Why Can't I Find Kids Hiking Boots in Prince George? A Local Retailer's Buying Journey

Nobody really understands the workings of being an independent retailer. So let's deep dive into it because this year, I've had more requests than ever to carry kids' hiking boots, and for the past three months I've been trying to figure out if it's actually something I can make work.

When I stock kids winter boots there’s a little more confidence because everyone in town needs a pair, but hiking boots are more niche - like 1 in 50 families. That’s a guess. Not science or stats. Even rainboots have been a finicky risky product to bring; and I sell them mostly online because we stock a barefoot style that is unique to the niche of products. 

Kids Hiking boots are just one of many products I'd love to carry in store. But the investment feels risky, and this is the exact same back-and-forth I go through for so many products, not just this one. It’s also why we love to have consignment as part of the shop, so that you can find boutique unique items when you need them and we can keep things in circulation. 

We're a small market, smaller than it looks

Prince George serves up to 300,000 people across the region. Honestly, that still makes us an incredibly small economic area. For comparison, the Kelowna metro area is 250,000, and Vancouver Island is home to 900,000. We're working with a fraction of the population that a lot of other BC retail markets get to build on.

I don’t think we talk about this enough - we say ‘Hub of the North’ but the reality is the rest of the province has exploded and that’s why you see such great collections everywhere else. It’s hard to carry high end products for kids when the population is so tiny. We rely on the internet to give us the diversity of collection for the local community. 

Price point changes everything

Hiking boots for kids average around $100 a pair. When a product hits that price point, I find you want what you want. So if I don't have the right product, the right colour, or the right style sitting on my shelf, you'll just go online and get it — and I don't blame you. That's a real and reasonable choice. But it means the margin for error on what I choose to stock is small.

I have found this to be true when I’ve brought in stroller bunting bags, winter car seat covers, and even some higher end snowgear like snowsuits. 

Timelines slip by so fast

Buying for spring 2027 is almost over. So realistically, I'll be looking at whatever stock is still available to buy, or starting to plan for 2028 instead. That's the reality of retail buying – you're never actually shopping for "right now." There’s a lot of planning and organization that goes into bring a product to the shop. Sometimes it’s quick and easy, sometimes it’s molding a relationship over months, and building up the product awareness within the community before launching a full collection.

Getting vendor, rep, or distributor attention is always a challenge, too. Sometimes it takes one email. Sometimes it takes going to trade shows,  but childcare makes that its own logistical puzzle. I really wanted to get out to some fashion and footwear shows but between childcare and heart issues this year - it hasn’t happened. I keep hoping the next time.

Even if I do decide to order the stock, there's another layer: what's my marketing timeline? It can take up to a year to really become identified as a go-to source for a specific brand or product. That's a really long time for a brand to be sitting on my shelves and not making money.

Do we even have enough local awareness?

The real question underneath all of this: if I brought in a product, could I actually sell through the inventory before the season it's meant for is over?

Here's a comparison from our own numbers. Winter boot sales tripled for us last year. Year to date, we've already sold almost as many shoes as we did all of last year, collectively. That tells me there's real, proven local demand for winter footwear.

Hiking boots are a different story. We do carry an ankle boot from Reima, and it would be a great hiking shoe but it’s gotten very little interest and that's exactly the kind of thing I have to sit with and learn from before committing to a bigger order.

The math behind a single order

Say I do move forward. Here's roughly what that looks like:

• A size run is likely a minimum of 10 pairs

• Of these 10 sizes, every kid will want the same size and you’ll have leftover

• Wholesale cost is around $50 a pair

• Freight alone could add another $100 to the order

One option in kids footwear isn't really a solution, because not every foot fits the same shape or width. So realistically, I'd need more than one style to actually serve the range of kids who'd want them. More and more, I find increased diversity within niche products has been beneficial. When you have two or three styles of rain mittens, you know we have rain mittens and then buy them from us. 

I'd need to sell about half the order just to recover the cost of the original purchase  and beyond that, I need to have cash on hand to restock specific sizes as they sell out during the season. Truthfully, the second half is the hardest part. If I don't have the financial capacity to fill in sizes as they run out, sometimes it's genuinely better for the business that I don't order the product at all, and put that energy toward something else instead.

The advice gap

I exist in a world where business advice exists for pretty much every kind of business except retail. Most of the advice out there skims right over this complicated, layered journey of managing stock, cash flow, and community awareness all at once. It's not as simple as "just order the product people are asking for."

Underneath all of this math and hesitation, my actual dream is to be a kids Atmosphere;  somewhere in this region where your family can find the clothing and gear you need to be comfortable living life here, in whatever season we're in. But I need another thousand square feet and about $100k. 

Requests like this one for hiking boots are part of how I get there. I just have to be honest about what it actually takes to say yes and I hope that sharing this with you helps you understand some of the limitations that small and regional deal with. We do our best to bring you the best of the best, and your ongoing support ensures our continued growth nad expansion so that maybe oneday you can buy brand new hiking boots in Prince George for your tweens, kids, and young littles.