Skip to content
Join our Newsletter

Capital Iron gears for third Island shop with new digs on Langford Parkway

Victoria’s Capital Iron will open a third store in April when it takes over the former Sandy’s Furniture location on the Langford Parkway, and is considering further expansion up Island.
VKA black_capital iron 289.jpg
Capital Iron’s Mike Black at his Store Street store, which dates to 1934.

Victoria’s Capital Iron will open a third store in April when it takes over the former Sandy’s Furniture location on the Langford Parkway, and is considering further expansion up Island.

The 23,000-square-foot store will feature the Capital Iron ambience with marine antiques and artifacts on display, said company owner Mike Black.

Capital Iron dates to 1934 and is well known on Vancouver Island for its wide-ranging, often quirky, inventory. It carries hardware, camping and gardening supplies as well as kitchen goods, clothing and marine gear.

“We are pretty excited” about the third store, Black said Thursday. “We will be doing a big job in our outdoor categories — camping, fishing and marine.” Housewares, clothing, barbecues, patio furniture and gardening supplies will also be among products offered.

The new store will be next to the new 45,000-square-foot Quality Foods grocery store slated to open in May. “I think they are going to make a great neighbour,” Black said.

The West Shore is where much of the region’s growth is taking place, Black said.

“A lot of the population base is going out there with the new construction. We see that area growing over the years.”

Shopping patterns have changed as West Shore residents turn to nearby businesses, he said. “We are going to go to the customers instead of asking them to come to us.”

Between 10 and 15 staff will be in the new store. Capital Iron’s staff are largely full-time employees, Black said.

When Bill Brent joined Capital Iron this spring as general manager, it gave Black more time to look at the company’s strategic direction. The company started searching for a West Shore location in the summer.

The new store will be the second largest in the group. The main store, at 1900 Store St. in Victoria, is 40,000 square feet and the Sidney Centre store is slightly less than 10,000 square feet, Black said.

Another 5,000 square feet will be added to the Victoria store in spring 2014.

Fabric, furniture and home decor will be moved from the third floor into that new space, which will be on the upper floor next door, Black said.

The company’s senior management team has talked about more stores, he said. “After this, I could see us moving farther up Island over the course of the next number of years. We want to get this one up and running and make sure we are happy with everything. I could see Duncan, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Campbell River.”

cjwilson@timescolonist.com