Harry's Army & Navy store in Yardville has stuff - lots of stuff. The store carries over 50 styles of blaze-orange hats, 160 kinds of socks and every color Woolrich chamois-cloth shirt. It also stocks more than 200 varieties of camouflage gloves. It fact, Harry's sells 12,000 pieces of camouflage clothing each year, making it the largest camouflage retailer in the United States. As a testament to which, it even has camouflage gum.
			Now in its 50th year, Harry's Army & Navy is owned by Rick, who is the son of the original owner. Yes, there really is a Harry. The store bills itself as "New Jersey's #1 Outdoor Store," and a look at its impressive sales and extensive inventory leads inevitably to the conclusion that Harry's Army & Navy store has come a long way - and then some.

Back in 1949, Harry began by selling military surplus out of the back of a truck. He traveled daily to various flea markets, including the Yardville Sale Center. Over the years, people began to ask if Harry could get them related items. So he brought in boots, fishing, hunting and camping gear, work clothes and archery equipment.

	In 1964, the Yardville flea market burned down, and Harry rented a little shop on the current site at the junction of Klockner Road and Route 130.

He soon bought the store and added 7,000 square feet in 1971. His son, Rick, joined at the same time and is now in charge. In 1994, the store added another 5,000 square feet, bringing the total to 17,000. For the year 2000, another 5,000 square foot, second floor addition is planned.

How is all this expansion possible? According to Rick, business has grown rapidly every year since he joined, with the '90s yielding the greatest sales increases. And this impressive run has been achieved by carefully expanding the core business. As Rick explains with deceptive simplicity, "About 15 years ago, we clarified our niche." First and foremost, Harry's kept intact the military surplus business. "This is our key image from the past - it keeps us apart from other outdoor stores," Rick said. Not only does Harry's carry clothing and canned rations, it stocks every Army medal ever issued, beginning with World War I.

Daryl Bogart	The bulk of the store's business lies elsewhere, however. Harry's is the largest hunting - including gun and archery - independent retailer in New Jersey. In addition to substantial gun and bow sales, Harry's breaks records when it comes to selling related paraphernalia. Besides becoming the largest camouflage retailer in the United States, Harry's sells more tree stands than any other independent store in the country. (tree stands are the perches hunters attach to tree trunks.) The store also employs 2 full-time gunsmiths to repair hundreds of guns each year.	John Trout

And because 30 to 40 percent of Harry's customers go out of state to hunt, Rick stocks special clothing, boots, binoculars and bullets, as well. He has even outfitted travelers on photographic expeditions to Antarctica. The other heavy-hitting departments in the store focus on camping and fishing. "Saltwater fishing is booming, and saltwater fly-fishing is the newest thing." Rick said. Harry's recently became the only authorized dealer for Orvis (the legendary fly-fishing outfitter) within a 30 mile radius. As a result, its fly-fishing business has doubled. Nor do the niches stop there. As a logical progression from these specialties, Harry's has an extensive shoe and boot department. It also carries work clothes. Ever mindful of new trends, the store has become one of the biggest players in the paintball business. It has also opened a white water department, selling canoes, kayaks and related items. "I have a house at the shore, and I noticed all the kayaks. Then I took one to the shore and loved it," Rick said, adding that there is a growing number of cross-over customers who have begun saltwater fly-fishing from their kayaks. In fact, cross-over may explain the reason for some of Harry's growth. Some, but not all. It's true that customers seeking outdoor clothes may find items they like in hunting and vice versa. But Rick credits a broader customer base for the increased business.

Witness the addition of Boy Scout and Girl Scout section to the store. Or at the opposite extreme, the recent upswing of sales to Y2K fatalists. Items such as C-rations, K-rations, camping equipment, liquid fuel supplies, lanterns and batteries have been more popular than ever, though still only a fraction of Harry's overall business.

Perhaps one the store's most unique niches is quoits, a lawn game that resembles horseshoes. Harry's sells 1,500 sets a year - more than anyone in the country. And it does so mostly over the Internet. "The orders come from all over the country." Rick said. Indeed, Harry's on-line presence demonstrates Rick's determination to get the word out about the store's merchandise. "It will be a while before I get sizable business on the Internet, but meanwhile, it's a good way for people to see what we have to offer," he said.

		Customers can also get a look at merchandise in three catalogs - hunting, archery and camping/fishing - that Harry's sends out each year throughout New Jersey and the nation. Rick said that these 40 to 60 page brochures generate a lot of phone orders, and the newly planned addition to the store will contain increased space to handle shipping and receiving of these orders.

Still, most of the store's sales come from in-store purchases. Rick pointed out that in addition to rapid growth locally, Harry's is situated close to Route 195 and the New Jersey Turnpike, thus making it easily accessible to customers farther away. "We have a big constituency from Atlantic city and Vineland. I also get a lot of customers from Brooklyn," he said. And these customers are greeted with a high level of service. The store has a staff of 63 employees, and Rick takes pains to ensure that they are well-trained, helpful and approachable. "Customer service is the key to success in the 21st century. We have more people than we need in the store but we think it's important. People just don't have time these days. They want to see everything fast and with someone helping them. And for that reason, they like to focus on a place that has everything," he said. Everything - and more, if Rick has his way. He wants the heads of his departments to be on top of new products. "I want ideas, I want initiative," he said, adding that the planned expansion next year will also contain retail space for an as-yet unspecified new area of sales. Can extreme sports or some other growth niche be far away? Meanwhile, Rick monitors the growth and sales of each department by tightly overseeing budgets and closely tracking his enormous inventory and sales. "I run the business the same as we always did - but with better tabs on it," Rick said. He even knows how many thousands of kazoos, lollipops and ball bearings he sells from the impulse-purchase bins by the cash register. Although he is still not quite sure what the customers do with all those ball bearings.