Photo by Emily Featherston.
Old-world hunting lodge meets contemporary sportsman in the design of Caliber, a new sporting goods store on Central Avenue.
Old-world hunting lodge meets contemporary sportsman — that’s the atmosphere Matt Holland wants to bring with Homewood’s newest sporting goods store.
“What I’m trying to do is excellence in hunting and fishing,” he said of Caliber, which is set to open this summer.
It may be easy to assume that “caliber” is meant to reference the guns and hunting equipment that will be available at the store, but Holland said that isn’t the case.
“Really, it’s the opposite,” he said. When people hear “caliber,” he wants them to think of the high quality of the store’s merchandise, employees and customer service.
Caliber will carry a variety of items, including hunting and fishing equipment as well as clothing, accessories and other outdoor-sport needs.
Holland said he is an avid outdoorsman.
“I’d rather be outdoors than indoors,” the Mountain Brook native said, adding that he both hunts and fishes regularly, as well as engaging in a variety of other outdoor activities.
Holland said he has been in the sporting goods industry for 11 years and was with another company before deciding to branch out on his own.
When it came time to decide where he might set up shop, he said he knew many of his former clients lived in the Homewood, Vestavia Hills and Mountain Brook areas, so he decided Homewood would be the perfect central location.
In addition to his own experience, both professionally and personally, Holland said the employees he is planning to work with generally have 20 years experience in the business as well, which he thinks will set the customer service experience at Caliber apart from anywhere else in the area.
And while customers can always just stop in for a quick item they need, he said he hopes to foster an environment where customers come in and speak with employees about their plans and interests, so that the team can best serve each individual. This “knowledge-driven” style, he said, could manifest in a variety of ways, from employees having taken that major hunting trip to Africa, or spent significant time big-game fishing, and using those experiences to drive customers to the best products.
And those products, he said, will often stand out from the crowd.
“We’re going to try to find the best products, not only for the dollar, but also maybe unique things that people haven’t seen before,” he said.
The major draw likely will be the true classic pieces, such as the Winchester Model 21, Colt Python and others that Caliber will be one of the only purveyors of in the area.
“When you have some of the classics, it spreads in the sporting world,” he said.
By making Caliber a destination, he said he thinks the business will have a positive impact on the surrounding businesses as well.
On top of unique products, Holland said Caliber also hopefully will offer classes, events and other sports community-building things to keep customers coming back.
“It’s just going to be a unique store,” he said.
Caliber will be at 2822 Central Ave. More information will be available closer to opening at caliberxl.com.