Shopping in Owen Sound

Kazwear Swimwear’s fit experts swathe silhouettes of all shapes in swimwear by top-tier brands such as Puma, O’Neill, Jantzen, and Speedo. Nautical threads range in size from 6 to 26, and staff happily offers style suggestions to flatter a diverse range of body types. In addition to fashionable and flirtatious cruise wear, the store suits aquabats in sturdy performance wear. Many suits boast flourishes such as push-up tops, mesh inserts, and tummy control for confidently promenading through park fountains.

In 1980, Paul Montgomery's ski shop—along with everything in it—burned to the ground. All of his hopes and dreams, reduced to ash. As a teenager, Paul had tuned skis in a neighbourhood ski shop. After earning a degree in computer science, he decided to forego the fast-paced lifestyle of the tech industry—with its outsized salaries and lascivious solicitations from Ms. Pac-Man—and open a 900-square-foot ski shop adjacent to a ski lodge. And that's when he lost everything. But just four days after the fire, he decided he would continue to sell skis out of his home. As it turned out, many of the ski-club members had lost their gear when the lodge burned down, and they flocked to his home in droves. In one weekend, he'd sold more skis than he had in the previous year.

In the decades that followed, Paul struggled through financial difficulties and recurring nightmares about teaching dinosaurs to ski, but continued to expand the business he had once nearly lost. Today, Skiis & Biikes boasts five locations across the country and more than 50,000 square feet of skiing, snowboarding, and cycling necessities. More than 100 dedicated staff members channel their love of outdoor recreation into the kind of dedicated salesmanship that has earned the shop its hard-won success.