The 1990s have been less than generous to retailers. Most stores plan for tiny increases in annual revenue. National spending analyst William Ford says merchants should be pleased if holiday sales this year rise by 2 percent after inflation.
What then of Sunny's, an outdoor-goods chain that has seen sales in established stores double in four years and overall sales nearly triple?
The 24-store operation has pitched its tent on one of the few firm patches of merchandising ground around: camping gear and clothes. In the process, it is shrugging off a somewhat shabby image and proving that a smallish, regional operation can contend with national megachains.
Sunny's, based in Elkridge, is still known by some as an off-price outlet where military buffs get their vintage mustard-gas masks and used khaki fatigues.
It's a perception that irritates Stephen A. Blake, the chain's president.
Even some prospective landlords think Sunny's runs "small, old, dark, poorly merchandised stores," Mr. Blake said. "We almost have to literally kidnap them and take them out to our stores."
What they see is this: clean, organized layouts with backpacks by JanSport, sleeping bags by Kelty and nary a second-quality ** item on the floor. Sunny's still carries Army jackets, but they're as likely to be new knockoffs as U.S. surplus.
The chain's newest store gives the best glimpse of where it's going. On York Road in Timonium, it has 11,000 square feet of space, far more and with a much wider selection than the 2,000- to 5,000-square foot boxes Sunny's has traditionally dealt in.
And the outside sign lacks the old "Sunny's Surplus" label. The new name: Sunny's The Affordable Outdoor Store.
"The company had to have some kind of direction," said Mr. Blake, who started changing Sunny's strategy after he was hired as president and chief executive in 1990. "I felt that one area that was not well-served in Baltimore/Washington was camping."
Interest in the environment, growing family recreation and consumer recoil from the flashy 1980s all suggested that demand for outdoor goods would grow, he said.
He was right. Sales of tents, hiking boots, high-tech jackets, coolers and flashlights started rising sharply "about five years ago, and as the years have gone on it's gotten hotter and hotter," said Joan Alvarez, publisher of Outdoor Retailer, a trade magazine based in Laguna Beach, Calif. "I think we still have several years of good market" to go.
From 1987 through 1993, the wholesale value of annual U.S. tent sales nearly tripled to $285 million, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Total camping equipment sales rose by 75 percent to $1.23 billion.
By many accounts, outdoor apparel sales have kept up with or even surpassed those of outdoor gear. Growth figures are harder to come by, but plaid flannel shirts, quick-dry thermal fleece and waffle-soled leather boots aren't just for lumberjacks and mountain climbers anymore.
"There's a tremendous amount of people out there who would never go camping in their lives but want to look like they do," Mr. Blake said.
Founded in 1948
Sunny's was founded in 1948 by Baltimore's Weinman family, which was in the business of manufacturing work apparel, as a way to sell excess inventory and military surplus goods that came on the market after World War II.
The Weinmans still own most of the company but are not part of day-to-day operations.
The chain, whose first store was in downtown Baltimore, was named after an early manager. It grew over the years, living off of government surplus, seconds and retail closeouts.
It has always sold outdoor goods and men's apparel, but the stock sometimes ran from motor oil to canned food to tool boxes, too.
About 10 years ago, business began to lag. The chain was still profitable, but discount chains such as Kmart and Caldor were elbowing into Sunny's bargain niche.
Mr. Blake, an accountant by training who wore a plaid shirt and blue jeans at a recent interview, had been executive vice president of Webster Clothes Inc., a Baltimore-based menswear chain of about 120 stores that was sold to Edison Brothers Stores Inc. in 1990. The Weinmans hired him to run Sunny's after the sale.
Sunny's first big change came at its Towson store, where selling space was expanded and managers began to stock more
first-quality merchandise. Eventually the company abandoned irregular goods altogether, gradually weaned clients on higher- quality stuff and boosted stocks of camping gear. Mr. Blake worked hard on customer service.
Two years ago, the chain introduced Sunny's Basix, its own line of jeans, shirts and sweaters that has done very well, Mr. Blake said.
Sunny's has closed three older, smaller stores and opened seven new ones. The company today has 14 Baltimore-area stores and 10 in the Washington area. Total yearly sales are nearly triple the $9 million of four years ago, Mr. Blake said. In the 17 stores operating now that were open in 1990, revenue has doubled.
'Redefining the concept'
"People who wouldn't shop Sunny's five years ago are shopping there now," said Mark Millman, president of Millman Search Group Inc., a Baltimore executive placement firm that has helped Sunny's find talent. "They've done their homework. They're redefining the concept."
The company declined to disclose earnings, but analysts said profit margins in outdoor goods have been much healthier than those of some other hot retail categories, such as computers or home-improvement merchandise.
About half Sunny's merchandise today is apparel; 35 percent is camping equipment, 10 percent footwear and the rest military and military-related.
The mix gives the chain its own category. It's not an all-sports store like The Sports Authority. It's not a hunting store. It's not an expedition outfitter, like, say, Eastern Mountain Sports. Sunny's is aimed mainly at low-tech family campers and customers -- from teen-agers to middle-agers -- who are looking for casual outdoor apparel.
"There's no reason for most people who come into our store to buy down sleeping bags, high-tech backpacks and expedition tents when they're going to load the car, drive out to the campsite and spend the weekend there," Mr. Blake said.
Increased competition
Competition may be increasing. "Because the outdoor lifestyle is such a hot area right now, we have seen a lot of growth in the general sporting goods stores that are paying attention to the outdoors," said Ms. Alvarez, of Outdoor Retailer.
But Sunny's intends to keep growing. It's looking for a site for another big store in Northern Virginia. And, said Mr. Blake, "I would think if we continue to grow we could look to go out of the Baltimore/Washington area."