What I Thought of It

Sport Chek, Stephen Avenue
120 8 Ave SW
Calgary AB  T2P 1B3
Phone: 403 476 8740

Sport Chek opened a brand-new store on Stephen Avenue, in the heart of downtown Calgary, where McNally-Robinson Bookstore used to be.

My first impression of the store was how spacious and clean it looked. It was not dark and crowded, as sports stores tend to be in Canada.

This Sport Chek has three levels. The main floor has women’s apparel, the top floor has men’s apparel, and the basement has assorted merchandise like skates and golf equipment.

I was looking for two things: a frisbee and hiking sandals. Sport Chek didn’t carry frisbees (a.k.a. throwing/flying discs).

I noticed some nice sandals from Keen and asked the sales associate to get me a size 7.5 and a size 8. After a long wait (I thought she got them downstairs), she came back with an 8 but no 7.5. It turns out that Sport Chek does not stock half sizes in sandals. Too bad for me, size 8 was too big, and size 7 was too small.

Last thoughts: This Sport Chek is definitely the nicest looking one I’ve ever seen. I might walk in again the next time I’m in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, as I learned firsthand, their stocking could be better. Sport Chek shoud consider stocking half sizes in sandals (like MEC does); if stockroom space is a problem, they could just offer fewer colors to choose from.

Product Range +++
Service +++
Ambiance +++++

Coast Mountain Sports
122 Banff Avenue
Banff AB  T0L 0C0
Phone: 403 760 8249
www.coastmountain.com

Coast Mountain Sports in Banff is right on Banff Avenue, the main retail strip in downtown Banff. To make sure you don’t miss it, the Coast store is between McDonald’s and Tony Roma’s.

Coast Mountain Sports is part of the Forzani Group, which also owns Sport Chek and Sport Mart, and that makes Forzani a formidable player in the sports merchandise market in Canada.

Coast Mountain Sports in Banff is housed in a cozy little building. It’s nice to walk into whether you’re shopping or just browsing. You’ll find footwear on the street level and the rest of their merchandise (mostly clothing) upstairs. The physical space is a bit small for their fairly big inventory of sporting and outdoor goods, so you might be bumping into stuff all the time.

I was looking for a warm, reliable pair of winter boots. When shoe-shopping I often find that stores don’t carry or have run out of my size. At this Coast store, I was lucky to find three different boots that looked promising, and they had all three models in my size. This meant that I could test out all my options and come to a satisfying decision.

The staff were alert and friendly. Even though it was quite busy in the footwear section, they were fast in getting me the boots I wanted to try. The boy who helped me seemed to really know about winter boots, and this made me confident that I would not go home with the wrong choice. I left happy with a great pair of smart-looking and functional boots.

Last thoughts: Coast Mountain Sports in Banff is the first Coast store from which I didn’t leave disappointed. The staff knew what they were doing, and the store had shoes in my size (this rarely happens anywhere else). I will keep this store in mind the next time I am in need of outdoor gear.

Product Range ++++
Service ++++
Ambiance +++