Country Sports Business Profile - Smyth’s Country Sports of Coleraine

It is always a pleasure to visit Smyths Country Sports, sited in the centre of what is widely recognised as one of Northern Ireland’s best shopping towns, with a great mix of independent and multiple retailers. The Smyth family, with a long history of retailing, are situated right in the centre.

As I travelled up to do this feature, I reflected on the first time I had met current proprietor Stephen Smyth, in the country sports shop run by his father Russell, a true legend in hunting, shooting and fishing circles in the North West.

Stephen had just left university to help rescue the family’s department store which, like all such stores, had suffered from the worldwide decline in demand at that time. Academe’s loss was retailing’s gain, as Stephen was given full rein to totally re-organise the store and he built on his retailing experience to introduce innovations that really worked, including a café on the top floor.

After he stabilised the business, Stephen sold the premises and then honed his retailing skills and experience in managing a large retail chain in NI, while at the same time setting his father up in new premises in what is the current Smyths Sports shop.

Stephen combines great retailing skill, imagination and experience with a big personality and a real commitment to providing excellent customer service and satisfaction. When he took over the shop from his father, he focused on brands that would help him deliver satisfied customers and repeat business.

One such brand was Barbour, which fitted Stephen’s concept of a great country sports product in terms of brand history and image, a great range of styles and fits, and overall quality products that delivered comfort, service and value.

Stephen has promoted the brand and his personal reputation for service throughout Ireland at the Great Game Fairs of Ireland and indeed throughout the world through his clever use of social media and digital marketing. He showed me huge files of letters and emails from satisfied mail order customers.

I suggest you pay a visit to Coleraine to see Stephen – the craic is mighty and the stock extensive BUT if you can’t and want great country sports clothing as Christmas presents then do have a look at his website.

“Smyths of Coleraine expect that this Christmas will be the best ever trading period in the Family business for past forty five years. Last year, you will remember that we had the £100

A festive snow storm at Smyths discount bonus scheme which really helped family businesses over that crucial ‘getting back to normal after Covid. Well, this year, with great supplies of mens, ladies and accessories already delivered from Barbour, Smyths are looking to break all their existing records.”

“Following on from an excellent Game Fair at Shane’s Castle we have seen a huge upturn in both our counter trade and our huge online business during September and October. Fingers crossed, this excellent trading will continue over the Christmas period, and our new stocks have already been hugely successful.

“The Barbour ladies fashion end gets stronger and stronger, with a big new demand for longer length coats and quilts and we have an excellent variety of these in our store. Interestingly, for about four years now in sales of Barbour men’s wax jackets, we have selected the five very best selling garments of all time, three fashion and two classics, and they are still selling better than ever. The Barbour brand is just going from strength to strength.

“The Barbour quality, reliability and the new designs are all getting better and better and our stocks for Autumn/Winter ’22 and Spring ’23 give Smyths great confidence that this Christmas will be our very best.

“Everyone at Smyths look forward to seeing you in our shop very soon where the keynotes are the latest quality items and first class service. Our premises in Coleraine will be undergoing a huge refit in February 2023 and our trademark friendly service and unique atmosphere will actually be enhanced.”

Please take a look at the Smiths Country Sports website where you will see our new Barbour ranges and 1,000s of favourable 5 star customer reviews at www.smythscountrysports.co.uk

Countrywear has been at the heart of the Barbour brand since it was founded in 1894. With practical clothing inspired by the colours of the countryside, it’s fit for purpose in relaxed, capacious fits designed for those who live and work in the country. For men, versatility and performance feature throughout in a choice of wax and waterproof breathable jackets, quilts, essential gilets and smart tweeds. Tattersall shirts are refreshed in new fabrications and check sizes alongside comfortable knitwear and heavyweight overshirts.

For women, this season’s countrywear collection takes inspiration from exploring Victorian country houses and grounds. With a refined attention to detail, the range features a country-based colour palette with prints and tones that are classically elegant. It’s a collection to be discovered and enjoyed.

For further information, please visit your local stockist or barbour.com

Fontwell Gilet RRP £159.00 Hogside Tartan Regular Shirt RRP £64.95, Reg Fit Jean RRP £79.95, Cairn Cap RRP £39.95 Catbell Overshirt RRP £89.95, Eastwood Thermo Weave Shirt RRP £74.95

(Left) Daffodil Shirt RRP £64.95, Beadnell Jacket RRP £229.00

(Right) Alder Wool Gilet RRP £179.00, Primrose Knit RRP £69.95, Essential Slim Jeans RRP £69.95, Barbour Daffodil Shirt RRP £64.95

Stavia Knit RRP £99.95, Cranleigh Shirt RRP £69.95

When every ounce counts but every detail needs to be discovered, SWAROVSKI OPTIK offers the ideal solution with its new ATC/STC spotting scope. It will be available in three different versions from October 3, 2022.

“With the ATC/STC, we are reaching out to all those whose passion for nature takes them into rough terrain or remote areas. The priorities for this target group include a small pack size and a light weight with no compromise on optics,” explains Stefan Hämmerle, Member of the Executive Board – Marketing & Sales at SWAROVSKI OPTIK.

With a length of 258 mm/285 mm (10.2 in/11.2 in), the ATC/STC is smaller than a sheet of DIN A4 paper. Its light weight of 970 g/980 g (10.2 in/11.2 in) also makes it a perfect companion for demanding activities and long trips. One of the biggest challenges for the product developers at the Tyrolean family company was incorporating high optical performance in this compact design. Stefan Hämmerle explains how this was achieved: “Packing optical perfection into a small product calls for huge efforts from our optical calculators and designers. They had to push the boundaries of physics to their limits for the ATC/STC. The result is amazing.”

But the ATC/STC impresses with more than its outstanding SWAROVISION quality optics. Its practical ease of use is another clear benefit. A half shell allows the spotting scope to be positioned stably on a surface even without a tripod, and allows unimpeded turning of the focusing and turning wheel at all times. A carrying strap is supplied with the spotting scope.

Like most SWAROVSKI OPTIK observation optics, the new compact spotting scope can be easily connected to a smartphone using the variable phone adapter (VPA). This makes it possible to immediately capture observations on camera.

The ATC/STC (17-40x56) is available in three versions: with angled view (ATC) in either green or Burnt Orange, and with straight view (STC) in green. The ATC/STC is produced as a single unit and cannot be separated into eyepiece and objective modules.