The Uncommon Group

The word ‘uncommon’ perfectly sums up the approach Gordon Stevens and his wife Trina take to their business. Established in 2004, the Uncommon Group offers innovative retail environments with high quality products, many of which are produced right here in Nova Scotia.

Louisbourg native Gordon Stevens spent a decade working as an accountant in the corporate sector. He counts Deloitte, Goldman Sachs and the Armoyan Group among his former employers, and he even spent time working in the Cayman Islands and New Jersey in pursuit of international financial experience.

After 10 years in the corporate world, he stopped and re-evaluated.

“I really wasn’t feeling overly satisfied in my career. I thought, what will I tell my kids? How will I make a difference?”

Gordon and Trina decided to change their focus. They came up with the idea to open a sophisticated coffee shop. At the same time they recognized an opportunity to offer an edible souvenir that would represent Nova Scotia.

“There was really no food item that tourists could take home from their trip to Nova Scotia that symbolized the province. Lobster comes to mind, but it’s hard to travel with lobster. We took our inspiration from the rum cakes tourists bring back from the Caribbean,” Stevens explains.

They use Nova Scotia rum and whiskey to make the cakes and highlighted the seafaring tradition linked to illegal rum transportation through Nova Scotia in the 1920s and ‘30s to build the Rum Runners brand.

The Stevens started Uncommon Grounds coffee shop on South Park Street and Rum Runners on the Halifax waterfront at the same time in 2004 and evaluated to see which one resonated more in the Halifax market. Stevens recounts that they had already decided Uncommon Group would not be a mom-and-pop operation, but would have some scale.

“The first year went very well because there were a lot of U.S. tourists who were familiar with rum cake from their trips to the Caribbean. In subsequent years we developed a stronger local following.”

Both businesses took off, so they continued with plans to build the business. Within the next year, Uncommon Group opened two more Uncommon Grounds coffee shop locations in downtown Halifax.

“The coffee shop end of the business was easier to expand and there was a strong market for it,” says Stevens, describing the company’s growth strategy.

Stevens says there was a point when corporate customers who had shipped rum cakes to their clients and associates were looking for different products. He says he and Trina realized the other thing people bring back from a trip is candy, fudge and chocolate.

“We decided to create something more packaged. Something that could establish a brand presence beyond the store. That was the origin of Sugah! We now have 75 or 80 products under the Sugah! brand. It offers something different and provides different price points for customers.”

Sugah! opened in a second location on the Halifax waterfront, which provided two chances to sell to customers.

Prompted by customers who had tried the products when they visited Halifax and wanted more, the Uncommon Group recently expanded to sell the Sugah! and Rum Runners products online. Stevens says half of the products are shipped outside the country and 90 per cent of the products are shipped outside Nova Scotia.

“It’s surprising how many people come back for more. The Rum Runners cakes and Sugah! Chocolate and other products are great sellers for corporate gifts and for people who tried the products and crave more.”

Uncommon Group opened its next retail location, Uncommon Kids, in 2007. The store carries unusual and well-made kids’ items, and focuses on products you can’t necessarily get at a local big box toy store. Stevens says being a father of three kids under the age of eight helped him decide which products were suitable for the store.

“We see things that are close to us. We like them because they just feel right, and we would use them in our family. We’re supporting a move away from the dollar store mentality. People want to buy things that are well made, educational and safe for their kids.”

As they shopped for cool products for Uncommon Kids, the Stevens saw a lot of unique products for adults ‘aged eight to 100.’ It was these products that prompted the concept behind Carbonstok, Uncommon Group’s latest retail store.

“We started thinking about a new type of store that would be unique in the market. We wanted to carry unique products, many of which are made of sustainable materials.”

Stevens explains that stores specializing in environmentally-friendly products tend to sell products that lean in the ‘tree-hugging’ direction.

“With Carbonstok, we wanted to present products that customers would buy for traditional reasons. People should like the product first, and the sustainable materials it’s made from are an added feature.”

Carbonstok is divided into four sections labeled with signposts: Clever, Fun, Timeless and Forward. Stevens says Clever can be summed up as ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ Timeless includes products that will last a long time, mostly made of durable materials like stainless steel. Fun includes things that aren’t clever or sensible, but are lighthearted and whimsical. And forward refers to products that are made in a sustainable manner with minimal packaging.

“The environmental movement is changing so quickly that if you built a store based only on environmental sustainability, you’d be obsolete five years from now. Carbonstok has a diverse range of products that are unique and well-made. They have value beyond their sustainability,” Stevens says.

The Uncommon Group outlets are harnessing the positive effects of the buy local movement. For the food-oriented businesses, they focus on local ingredients like Terra Beata cranberries, sea salt from Half Island Harvest, Acadian Maple products and more.

“We’re not trying to guilt people into buying local, but we want to show them the difference. At least with local products you know what the food went through before it hit the shelves.”

Stevens says his group of companies is working in co-operation with other local companies to share ideas and co-operate on marketing strategies. For example, a group of Halifax-based companies launched an “I love local Halifax” campaign to promote a Valentine’s Day weekend in the city. Businesses like Biscuit, Trail Shop, Hamachi Group, Bishop’s Cellar, Cambridge Suites and The Vault cooperated to donate products for the campaign, in return for the chance to collect a list of interested customers.

“By working together, we generate ideas and find new ways to celebrate our successes. We’re focusing on making what we have work. It also helps in gathering intelligence as we look to expand into other regions of the province.”

Stevens says the best part of doing business in Nova Scotia is the potential to try new things.

“In a giant market it’s hard to find a new opportunity that hasn’t already been exploited. But here in this province there are tons of opportunities, which allow you to continually innovate and promote what you do.”