In recent years, the Oxford business community has experienced exponential growth. From new franchises and retailers on Jackson Avenue to unique coffee shops and local stores on the Square, Oxford residents can always satisfy their shopping needs.
A new store, Green Canyon Outfitters, provides a unique line of products. Located just off the Square on South Lamar Boulevard, Green Canyon is in the heart of downtown Oxford.
The store originated in Bay Saint Louis, a small town on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Brennan Marlowe, a BSL native, and his wife, Meghan Robinson Marlowe, opened the first location about four and a half years ago. The store was initially only online with products primarily sold through Amazon.com.
“We started an online company and sold over 200,000 products through Amazon,” Meghan said. “A few years later, we decided to open a storefront in Bay Saint Louis.”
Green Canyon online shipped its products from a warehouse in Long Beach, Mississippi. They carried various sports and outdoors gear for biking, fishing, and hunting. The physical location, however, carries more fashion-based brands and products like Patagonia outerwear and Hunter rain boots.
Meghan said they are currently working on revamping their website to offer a more unified product base to all shoppers.
“We’re trying to tie together the store locations with the website and offer those mainstream brands like Patagonia online, as well as in the stores,” Meghan Marlowe said. “However, we still want to keep some products unique to the specific physical locations.”
UM alumni Brennan Marlowe had always wanted to open a store in Oxford. After years of searching for a location near the Square, the couple finally purchased a property at 415 South Lamar Boulevard, just across from Soulshine Pizza Factory. In fact, Brennan and Meghan Marlowe hope to expand their stores to other bustling towns across the South.
“We got this location in October and have been building it out,” said Meghan. “We want to do stores all across the SEC.”
The soft opening for the Green Canyon Oxford location was the 2017 Double Decker weekend. A major weekend of tourism in Oxford, Double Decker brought many out-of-town visitors and local residents to the Square for dining and shopping.
Meghan Marlowe said Double Decker was a great reason to open for business. “Double Decker went very well,” she said. “We had a lot of people coming in to shop, and it was a great way to spread the word about us through town. We will be working with the local Chamber of Commerce to set up a grand opening and ribbon cutting in the near future.”
Green Canyon carries a variety of clothing and outdoors brands. What distinguishes them from competitors is their extensive supply of products that are “Made in USA.” The store carries everything from sunglasses to hammocks – all made in the United States.
“We like the idea of farm to table, in a sense, except with clothing,” Meghan said. “For example, we sell a brand of sunglasses called “Shwood” which are made in Oregon. We also carry Grand Trunk hammocks over more mainstream brands like ENO (Eagles Nest Outfitters) to promote smaller businesses with equal or better quality.”
Green Canyon does, however, carry more topical brands, like L *SPACE swimwear or KREWE sunglasses, which further adds to its variability as a retailer.
Sophomore marketing and corporate relations major from Houston, Leigh Frederickson, says the product variety is what led her to apply for a job with the business.
“I love the idea behind the store, and I love the brands,” Frederickson, 20, said. “Some of my favorites are the KREWE sunglasses and Alo Yoga leggings.”
The store also carries brands that bring attention to major issues like environmental conservation. For example, “TenTree” is a clothing line that plants 10 trees for every garment that is sold.
The store also carries a brand called “Parks Project,” which donates profits from each product purchased directly to one of 30 different National Parks across the country.
Frederickson hopes this will have a positive impact on the Oxford business community. “Almost all of the brands at Green Canyon have a cool story behind them,” Frederickson said. “I hope that they will bring awareness to some of the amazing projects going on around the world.”
Sophomore business management major Sami Ketchman also appreciates this about the store. The Chicago native, 20, looks forward to having a new place to shop on the Square.
“Most of the retailers on the Square are targeted toward the same group of people – high fashion college girls,” she said. “I think Green Canyon is a great addition to the Oxford business community, because it targets a larger group of people and sells products that the other stores don’t provide.”
Meghan agrees that their diverse product base should attract a broad customer demographic in Oxford. She also hopes to eventually host interactive activities with students and local residents, like yoga classes or charity events to promote community involvement.
“We’re hoping to not only attract college students, but also young adults and families as well,” she said. “We really want to cater to all people and all ages.”
For more information or updates on Green Canyon Outfitters, visit their Facebook page and Instagram account, or call 765-969-0974.
By Georgia Williams. Read more stories like this on OxfordStories.net.
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