Realizing he was staring at a fork in the road, Parker decided to take the question to heart and wrote down what it actually would take to keep him at Cobequid. “So I wrote out all of my demands, you know, because I was young and foolish. And I said when you’re ready to sell, I want to buy. And he just said ‘okay well that sounds good then.’ And then I thought ‘oh boy, I definitely bit off more than I could chew.’ It took us eight months to a year to work out the deal, but we got it done. And away we went!” Parker took the helm about eight years ago and has since made a number of game-changing improvements and upgrades to the business, including product and service diversification, and the creation of an active online presence. “Oh boy, I definitely bit off more than I could chew.” He explains, “The changes we made over the last eight years… we’ve entered into the marine business, for one. The store had never been in the marine business before I took over. Before that, we were just doing ATVs and snow- mobiles, you know, just power sports. And we also brought in aluminum, pontoons and fiberglass boats. Now we are ac full line dealer rather than just power sports only.” Parker points out that online marketing has boosted sales and put them in touch with an emerging demographic who is beginning to buy big ticket sporting goods. “Social media also brought a big change to the game. When I started, we had no social media at all. No Facebook page Away they went indeed!
By John Allaire C obequid is certainly no new kid on the block. The business opened its doors in 1965. Parker explains that before he took over, he had other plans, not necessarily involving store ownership. “The company’s first order was actually signed in the living room of the original owner. I got involved in the business eight years ago. I started in the parts department. I moved over to sales and climbed up further and further until I was essentially running the show. However, at the time, I was ready to move on to something else. I went to school to be a power-line technician. But before I finished up with that, the owner talked to me and asked ‘what would it take keep you here?’”
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APRIL 2018 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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