Sawyer Hannay makes a pitch on CBC's Dragons Den. (photo supplied)
Sawyer Hannay of Rexton has built a successful retail clothing and tourism business, selling the virtues of life in rural Canada through his businesses Country Liberty and Liberty Village. In a few short years, he’s reached $2.5-million in sales and scored two investors for $150,000 during a recent episode of Dragons’ Den on CBC TV.
He says his clothing brand and cabin resort appeals to people in cities, big and small, across the country who have a taste for rural life.
“What I realized through Country Liberty is a lot of these people, for economic reasons, live in cities, for jobs and education, but a lot of their interests lie outside the cities. So there’s that conflict that I have to live in the city because it’s the best thing for my career. But on the weekends I want to go out to Muskoka, Kelowna, Penticton, Rexton, or Grand Lake.”
“Even if you live in a 40-storey condo you might still be my customer because you love getting out on the weekends when you can or booking those trips outside of the cities. That’s a customer base I really think a lot about.”
Sawyer was thrilled with the two investors he secured through Dragons’ Den. Jim Treliving is the chairman and owner of Boston Pizza International Inc., with more than 400 restaurants, operations in three countries and more than $1-billion in annual system-wide sales.
“Jim was somebody I was very interested in. I look up to him,” says Sawyer. “I watch the show and he’s one of my favourites…he’s been there, done that, been very successful. His son is the general manager of the Calgary Flames so we have the hockey connection, he’s a big sports fan.”
Lane Merrifield launched Club Penguin, the world’s largest children’s social network, which he sold to Disney for $350-million.
“What I loved about Lane was his interest in me,” says Sawyer. “As we know it’s pretty easy to get a passive investor that doesn’t answer the phone because these guys have tons of different priorities. Lane, I felt a real connection to him. He felt really interested in me and my business … I knew Lane lived in Kelowna, which is cottage country. He sold a $350-million business at my age, 28.”
This story first appeared on Huddle, an Acadia Broadcasting content partner.
