HELENA — The Base Camp outdoor store ownership is changing hands but staying in the family.
In the spring, Scott Brown announced that he would be stepping down as owner. Since then, the decision has been reached that Brown's daughters, Lauren and Cody Brown, will be taking over.
“We grew up in it. It’s, you know, it’s like deep inside of ourselves of what it means to be Montanan and what it means to be part of the community from kind of what it used to be into what we want it to become,” says Cody.
Lauren and Cody both grew up in Montana, rafting, skiing, fishing, and living the outdoor life you would imagine those growing up around an outdoor store would.
Lauren, who currently resides in Bozeman, and Cody, who will soon be moving back home after living in Hawaii, are currently in talks with their father about how this transition will look. But they assured MTN that this Montana staple will stay relatively unchanged.
“We are going to stay tried and true. There will be maybe minor changes in the future but we’re, really we’re, we are what we’ve been and we’re going to continue our family legacy within the stores,” says Lauren.
Lauren says it’s important to keep local businesses alive and thriving in the midst of a growing tide of incoming corporations to Montana.
“There’s just a lot of corporate, big corporate businesses that have come into town. And it’s nice to be the old school, local guy,” says Lauren.
The co-owners went on to tell MTN about the few changes they might make in the future, including technology upgrades and community investment.
“I really like the idea of kind of making it, growing it to be kind of a hub, a place to share stories, share information, and really participate in the community, that’s not just this digital platform,” says Cody.
