From: Jennifer Hanson, thenorthbaybay.ca staff
NORTH BAY — “Rural Planet,” the sister company to “Urban Planet,” is set to open a new location in North Bay next month.
But while “Urban Planet” is a clothing store that specializes in “trendy clothes for men, women, and children,” the new “Rural Planet” will be a smaller store that caters “exclusively to its environment” says founder Gracelyn Palmer.
“We spend up to 6 months beforehand looking at what makes a city the way it is,” says Palmer. “What the town is interested in, what they like, what they want to buy.”
“We use an advanced surveying system to pinpoint what will sell best in a community and then stock accordingly.”
Palmer says she was “surprised” by the results for North Bay.
“I’ve done this dozens of times,” frowns Palmer. “But I’ve never had this sort of result. But if this is what North Bay wants, then this is what we’ll sell, I guess.”
Rural Planet’s North Bay Stock
“To start, we’ll have an extensive section for vaping and e-cigs,” says Palmer. “That rated high on the list for North Bay.”
“We’ll also carry e-bikes, senior walkers, bike locks, bolt cutters, crowbars, commemorative Dionne Quintuplet mugs, snow shovels, No Name® beer, No Name® condoms, muscle shirts, ear spacers, fishing tackle, bongs, Honda Civic exhaust kits, naloxone, and hunting rifles.”
“I’ll be honest,” says Palmer. “I’m a little alarmed. I’ve never seen such a high demand for both Gangsta Rap and Country music in the same city at the same time.”
Still, Palmer is confident the new store will succeed.
“If we see some success in the first year, we’ll look hard into expanding and buying new stocks,” says Palmer. “Though there’s some things I’ve been told to hold off on.”
“We were going to stock up on dog poop baggies, but I was told that North Bay wouldn’t be interested in them.”