SAIL Outdoors Inc.

What SAIL Outdoors Inc. does

SAIL Outdoors Inc. is a privately held Canadian specialty outdoor retailer headquartered in Laval, Quebec, operating 12 big-box retail stores across Quebec and Ontario under the SAIL brand (originally an acronym for Surplus d'Armée Imrico Limité), tracing its origin to a surplus store opened in Beloeil in the late 1970s. The company sells outdoor sports, hunting, fishing, and camping equipment, apparel, and accessories under a single-roof concept, and complements its physical footprint with a transactional e-commerce site, sail.ca, that ships across Canada from a dedicated online-fulfilment warehouse. Its stated value proposition rests on deep product expertise and advice-driven service from trained staff (including a Capstan customer-service training program), positioning employees as experienced guides for outdoor enthusiasts. Revenue is generated through standard retail point-of-sale transactions and online orders, with approximately 1,100 employees across head office, warehouse, and retail locations; in March 2026 a management-led buyout transferred majority ownership to CEO Isabelle Lemay, CFO Stefania Cella, and VP of Marketing Catherine Venne, while Le Fonds de solidarité FTQ remained a major shareholder, and the company has announced plans to open roughly five additional stores over the next five years within its existing Quebec/Ontario footprint.

Name

SAIL Outdoors Inc.

Legal name

SAIL Outdoors Inc.

Website

https://careers.sail.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

SAIL Outdoors Inc. is a Canadian specialty retailer operating 12 big-box stores and a national e-commerce site, selling outdoor sports, hunting, fishing, and camping gear and apparel to consumers in Quebec, Ontario, and across Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Outdoor Sporting Goods Retail

SIC

Retail-Apparel & Accessory Stores (5600)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Sports & Marine Recreation Retail (Paddle/Surf/Dive/Boat Accessories) (CRAMABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Waders, Apparel & Footwear for Fishing Retail (CRAMALAL)

Keywords

• Outdoor retail stores
• Hunting fishing gear
• Camping equipment
• Outdoor apparel
• Sporting goods retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Laval

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Store Sales: Revenue generated from 12 big-box store locations selling outdoor sports equipment, clothing, hunting, fishing, and camping gear to consumers in Quebec and Ontario.
2. E-commerce Sales: Transactional website sail.ca ships outdoor clothing and gear to customers across Canada, complementing physical retail locations.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SAIL Outdoors is a Canadian specialty outdoor retailer that sells hunting, fishing, camping, and outdoor sports gear, apparel, and footwear through a network of 12 big-box stores in Quebec and Ontario and a national e-commerce site at sail.ca. The company curates multi-brand assortments across categories such as firearms and hunting accessories, angling equipment, tents and camping gear, hiking and paddling equipment, outerwear, and footwear.

Product overview

SAIL Outdoors Inc. operates as a unified retail platform consisting of 12 big-box store locations across Quebec and Ontario, combined with the sail.ca transactional e-commerce website. The company offers outdoor clothing and gear for outdoor sports, hunting, fishing, and camping enthusiasts. The in-store and online channels share the same product catalog and are supported by a centralized warehouse dedicated to online ordering.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SAIL Big-Box Retail Stores Network of 12 big-box specialty retail stores located across Quebec and Ontario that sell hunting, fishing, camping, and outdoor sports gear, apparel, and footwear to individual Canadian consumers under a multi-brand assortment.
• sail.ca Online Store E-commerce website at sail.ca that sells SAIL's outdoor and sporting goods assortment online and ships orders to customers across Canada.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Regional players

• Mark's: Canadian retailer specializing in workwear, casualwear, and outdoor apparel, owned by Canadian Tire. Comparable to SAIL on apparel and outdoor-adjacent product mix, with a primarily Canadian footprint but less emphasis on technical outdoor gear.

Direct peers

• Atmosphere: Canadian specialty outdoor retailer owned by Canadian Tire (FGL Sports) selling apparel, footwear, and gear for outdoor activities. Closely comparable to SAIL in product mix and customer base, with broader geographic reach across Canada.
• Sport Chek: Canada's largest sporting goods retailer, owned by Canadian Tire (FGL Sports), selling multi-category sporting goods, apparel, and equipment across a national store network. Comparable to SAIL in multi-category sporting goods assortment with significantly larger national footprint.
• Mountain Equipment Company (MEC): Canadian outdoor co-op retailer selling outdoor gear, apparel, and equipment through physical stores and e-commerce. Most directly comparable to SAIL given similar Canadian footprint, multi-category outdoor assortment, and mission-driven retail positioning.

Broad incumbents

• REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.): US consumer co-op selling outdoor gear, apparel, and experiences through a national store network and e-commerce. Comparable to SAIL on multi-category outdoor assortment and expertise-driven retail positioning, with broader US footprint.
• Cabela's: US-based hunting, fishing, and outdoor recreation retailer now part of the Bass Pro Shops family. Comparable to SAIL in hunting and fishing assortment and service-led retail model, with significant US scale.
• L.L.Bean: US-based multi-category outdoor retailer selling apparel, footwear, and gear for outdoor activities, with heritage brand strength. Comparable to SAIL on multi-category outdoor assortment and brand-led positioning, primarily operating in the US market.
• Canadian Tire: Iconic Canadian general merchandise retailer with sporting goods, outdoor, and automotive categories. A broad incumbent that competes with SAIL on sporting goods assortment but is not specialized in outdoor recreation.
• Bass Pro Shops: US-based specialty retailer of hunting, fishing, camping, and outdoor gear with a strong destination-store concept. Comparable to SAIL across hunting, fishing, and camping categories, though operating primarily in the United States.

Emerging players

• Decathlon: French global sporting goods retailer aggressively expanding its Canadian store footprint with private-label outdoor, fitness, and sporting equipment. Comparable to SAIL through multi-category outdoor assortment, with materially larger global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xlinkedin.com/company/sailpleinairoutdoors
• YouTubeyoutube.com/sailpleinairoutdoors
• Facebookfacebook.com/SAILpleinairoutdoors
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sailpleinairoutdoors
• Instagraminstagram.com/sailpleinairoutdoors
• Pinterestpinterest.com/sailpleinairoutdoors
• TikToktiktok.com/@sailpleinairoutdoors

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAIL Outdoors Inc.