Canada has seen the beginning of a rural revival in recent years, with younger Canadians either moving away from expensive cities or planning a shift from urban centers to smaller towns or rural life. By offering farm, home and outdoor supplies at locations across the country, longtime Canadian rural retailer Peavey Mart has positioned itself to help Canadians make that shift.
Jest Sidloski, Vice President of Marketing for Peavey Mart
“Our roots are with the farm and ranch communities across Canada,” says Jest Sidloski, Vice President of Marketing for Peavey Mart. “Those customers are very important to us, but as we have grown, we hope to continue to enhance our offering to bring in a new audience.”
As a rural lifestyle store, Peavey Mart is a somewhat unique brand on the Canadian landscape. It offers traditional farm and ranch products from seed, to farm implements to automotive accessories. It sells clothing, home goods and toys as well. But it also offers products for those looking to bring more traditional skills into their lives.
“We launched our homesteading product line well before the pandemic, which allowed us to be the first to capture the growing trend in gardeners, home bakers, and beekeepers,” Sidloski says. “There was also a resurgence of people moving to the country as more people worked from home, and this generation of workers are inspired by the nostalgia of the rural lifestyle.”
Peavey Mart not only sells the products needed for this lifestyle shift, it also shares know-how articles and their Connected To The Land initiative to offer information on how to do everything from building a chicken coop to the basics of welding, to how to preserve your garden harvest.
“The homesteading lifestyle is becoming increasingly part of the Canadian experience,” Sidloski says, “People have learned they can save money by growing their own food and eating at home. We are there to help make the experience simple and enjoyable.”
Digital tools enhance the in-store experience
“The core of who we are remains a farm and ranch supply store, and as farmers do more of their business online, we have done so as well,” Sidloski says. “We always want to make sure we are identifying what our customers need – and our digital tools allow us to connect better with those customers.”
Peavey Mart launched their revised national website in 2021, which allowed them to quickly pivot to the needs of their customers when pandemic restrictions made shopping more challenging. While bulk items and large quantities preclude home delivery right now, their in-store pick-up offers shopping convenience.
“The website had another major update in October 2024 and peaveymart.com continues to be enhanced and updated so that your experience today will be better than yesterday,” he says.
“We do much more than just e-commerce online. We use social media in a very thoughtful way that is not overly sales focused. On Tik Tok we had local farmers, homesteaders and equine experts who share their experiences, or we have our staff demonstrate our products. It’s important for us to connect in unique ways that show that Peavey Lifestyle.”
Due to customer demand, the Peavey Mart flyer remains a mainstay of their sales program, whereas many companies have scaled back on this tool. They do, however, now supplement the physical flyer with weekly digital promotions.
Peavey Mart currently has stores from coast to coast. The 100-per-cent Canadian and employee-owned stores have been serving farmers and ranchers since 1967. With the purchase of the TSC brand of stores in Eastern Canada, Peavey Mart now has more than 90 stores, with the latest opening in Steinbach, Manitoba – solidifying their commitment to small and medium size communities across Canada.
Engaging with the communities where they work
True to their community values, Peavey Mart supports individuals, organizations, events and initiatives wherever they operate through their Community Agricultural Grant, the Alberta Association of Agriculture Societies Grant and their Rooted in Communities endowment program.
“We believe in supporting the communities where our employees work and our customers live,” Sidloski says. “We offer a $100,0000 annual grant in support of projects like local food initiatives, research programs or community gardens. You would be hard pressed to find someone in the communities where we operate who has not taken part in an event sponsored by Peavey Mart.”
Sidloski says they also partner with local organizations, such as the Heat the Feet program. Each November and December, every store sells warms socks, toques and gloves at cost that customers can either take home for themselves or purchase for local donation. In 2023 alone, more than 350,000 items were purchased through the program.
“Our unique customer experience is indicative of our rural background,” he says. “Whether it’s online or in person, you will see we encourage our staff to put themselves out there to share their experience with our customers. Our Canadian legacy is different and so our brand is different. Our hope is that we are a good old community retail that people feel at home with.”
