Shops / Shop of the Week
Shop of the Week: Marcruss Outdoors, Hotwells
Standing on Hotwell Road for more than 60 years, Marcruss Outdoors has been a constant in the ever-changing neighbourhood of Hotwells.
Selling outdoor equipment, camping, surplus, Airsoft and workwear, the independent and family-run shop (a rare combination these days) is a labyrinth of things you never knew you needed and will undoubtedly mean you leave with something you never intended to buy.
Set across three floors, Marcruss is cleverly split between family members to avoid the inevitable strain of running a business and working with others, managing to keep the relationships intact.
is needed now More than ever
Marcus Pinson and his partner Kat Pinson run the ground floor, which is anything military related, Airsoft to wooly socks.
Marcus’ brother Adam Pinson runs the camping and outdoors sections on the second and third floor.
Marcus Pinford and his dog Pixie, who is really just a tiny bear
Marcus has worked in the store since his 20s, inheriting it with his brother from their dad who had inherited it from his own dad.
The store came into the Pinford family’s ownership when its previous owner no longer wanted to continue it and decided to offer it Marcus’ grandfather.
Originally founded in 1968, Marcruss Outdoors caters to everyone from military personnel to festival-goers and those experiencing homelessness. Everything they sell is useful.
Marcus says that it required much consideration before he decided he wanted to venture into selling Airsoft products around ten years ago.
It has since proving extremely popular with those who play the game, with many who take part in Black Ops Airsoft sessions at Bristol Activity Centre near Cribbs Causeway coming into the store to buy from them.
A pair of cargos for every day of the week
But one thing that Marcus says he is sick of is hanging trousers. Something to do with how many thousands of cargos he has sold over the decades. A victim of his own success one could say.
Much of Marcruss’ stock – including the trousers of course – is new, but some are products brought in bulk which have been sitting in storage for a number of years, 80 years in one instance with a handful of tiffin containers dating back to 1948, a real part of history that demonstrates the quality of products produced back then.
The shop has also expanded to include ‘Marcruss thrift’: items such as shirts and backpacks that still have life left in them.
Some pre-loved finds for those savvy shoppers
Despite stocking high quality and well-known brands, their prices are incredibly affordable; a good sleeping bag for example could range between £20 and £70. One reason why their customers come back again and again.
Another reason is that between the three of them, they simply give great service. Before I leave to return back down the busy Hotwell Road, I already feel like I’m on friend terms with the team.
Marcruss Outdoors, 177-181 Hotwell Road, Hotwells, BS8 4RY.
All photos: Hannah Massoudi
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