Taking equipment online is a game-changer for Skunk Langford business

Taking equipment online is a game-changer for Skunk Langford business

April 12, 2023

Langford residents may not know that a thriving e-commerce company lives on Leigh Road.

Robert MacDonald moved the company there in spring 2020, packing up a truck in Sydney and passing quiet early outbreak roads to Skook Equipment Inc. in West Shaw. A new house.

Three years later, Skookum has developed a foreign business and is ready to receive a regional award for work in e-commerce.

Eight years ago, they started dating and investing online, and gradually the future became clearer, Macdonald says.

“We were in the process of transitioning slowly… when the COVID subsided. We hit the ground running and went all in.

The overwhelmingly positive trend in the company’s more than 300 unique Google reviews suggests it’s doing well.

Part of the reason is attention to detail when building the website.

“I really studied our user interface,” says McDonald.

He even enlisted his 82-year-old father to make every transaction on the site, citing details that a first-time user needs clarity on.

Every demographic needs a tool when it’s time – and their customers get the job done – the highest age group is men between the ages of 55 and 60. Skookum seems to be the first time in online shopping to cater to many people.

That’s why the website presents many challenges, such as when some people end up being hesitant to share credit card or bank information online when they pick up the phone to pay.

It’s all about looking at the website in a new light, perhaps because Skookum Tools is a finalist for the e-commerce experience award at the annual Small Business BC Awards, recognizing their exemplary customer service.

Winning the top prize comes with $10,000, but just making the shortlist is proof, McDonald says.

“It adds credibility to what we do, some of the choices we’ve made.”

Skookum is now a global online supplier of band saw blades, grinders, end mills and other shop supplies.

“We’re three people in Langford selling a million dollar product across Canada,” Macdonald said.

In the year In 2020, the company launched another online store called Elite 4 Games, which sells board games and trading cards. Created and run by employee Ryan O’Keefe, the business targets another demographic

“It’s a passion project and it’s growing,” MacDonald said.

Now on the first Saturday of every month, Elite 4 Games hosts a trading day with a focus on Pokemon. Find the online game store at elite4games.com.

Other nominees in the e-commerce category are Copper Pony Poles + Equestrian Sports Equipment by Courtenay; Clean Mint in Ucluelet; Timber + Gray in Nanaimo; and two brothers, Toffee in Vancouver.

In the year Winners will be announced on June 2, and winners in each category will receive a $10,000 prize.

Taking equipment online is a game changer for Skookum Langford’s business – Victoria News (vicnews.com)