this. I was really hoping to book something with him, after being hooked by his Canoecopia presentation. " Albert at Goldseekers will take good care of you. You will find that he knows the details on a lot of canoe options in the Red Lake area. No need to spend your time in the busier Haven and Mexican Hat Lakes. A lot of better places to visit with the same costs. |
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Marten |
HighnDry: "So, are he and his wife based out of Vancouver? Just curious where our friend ended up!" Check his YouTube for a video from BC.. Harlan in BC |
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Marten |
joewildlife: "I think there is a risk here of splitting us into Albert's camp or Harlan's camp, so to speak. I agree, we had no part in it. |
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dentondoc |
Any additional references for the YouTube vid? dd |
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HowardSprague |
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donr |
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sns |
nocsious: "I emailed Richard at Chukuni Outdoor Supply and got a response back this morning. He has not bought "Red Lake Outfitters", but did purchase some equipment from them. Richard said that there are two active outfitters in Red Lake serving WCPP, Gold Seekers and Chukuni Outdoor Supply. He'll be on vacation for the next 2 weeks, and he plans to give me a call when he returns. " Any further intel on this? If Richard at Chukuni says there are two outfitters (Chukuni and Goldseekers), and all he bought is some equipment... who (if anyone) bought RLO? Harlan's maps were/are great, and I know he made many customers happy. But I've only used Albert at Goldseekers for actual outfitting services and he's been fantastic. Sounds like his business should get a sizable bump in 2020. |
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dentondoc |
nocsious: "The youtube user is solotripper, which is the owner Harlan. Thanks! dd |
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sns |
Looks like that one will need the winter to recover... |
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hobbydog |
sns: "nocsious: "I emailed Richard at Chukuni Outdoor Supply and got a response back this morning. He has not bought "Red Lake Outfitters", but did purchase some equipment from them. Richard said that there are two active outfitters in Red Lake serving WCPP, Gold Seekers and Chukuni Outdoor Supply. He'll be on vacation for the next 2 weeks, and he plans to give me a call when he returns. " I know nothing of the situation but I would assume the creditors own what assets are left of RLO or have sold off the pieces. |
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sns |
Jaywalker: "donr: "I stopped by the old RLO after my trip earlier this month and chatted with the new owner. Seems nice enough. The business is now called Chukuni Outdoor Supply." Thinking same thing - a big part of the value of RLO to a buyer who plans to continue operations is the brand. Just makes no sense otherwise, unless perhaps it was sold in parts or for assets. The brand can substantially impact the EBITDA multiple and valuation, though admittedly outfitting businesses probably don't play by normal rules. Interestingly, Chukuni Outdoor Supply seems to have been around for some time - looks like an established hunting/fishing oriented outdoors shop with a facebook page and a website. But they do have a section on their website for outfitting canoeing trippers for WCPP. The plot thickens. |
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adam |
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donr |
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Jaywalker |
donr: "I stopped by the old RLO after my trip earlier this month and chatted with the new owner. Seems nice enough. The business is now called Chukuni Outdoor Supply." Did you happen to catch the name of the new owner? I’m surprised they would change the name of the business - seems RLO had some brand equity. |
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Marten |
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joewildlife |
I don't want to cause that. There are reasons we aren't going to find out the details of what went on, and I don't think anybody knows the whole, objective, story. So just forget I asked and sorry I brought it up! Joe |
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nocsious |
Maybe they'll jump on the forum or post something on Harlan's channel, to introduce themselves. |
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sns |
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joewildlife |
A simple yes or no would suffice. Joe |
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HighnDry |
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HighnDry |
I wish he and his wife all the best and hope to run into them in a park somewhere and some time in the future. Maybe by then they'll be portaging with a new addition to their family. :) |
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nocsious |
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donr |
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