Parks Canada – an agency of the federal government – will develop a commercial merchandise and clothing line to sell to visitors of Canada’s national parks and historic sites.
The hope is to have the merchandise, such as travel mugs, water bottles, balls caps and T-shirts, available for purchase by 2013. All items will feature Parks Canada’s beaver logo, a treasured national symbol.
“We see the product line as enhancing awareness of the Parks Canada Agency and national parks and historic sites,” said Greg Danchuk, Parks Canada’s acting director of brand experience.
“We want to enhance visitor experience by giving visitors a chance to purchase memorabilia and continue on with the connections they have formed with our treasured places.”
A request for proposals is currently up on Merx, Canada’s electronic tendering service, and closes Dec. 12.
The successful company will pay Parks Canada a royalty, but they will keep the revenues from the wholesale and retail sales of official merchandise they sell online or through their own stores.
If the merchandise is sold at a Parks Canada store, such as an information centre, the agency keeps the revenue, but if sold at a cooperative association like a Friends group, that group retains the revenue.
Danchuk said the plan is to also have the merchandise eventually available in major cities such as downtown Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal, as well as online.
“We want to have a great presence in urban centres and get people more connected to their parks,” said Danchuk.
Parks Canada manages 42 national parks, 167 national historic sites and four national marine conservation areas, which combined attract more than 20 millions visitors each year.
Banff National Park, which has been mandated to increase visitation by two per cent a year over a five-year period, attracted about 3.1 million people last year.
In 2011, Parks Canada launched its first-ever national merchandise program to coincide with the 100th anniversary celebration of the world’s first national park service.
The program featured 13 products such as key chains, sticky notes and clothing. So far this year, more than 30,000 products were ordered by about 65 Parks Canada-related retail outlets across Canada
“We haven’t got the final inventory, but we understand most of it got sold,” said Danchuk. “That gives us confidence that people have an interest in it and they would like this memorabilia. We feel it can be successful.”
Danchuk didn’t see the program as “mandate creep,” but more about Parks Canada’s goal to enhance visitor experience.
“No, it’s about enhancing connections and increasing awareness of these treasured places,” he said.
Questions have also been raised as to whether Parks Canada is going into competition with the private sector, for example, companies like Roots, which already features a beaver.
Roots has a local store in Banff located at 227 Banff Ave., but no one was able to speak to the issue by the Outlook’s press deadline.
“The beaver is central to the brand of Parks Canada and we would like to have that prominent in the design of these things,” said Danchuk. “There will also be places for specific park names.”
