Montreal Combat Archery / Montreal Combats à l’Arc

Montreal has a variety of locations that provide "Archery Tag", combat archery, battle archery or whatever you want to call it. It is nothing new.

However after the success of Battle Sports in Toronto, should it be any surprise if the new Sports de Combat opening in Montreal destroys their competition within the first year or two? Battle Sports has been dominating the archery tag scene in Toronto for the last two years - quickly becoming the most popular of all the archery tag locations because of their better equipment, better value for dollar, and their willingness to also also teach archery lessons / use the space as an indoor archery range during non-peak time periods. (Many archery tag locations don't even bother to offer archery lessons or to use the space for anything other than archery tag.)

When a business expands to a new city it allows the company to do many new things that they didn't do the first time around.

#1. Lease a larger space.

Sports de Combat now has Montreal's Largest Indoor Archery Range. Bigger than any other indoor range in the city, including those spaces being used by the various archery clubs in Montreal.

#2. Take what they learned in Toronto, and make it better in Montreal right from the beginning.

They already knew from their experience in Toronto that better quality equipment was the best way to get an edge on the competition, so they did more of that - investing in archery equipment that even amateurs will realize is better than anything the competition is offering.

Better equipment, more stuff to do, more options. In addition to archery, Sports de Combat also offers Axe Throwing, Knife Throwing, Nerf Guns, a Riddle Room, and an European style "Rage Cage" for smashing things.

Battle Sports has adapted to the marketplace already, expanding, learning, improving upon what they learned. But that was a process during the last two years since they opened in 2015. They have made all those changes in Toronto already, so the second time around they can simply do those things right away.

#3. Analyze the existing market in Montreal and then improve upon whatever the competition is doing.

It isn't corporate spies or anything ridiculous like that, simply researching what the competition is doing and then providing a better service and a competitive price.

Having made themselves a huge financial success in Toronto, they can afford to offer a competitive rate knowing they have the money to expand.

#4. Price.

$24.99 for 90 minutes. Which includes 30 minutes of introductory archery instruction plus 60 minutes of archery combat.

Now to understand why that price matters you need to see what the other locations offering similar services are charging.

#1. Combat d'Archers offers $22 for combat archery, but it is 80 minutes total - with 20 minutes of introduction and 60 minutes of archery combat. So they are cheaper, but at the expense of 10 minutes of introductory archery lesson time. And they use shoddy and cheap equipment.

#2. DodgeBow offers $24.95 for combat archery, but it is for 60 minutes total - with 15 minutes of introduction and only 45 minutes of archery combat. So in terms of value, they are the most expensive with the least value.

Price alone tells you that Battle Sports / Sports de Combat did their research. They knew people would be willing to pay the extra 4 cents to get 15 more minutes of combat archery compared to rival DodgeBow.

And that an extra $2.99 is better to get that extra 10 minutes of archery instruction plus the added bonus of using better quality archery equipment than the junk Combat d'Archers is using.

Special Note about Franchise Contracts

To be fair Combat d'Archers doesn't have much choice. They signed an agreement with the franchise "Archery Tag®" and they have to use shoddy cheap official "Archery Tag®" equipment. They don't have a choice. Even if they later left "Archery Tag®" and got better equipment, they signed a non compete clause with Archery Tag which prevents them from offering the same or similar service.

And because of that franchise agreement it also means that Combat d'Archers cannot offer other things to do like knife throwing, axe throwing, etc. They are limited to offering archery tag and ping pong in the lobby waiting area. Ping pong. Seriously. Because it doesn't violate any clauses in the franchise contract.

This was the same problem Archery District in Toronto had. Shoddy equipment that breaks easily and they were locked into a franchise deal with "Archery Tag®". When people realized that Battle Sports was offering better value, better equipment, better prices and more things to do, they quickly switched to Battle Sports. It was a no brainer.

Which is why it is also a no brainer that Sports de Combat will attract large numbers in Montreal too. They are not locked into any franchise agreement, and they can simultaneously compete with axe throwing leagues, knife throwing and other fun things to do.

The Future?

What else could Battle Sports / Sports de Combat do in the future?

Paintball?
Axe Throwing Competitions?
Knife Throwing Competitions?
Nerf Swordfighting / Fencing?
Sumo Wrestling Bodysuits?
Hosting SCA (Society Creative Anachronism) Events?
Hosting Zombie Survivalist Events?
Toronto Vs Montreal Team Competitions? Maybe even televise the events on YouTube live?