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Business Voices is the Juneau Chamber of Commerce podcast focused on the people, ideas, and decisions shaping Juneau’s economy.
Each episode features thoughtful conversations with local business owners, civic leaders, entrepreneurs, and decision-makers who are working to build a stronger, more diverse, and more resilient business community.
This show reflects the Chamber’s larger mission: to support entrepreneurship, encourage responsible and sustainable development, improve the business climate, and help make Juneau a better place to work, live, shop, and invest.
Business Voices is a forum for insight, leadership, and shared perspective, connecting the people who care about Juneau’s economic future and the quality of life that makes this community worth building.
Welcome to Business Voices Juno, the podcast of the Juno Chamber of Commerce hosted by executive director Becca Parks. From entrepreneurship and leadership to growth, resilience, and innovation, this podcast shines a light on the businesses and voices helping define Juno's economic future.
Speaker 2:Alright. And we are back for another interview. And this week, we have Ron Flint, the owner of Nugget Alaska Outfitters. Thanks for being here.
Speaker 3:My pleasure.
Speaker 2:And I am excited to hear about all things outdoor stores and Juno. And my understanding is that NAO has been a part of your family for a long time.
Speaker 3:Yes, yes. 1974. So we just celebrated fifty years last year. Technically there was a change in the corporation, we're claiming, and then the Nuggets started in 'seventy four is the department store where Petco is now, the anchor store, the Nugget Mall. And no, my dad didn't own the Nugget Mall, but a lot of people thought that he did because he was the front man for the developers who were from Bellevue and he wanted them all to grow.
Speaker 3:And so that would help the store. And so anyway, he was out there in the forefront of making Nugget Mall happen.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that was what year did you say? 'seventy four. 'seventy four.
Speaker 3:But before that, when I was born in '58, he became the manager of Barron's department store downtown.
Speaker 2:There's another Juno name.
Speaker 3:Oh boy.
Speaker 2:And did Barron's carry all the outdoor supplies the same?
Speaker 3:Not outdoors. I mean, it was more traditional department store. And before that he had been, we might as well go back to the beginning. In 1947, he gets Juno after the war and mom comes up, not mom at that time. They get married and my brother and he has the milk route.
Speaker 3:And so there are not many people around anymore that I remember, but he was a milkman in Juneau. They had the dairy right where the nugget was, ironically. And so he was the milkman for a while, then he did that for several years. And then he went to work for the BM Barons Company, who had the bank originally, and then they had the department store across the street, took that over. And then he went through building a new Barron's department store in '67, but he saw the writing on the wall, suburbs parking, the mall is where it's going.
Speaker 3:And so, okay, Barron's just built this beautiful store downtown. I want you to build another one in the valley now. They didn't go for it. And so he did.
Speaker 2:It's interesting to think about small town Juno having the same suburb effect as people were seeing down south, but I guess it does make sense. So the Nugget opened and with that his own store.
Speaker 3:Yes, with 10 or 12 local investors to make it happen.
Speaker 2:Are any of those investors still around? Have they stayed part of the business?
Speaker 3:Well, have just up until a few years ago. The department store went 74 to 87, And that's when we got the word that Gottschalk's was interested in coming to town. It just so happened that the developer that owned the Nugget Mall got on the airplane and sat down right next to somebody from Gottschalk's coming to town. He's like, Oh boy, this could be trouble for the Nugget department store. And so he came back and talked to my dad and my dad's like, Okay, I think we got a spot for him.
Speaker 3:And so Nugget department store gets closed out all except for the men's department. And there's a little great side story. Roll it down the hallway. We've had two bays in the Nugget Mall. They're like 3,000 feet a piece.
Speaker 3:Remodeled, take all the stuff from the men's department, exact same stuff, same rack, everything, put it in this new space. A couple of days later, the guy walks up, some guy. Well, it's about time we got a decent men's store in this town. And obviously this has stuck with me these years that you take whatever.
Speaker 2:The same inventory. Yeah,
Speaker 3:put it in a different box and then people can see it. I mean, it was next to the sheets and pillowcases and the kids, whatever department. And then you take it and put it in that different box. They're like, okay. And we, along that thread, had gone along since, okay, we were there, what did I say, '87, we go in there.
Speaker 3:We're the Nugget men's store when we get there. And there's, like I said, all the same stuff, which was dress shirts, ties, might've been a sport coat or two slacks, but there was also car artwork and Woolrich and Pendleton and all this kind of traditional Alaskan stuff. Not too much outdoor stuff, traditional. Anyway, so I'm losing my mind now what I was gonna get. Well, so we go along men's tour.
Speaker 3:Okay, let's go a little more outdoorsy. And I think probably outdoors was happening in coming. It was getting to be a thing in the eighties, right? And we said, okay, how about Nugget Alaskan outfitter? And a little more outdoorsy.
Speaker 3:And then how about we borrow this kind of like, there's this place in Seattle that just has three letters. And so we kind of go with REI, that had been taken. How about NAO? Yeah, yeah, yeah, that's great. And we tried and tried, but everybody just called it the nugget or the nugget men's store until, here we go again, we move over to Mineral Home Mall, put out the sign above the door in the parking lot that says NAO, and finally it becomes NAO.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's like the transition of any store name. I feel like IGA has switched over what we actually call whatever grocery store has been there. It takes a long time to adopt the new name.
Speaker 3:Or some major change like that.
Speaker 2:So what was your first job at the store? How did you start working?
Speaker 3:My first job at Behrend's department store was picking up the garbage in the parking lot for $2 I think I got $2 a lot, or maybe I got $2 for both lots. And there were some people that like, there was an apartment building right there. They threw the garbage out of their apartment. So sometimes they'd clean up like a whole bag of garbage, just pop cans and the usual, brother. And then hosing down the sidewalk and then I graduated washing the windows on from there.
Speaker 3:And then when the Nugget department store opened back rooms. So I built shelves back there in high school, some of that kind of stuff. Christmas time, I'd work on the floor, going to college, come back, do a little bit of that. But mostly during the summer I worked over at Don Able, kind of my only other retail thing, similar kind of stuff.
Speaker 2:You know that whole time that this was gonna be your path? Like did you see yourself owning the business?
Speaker 3:Not really, no. But I kind of went to college, business degree. My dad, great salesman, and he's selling me on this idea of what I'm gonna do. I'm like, oh, oh. Especially if we can make it more outdoorsy, then I can buy into that part.
Speaker 3:The department store, I don't know. Although don't tell anybody, I mean, we still have departments. We have the men's and the women's and the kids. It is- You're
Speaker 2:a small department store.
Speaker 3:We are. Still outdoor department, footwear department, it's big now. Didn't used to have the footwear. Yeah, it's probably grown more than anything in the store. And that could be just because in Juneau, it's the market that is not being catered to.
Speaker 3:And so, okay, we'll do that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that was the next thing I was sort of curious is how the market in Juneau has changed over the last five, ten.
Speaker 3:Sure. Mean, I there used to be foot in like a Nugget Mall, there used to be Foot Locker, Payless Shoes, footwear, foot gallery Lewis' head. So they go away and we assimilate part of that. Plum Tree goes away. I can't remember what, I was thinking there that we might've Yeah, there's some brands like Adventure Sports had Marmot, and we got Marmot.
Speaker 3:It got really big, it was great. Precept rain jacket. Two page spread in the yearbook on what color is your Precept? Was it really? Like, wow, we didn't pay for that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, had one of them. Think most people who So shared with all those changes, I mean, we've talked about you've been involved with the chamber for a family tradition now. Sure. I think your parents were on, were chamber
Speaker 3:president was
Speaker 1:and your daughter's on now. Yeah, my
Speaker 3:a chamber president back in the day. To And the annual dinner at his Hickey Freeman tuxedo, which I still have.
Speaker 2:You're wear to the dinner this year?
Speaker 3:I've worn it many times. Well, didn't quit running, but I haven't been running for a few years. And so it's kind of a little snug on me. And so I could still wear the jacket, but yeah.
Speaker 2:We'll see, it's not till October. So you've got time to fit back into it. Through all those experiences in the chamber, and can you just talk a little bit about what that connection to the business has been and if there's any notable things the chamber has done or that you did when you were part of the chamber?
Speaker 3:Right. Mean, it's just important having your advocate for the business community because there's something, sometimes there's some things that you want to have happen, but this sounds kind of bad, like some kind of backroom hit, like, you go take care of this problem for me, but that's what they're there for To be unbiased, well, business biased, but for your interests and that kind of thing. You're an advocate. So you gotta do that. And yeah, I think it's just kind of been something we've always done and it's yeah, important part of the mix to, hey, this is important.
Speaker 3:Things like, you really shouldn't have a tax on inventory. And I think that was something that happened that went away finally because some companies could move their inventory out of town on whatever day you count inventory. I can do that. And so then it's like paying a penalty for having inventory in town. And so finally that got changed in a way.
Speaker 3:Then think the chamber was certainly instrumental to make that happen. Things like that. So yeah.
Speaker 2:What are the other new, the Nugget and NAO now are just staples of the community. What are the other community things that you feel really tied into that have been a part of the business in terms of community giving and involvement? Who do you see coming through the store?
Speaker 3:Well, I don't know for myself, it was kind of one of my dad's friends that got me involved in the fireworks committee. So been on that for decades, you know? And fortunately Jason and Sigurd, they got it under control now. Making, know, they got it. Well, they have had for probably the last decade, you know, and I've just been kinda facilitating that kind of thing.
Speaker 3:And then, I think just, I mean, like sponsoring Little League and we do a lot of community support stuff for all the things and football and volleyball and banners here and there and everything. It's great. It's what you need to do. And it's called indirect advertising on our books. It's promotion, you know, and that kind of thing too.
Speaker 3:And it's given back to the community. What helps make a community, right? So, yeah.
Speaker 2:And you're here still. So you went down south, went to school.
Speaker 3:Yep, Western Colorado.
Speaker 2:A bad place Yeah. To
Speaker 3:son, daughter-in-law are in the den rearing now and still have a few friends back there. Can see you on So
Speaker 2:what brought you back? Was it just the store and family? Well,
Speaker 3:I think just Juno. I mean, that was great to go to Cowboy Country, see something different, non maritime influence for a change. But I was like, no, this is home and mountains, saltwater, skiing, and boating, and all that kind of stuff. And it's like, no. And not too many people.
Speaker 3:I mean I mean, used to really like, woah, too many people. And I mean, so I can handle people now, but I'd rather not live where there's too many people. Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, Juno does have its perks. We were talking on another one of these about balance. How we have so many resources but just amazing space and not too many people.
Speaker 3:And we're smiling today. The weather outside is beautiful and so forth.
Speaker 2:It always helps. Sunshine goes a long way.
Speaker 3:I mean, it's been great for sales. Gotta tell you, we're having best year to date so far, best of May. Partly because we had winter in January, whereas the year before we we had rain and not much of a winter. And so that's helped.
Speaker 2:It's nice to hear that sales are up because in general we're hearing it's a really rough climate for businesses right now with all expenses going up, fuel costs going up, shipping going up. But you're seeing something different.
Speaker 3:Yeah. Well, I would say just to study my whole industry as far as I'm talking outdoor industry, of course we were going along. And then when COVID hit, we were one of the lucky ones partly because, well, people went outdoors, couldn't be indoors, went outdoors. So that really boosted the whole outdoor industry. And fortunately, like my dad always said, you can't sell from an empty wagon.
Speaker 3:And part of that's because it takes time to get merchandise here or shipping and all that kind of stuff. So we tend to carry more inventory than we should technically. But when you have something like that happen, when things kind of shut down for a while and you got to sell what you have on hand, I mean, worked out for us. And so boosted sales up and we've kind of stayed up there since, whereas a lot of outdoor industry kinda had a little boom and bust through that whole episode.
Speaker 2:Yeah. That's smart. And you've always kept just a little extra inventory because of Southeast and personal preference?
Speaker 3:Yeah. You just You just don't know if it's gonna rain for three months straight. It doesn't always, but so yeah, it doesn't hurt to stock a lot of that stuff because it's gonna sell. You're not gonna end up putting it on sale. Whereas shorts and sandals and t shirts and that kind of stuff, you can have a great summer one year and not so hot.
Speaker 2:Do you see a big shift in the summer in terms of tourist shopping?
Speaker 3:I describe it, our tourist business, as the secondary tourism market. We get the people who work in the industry, the guides and the people on the docks and that kind of Because the tourists, when they come by our store, they're going 50 headed for the glacier. And then, so we don't get them too much, a few, and we get the people in town seeing their families and that kind of thing. But really for us, has certainly, over the last twenty years, still Christmas is our main sales event of the year. We just kinda go up to December Christmas and then boom, if there's no winter, especially we can drop off in January, get super quiet, start building back up.
Speaker 3:And then summer would or could not be busy, say twenty years ago, but now it's definitely been stronger. It's building, building, building. People are here and they're going out and doing all kinds of adventures and that kind of thing. And we're there to get them geared up before they go do it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've certainly brought people in to buy their first pair of extra Tufts that they bring back to their cities when the streets are full of water there. It's pretty fun. Then they say they feel like they have a connection. If they see another New Yorker and extra Tufts, they know they've been up here.
Speaker 3:Well, now you even see them in the ski magazine sometimes in the parking lot, they're changing out of their ski boots, putting their extra tufts on. It's a thing.
Speaker 2:The inventory that you carry, thinking about extra Tufts and other just trends that you've seen over the years, are there any things that you've seen and been really impressed with? Like, you feel like yours gotten a lot better versus maybe trends that are you're less excited about.
Speaker 3:Right. Well, I swear we'll try. We're constantly trying. And I would say the majority of those things that we try end up on the sale rack. But some stick, some new item or whatever or redo.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, who would think that, I mean, like some of our top selling categories are of course, rain gear, rubber boots, but then water bottles like Hydro Flask are huge. And now we have Stanley. And it's like, could you plan this? This is my business plan. Boots, rain gear, and water bottles.
Speaker 3:No. And so it's just kind of some things you have to just go through it. And do we do a lot of analysis and- No, we have fortunately, we have sales reps with companies that we've been dealing with for a long time. And they'll go like, hey, this looks pretty good, so you should know about this. And we go, oh, yeah, well, we've tried something like that before.
Speaker 3:Oh, we'll try it again. You know, like polo shirts. Or something like sweaters get very cyclical. I've seen every five, ten years, Oh, sweaters are back. And now they're dying away.
Speaker 3:And now their knit sweaters are back. Things like that. How many times is this gonna
Speaker 2:We're fickle consumers.
Speaker 3:Yeah. What's old is new again or vice versa.
Speaker 2:Another thing I've noticed just about NAO in particular is you seem to do a really great job of holding on to staff. Like I go in, I feel like I recognize faces year after year. Do you have a trick?
Speaker 3:Well, think we certainly care about our employees and do what we can compensate them fairly and that kind thing. And I think the truth is that say we have 12 or 14 FTEs and probably six or seven of those have stayed. We've had a good core group like that. Nancy, our buyer is 40 some years and Eric's 28 pushing 30 and Candy's over 20. Our office person, Ian's getting up there now in double digits.
Speaker 3:So yeah, we've got some familiar faces around. And that's just critical for keeping a business going because it's, especially when the other half of the staff is kind of turning over. And so you need to have some institutional knowledge that carries forward. Yeah, bless them for hanging around.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Well, son's been in there. He likes to pick the little sizing things off the floor to put back on the hangers. So he's in line for one of those jobs someday.
Speaker 3:Excellent.
Speaker 2:So what's next?
Speaker 3:For Nugget or well that's
Speaker 2:It's hard to extract you and Nugget. So I you can
Speaker 3:But it's gonna have to happen because here I am. Yeah, that was a long time ago in 1982 when I signed on, when I did my last beginning of my, this current job. And so, it's gonna come to an end here for me. Hopefully not for Nugget, you know, hopefully somebody is interested in carrying it forward, you know. But yeah, the lease is up in a couple of years.
Speaker 3:So yeah, I'm gonna be exploring and looking for a new owner, you know. Unfortunately, my kids, like I mentioned, sons in Colorado, my daughter is here doing something else with Greens Creek, having a great job there.
Speaker 2:Very busy on the chamber board.
Speaker 3:Yes. Third generation, right? Yeah. So that's not gonna happen. So yeah, we'll have to find somebody else to keep it going.
Speaker 3:I mean, it's certainly, yeah. It's certainly worth doing. Yeah. I mean, from a business standpoint, I'll say that. I mean, I can't say that it's but it's not super duper difficult.
Speaker 3:It's like most business, if you just work at it steadily, Taking care of the weed in the garden and that kind of thing and watch it grow.
Speaker 2:What are the skills that you think have been most important? Like if someone is thinking about it, would you say, make sure you've gone to business school, just make sure you have got the time and the I
Speaker 3:know. And I'm sure I could have done what I've done without going to business school because they taught you about manufacturing and this big business thing that doesn't really apply to small business as this thing had. I kind of think of myself a lot of times like being a producer. I mean, you have to wear, well, any small business, you gotta wear a lot of different hats. And so, yeah, I mean, you could be a great whatever, super duper outdoors person, whatever, all this experience or whatever.
Speaker 3:But yeah, you need to have some business experience too. And yeah, people experience and you have to be able to swallow hard a lot and put the customer first and that kind of thing. And so, yeah, it's a lot of things, but a lot of it's not, like I said, super technical or like I think it's just, yeah, lot of work taking care of details.
Speaker 2:And then what do you think is next for you?
Speaker 3:Oh, I thought that too much. Yeah. More time for adventure.
Speaker 2:Use some of that gear.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. And then when it's the nice days like today, then you're not at work. You're out enjoying those precious days and that kind of thing. And I'm sure it's gonna be a new addition to the family in Colorado soon so that
Speaker 2:Congratulations.
Speaker 3:Yeah, probably be spending one more time down there visiting and doing that kind of deal.
Speaker 2:All right, and then I have one other question is just you get to be around all the gear that so many of us love. Do you have a favorite piece of gear?
Speaker 3:Well, I mean the current, if you go into the store, I mean, this is I don't know. It seems kind of silly when you think about well, I do love my Lola hiking boots, and extra tough boots are like they're kind of indispensable. That's something that no other company really makes something exactly like because they're ankle fit and they work on the boat and this great. Anyway, actually there's a pair of the blue fish gloves that have the fuzzy lining.
Speaker 2:I know those gloves.
Speaker 3:I mean, yeah, we have the non insulated ones, but I mean, that's an item that I've not seen anybody else, another company make anything like that because we've had the ones before that are waterproof. These are actually breathable. They are porous. And so they don't sweat so bad. They dry out quicker.
Speaker 3:And around here, and I've told myself, I swear several times that, you know what's gonna happen to me? What's gonna take me out? Is I'm gonna be out somewhere doing something and my hands are gonna be so cold that I can't untie or tie the knot on the boat or whatever. I'm going down. And so these things, yeah, even when they're soaking wet, they keep your hands warm.
Speaker 2:Yeah. Mean, have a pair. That's what I wear kayaking.
Speaker 3:Yeah. I mean, I wear mountain biking and skiing sometimes and hiking and cleaning up the yard. Know, it's crappy. So and you know, you can operate the deer harvester with the smaller size, have some dexterity. The bigger ones are warmer, but you know, and it's they're just like, that's my item.
Speaker 2:All right. Well, I appreciate knowing that. And just really grateful to get to talk to you. So for anyone who tuned in halfway through, it's been Ron Flint, the owner of Nugget Alaskan Outfitters. And, yeah, I hope we get to talk to you again.
Speaker 2:Maybe we'll have you back on when you're closer to taking that next step.
Speaker 3:Sounds good.
Speaker 2:Thanks.
Speaker 1:You've been listening to Business Voices Juno. Subscribe everywhere you listen to your favorite broadcast. Share the episode and learn more about the Juno Chamber of Commerce at Juno Chamber dot com.