Corner Gas isn’t just a ratings winner, it is a merchandising goldmine.

Produced since late 2004 by Toronto-based merchandiser Brüzer, Corner Gas-branded T-shirts, hoodies, caps, mugs, glasses, key chains, licence plates and other assorted items have become hot sellers.

‘We launched in Christmas 2004 with a few T-shirts and a few hats,’ says Brüzer president and founder Jim Gardner. ‘Within four days of being online we had sold $8,000 worth of merchandise.’

Today, Corner Gas-branded products are sold online at www.cornergas.ca and at selected retailers across Canada. Gardner was even offered space in Wal-Mart, but turned it down in favor of working with smaller retailers.

Compared to other TV show brands that Brüzer carries (such as Canadian Idol and Degrassi: The Next Generation), Corner Gas is by far the biggest seller. Gardner credits this fact not just to the show’s popularity but its stars’ willingness to promote the goods at autograph sessions.

Brüzer’s Corner Gas products look like something you could find in Dog River, including star Brent Butt’s signature bowling shirt. Gardner attributes this to his people being able ‘to get into the headspace of the producers and writers.’

At one autograph session, then-Brüzer product manager Rob Ness brought up the concept of a coffee mug branded ‘Corner Gas’ on one side and ‘The Ruby’ on the other to Butt, and ‘excitedly suggested a story for the series based on it,’ Gardner recalls. ‘I was hiding my head wishing Rob would stop talking, when suddenly Brent replies, ‘I don’t believe it, we just wrote this into the script three weeks ago!”

Gardner expects Corner Gas merchandise sales to slow down after the series ends, at least in Canada, but not in the U.S.

Corner Gas has been airing on Chicago Superstation WGN since 2007, where it has ‘performed nicely,’ according to Sean Compton, WGN senior VP of programming and development.

‘The quirky comedy has been a positive addition to our late-night lineup,’ says Compton.

The U.S. broadcast has substantially boosted merchandising sales stateside, and Gardner notes that in the American market, ‘we’ve actually quadrupled our sales online.’