Outside Sports will open a new flagship store in Queenstown on Monday.

Outside Sports has traded from its Shotover St premises for 10 years, with the store to close on Friday ahead of the new store’s opening on the corner of Shotover St and Memorial Ave.

The company was started by John and Judy Knight, and in 2009 merged with two sportswear companies to a larger Outside Sports group which now has shops in Queenstown, Wanaka, and Te Anau.

The purpose-built 700sqm store is all on one level and designed to be easily interchangeable between summer and winter stock and services.

It will also incorporate new Marmot and Icebreaker concept stores.

MD, John Knight, said he and the staff “couldn’t wait” to get into the new store, which has two separate entrances on Shotover Street and Memorial Avenue.

He said the new store will raise the benchmark for outdoor retail in Queenstown, and has customer parking at the rear of the building.

“It’s a beautiful landmark building with fantastic attention to detail inside and out, a combination of schist, glass, steel and wood,” said Knight.

“Internally at its highest point it’s 12.2m high, almost like a cathedral and a magnificent space.

“Whereas in our previous store our staff were spread over three floors, here they can all interact with customers which is fantastic.

“It makes it easier for us when our key points of difference are our service levels, our technically knowledgeable staff, and the high quality equipment we sell.

“Every time our skis or bikes go out they’re fully maintained, tuned and repaired. We have a huge range of rental bikes, including bikes worth up to $9000. They’re ‘fit for purpose’ bikes so you don’t have to bring your own kit here, and it’s the same if visitors are here over winter,” he said.

The final touches are now being put on the building by Naylor Love Construction.