Canberra Snowgum store to close its door - The Canberra Times

The Snowgum store in Braddon is closing down. Photo: Katherine Griffiths

• Snowgum goes into administration

The outdoor-adventure supplier Snowgum will shut down its Braddon store by May this year, citing stiff competition and an unreasonably high cost of doing business.

Canberra's scouting community will be among those affected, with Snowgum the last place in the ACT they could buy their uniforms in person.

Esther Colmer, an employee at the Snowgum store in Braddon. Photo: Katherine Griffiths

Snowgum founder Ross Elliott said the decision had been very difficult for him, but the cost of running a range of stores had simply become too high.

"For now, this space is for the big boys or the owner operators - single store businesses - that can deliver a level of service and customer support that [others] can't hope to offer," he said.

"There's no room for middle-level players and small chains."

He said although a number of franchise stores would continue to operate in Australia, none were planned for Canberra at this time and the Braddon store would close in April or May.

The Braddon store is one of 10 company stores Australia-wide which will be closing down, as the adventure gear outlet switches its priorities to online.

The company had already been saved from administration by a founding shareholder in October 2013.

Snowgum employee Esther Colmer, 19, said she hadn't been expecting the announcement.

"It's sad, I think a lot of people love this store," she said. "It's got a large following and a lot of potential. Sales had been picking up."

She said there had been stiff competition from nearby stores, including Mac Pac and Paddy Pallin which sell similar goods on either side of Snowgum.

Manager Maxine Ryan said Katmandu's year-round sales had also taken a toll.

But Paddy Pallin spokesman Chris Mein said sales had been sluggish all round, with employees on the ground blaming bad economic times in the ACT.

He said business at the adjoining store had also slowed down over the past six months.

"It has not experienced the same level of growth that the other capital cities have experienced since September 2013," he said.

Scouts Association of Australia ACT chief commissioner Peter Harris said it was hard to tell what effect the closure might have on their members.

He said there were over 800 young scouts in the ACT and a number of them already purchased their uniforms online.

"Over the last year or so Snowgum have on occasion run out of stock anyway and people have had to deal with online purchases. So it may not be as concerning as we think," he said.

"We'll have to see how things go."