Rays, originally called Ray's Tent City and then, Ray's Outdoors, was an Australian

chain A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

of retail stores in 40 locations across Australia, selling camping, hiking and kayaking equipment, as well as outdoor clothing and footwear. It was founded in

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

in 1958 by Ray Frost, as a single camping and army disposals store. The chain was acquired by the

Super Retail Group Super Retail Group Limited is an Australian-based company which owns and operates a portfolio of retail brands across Australia and New Zealand. The brands include automotive retailer Supercheap Auto, outdoor and leisure retailers Macpac and ...

in 2010, which said 12 of the 38 former Ray's Outdoors outlets would be re-branded as BCF (Boating Camping and Fishing) stores, an existing Super Retail Group business, and 15 would be converted to a new Rays brand. Beginning in about April 2018, several Rays stores were closed, with the profitable ones becoming

Macpac Macpac Wilderness Equipment is a brand specialising in outdoor recreational equipment. It is best known for camping and travel equipment including backpacks, sleeping bags and technical clothing. Macpac was originally a New Zealand company, but ...

Adventure Hubs, using the name of the

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

chain recently acquired by the Super Retail Group. Unlike Macpac stores, Adventure Hubs stocked brands Ray's Outdoors was renowned for selling. They combined the Macpac range of technical outdoor gear, with a selection of apparel, equipment and accessories from some of the world's leading brands:

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

, Columbia,

Keen Keen, Keen's, or Keens may refer to: People *Keen (surname) *Thomas Keens (1870-1953), British politician Music and song * Keen (band), Italian band * Keen (song), "Keen" (song), a single by That Petrol Emotion * Keen Records, American record ...

Sea to Summit Tim Macartney-Snape (born 5 January 1956) is a mountaineer and author. On 3 October 1984 Macartney-Snape and Greg Mortimer were the first Australians to reach the summit of Mount Everest. They reached the summit, climbing without supplementary ...

Yeti The Yeti ()"Yeti"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. is an ape-like creature purported t ...

, Scarpa, Coleman,

Weber Weber (, or ; German: ) is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning " weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'. Notable pe ...

and Wanderer.

References

External links

* Sporting goods retailers of Australia Super Retail Group Defunct retail companies of Australia {{Backpacking-stub