Great Hobbies president and co-owner Jim Ewing never dreamt his part-time hobby would eventually grow into a business that is Canada’s leading supplier in radio control models.
In 1984, armed with $250 worth of model airplane accessories and the name of Jim’s RC supply, Ewing got to work in his parents’ basement on Nassau Street in Charlottetown.
Nearly 30 years later, the company has taken off like one of the models it supplies, with locations spanning across the country.
“When I started, it was just to support the local modellers. It just took off from there.”
The company was awarded the 2012 Greater Charlottetown Area Chamber of Commerce’s Award for Excellence in Business.
Ewing said the company has seen much recognition among locals since moving the P.E.I. store from a Stratford facility into a new location on Buchanan Drive in Charlottetown last spring.
“We’ve been the Island’s best-kept secret. For many years we’ve been the largest in the country for what we do,” Ewing said. “Most people on P.E.I. don’t know or realize that.”
Business growth has been steady but but gradual since Ewing began in 1984.
It wasn’t long after setting up shop when Ewing became involved in the hobby on a regional basis, with customers all over the Maritimes eventually requesting a price sheet.
“That led to the first catalogue,” Ewing said.
The interest also led to 14-year-old Mark Bowlan joining as a second employee. Working part-time after school, Bowlan would later become a partner in the business.
“By the time I was in Grade 12, I knew it was what I wanted to do,” said Bowlan, who has never worked another job.
WIth the business booming by the second year, Ewing made the decision to try the business full-time for one year.
“I had to either do it full time or get out. It was getting too busy,” he said.
If $72,000 could be sold, Ewing felt there was a potential to make a living from the business.
The year eventually saw $120,000 in sales, solidifying the potential for a full-time business and expansion.
Other radio control products were soon added to the mix, such as helicopters, car and trucks and boats around this time. As well, a summer student was hired through a provincial government program to write inventory management and sales software for the business.
In 1989, Saint John, N.B. resident Gary Stephen joined the team and later became a partner in the business, which changed its name to East Coast Model Center to reflect its regional nature.
A new name wasn’t the only change to come. The business also soon moved from Nassau Street into a 2,400 square foot unit on Glen Stewart Drive in Stratford. Only eight years later the company had again outgrown its location.
In 1998, Great Hobbies built a 5,025 square foot facility also on Glen Stewart Drive, which included a show room, warehouse, shipping/receiving area, customer service area, conference area and management offices.
In 2001, with expansion again on the horizon, the company decided to change its name to Great Hobbies and become federally incorporated.
“East Coast Model Center doesn’t cut it in Edmonton,” Ewing said, adding that it was in December of that year when the company’s Edmonton store opened.
The Edmonton store served both as a mail order and retail sales location.
In November 2010, Great Hobbies opened a third retail location in the Trainyard Shopping Centre in Ottawa, Ont., followed by a fourth retail location in the Meadowvale Shopping Area of Mississauga, Ont.
The Mississauga opening also coincided with a new web-based software system that was integrated into the company’s day to day operations.
February 2012, saw the completion of a company hangar at the Charlottetown Airport, while a new warehouse facility was opened close to the retail store in Mississauga only a month later. Mail order was eventually amalgamated into the new warehouse.
In April 2012, Great Hobbies moved its P.E.I. store from the Stratford facility to a new location in the main retail district of Charlottetown. Administration offices still remain in the Stratford facility.
Bowlan said while he’s always had goals and ambitions for the company, he also couldn’t have seen it growing into the precedes it is today. He has no plans on slowing down.
“That’s the neat part,” he said. “You create new dreams and goals and you build and grow from there.”
