ICYMI: Industry News
From Sept. 20–24, 2021
MKS Supply/Strassell’s Machine Offers Hydro Dip Service To Outdoor And Shooting Industry
MKS Supply, marketer and exclusive distributor for Barnaul Ammunition, Full Forge Gear and firearms brands Hi-Point Firearms and Inland Manufacturing, has teamed with Mid-Ohio Hydrographics to further expand its hydrographic decorating services to more hunting and shooting industry manufacturers.
Custom finishes — from the smallest accessories to firearms, bows and larger outdoor gear — are increasingly employed to satisfy customer demands and to help distinguish brands in crowded product categories, and custom hydrographic coatings are one of the most durable, economical and impactful ways to add a special touch to any product.
Mid-Ohio Hydrographics currently provides custom and production-level hydrographic and custom-color coating services across the outdoor and shooting segments, including firearms, grips and stocks, game calls and more. The company’s high-volume capacity and proprietary automated systems ensure fast turnaround and accommodation for the largest orders.
For more info: mkssupply.com, midohiohydro.com
NSSF Releases 2021 Reports For Firearms Retailers And Industry Businesses
NSSF has announced a listing of industry research reports issued from January through August of this year to help industry members, particularly firearm retailers, better understand buying trends across the nation and access data that can assist in developing marketing strategies.
Dianne Vrablic, NSSF manager, industry research said, “We’ve seen extraordinary market activity in the firearm industry in the past few years, including millions of first-time gun purchasers. Americans are exercising their right to purchase and use firearms at an unprecedented level, and NSSF research can help industry better understand these trends.”
NSSF reports offered in the last nine months and now available are:
• Firearms Retailer Survey 2021 Edition (conducted by Southwick Associates): A report based on a survey of retailers during 2020 identifying bestselling products and who is buying them.
• 2020 Firearms Consumer Personas, Phase I Report (by Southwick Associates): This update to the original 2016 consumer segmentation study of firearm owners helps firearm retailers understand their customers’ core needs and motivations.
• Sport Shooting Participation in the U.S. in 2020 (developed by Responsive Management): This report provides regional and national participation figures for a variety of recreational shooting activities in 2020.
• NSGA Shooting Sports Participation Report 2021 Edition (by the National Sporting Goods Association for NSSF): This report provides a detailed look at a variety of hunting and shooting sports disciplines with demographic breakdowns, frequency and number of days of participation and state-level participation figures.
• First-Time Gun Buyers 2021 Edition (conducted for the NSSF by InfoManiacs, Inc.): To discover motivations for the first purchase of a firearm and what type of firearms were purchased, NSSF conducted research in December 2020 with consumers aged 18 or older who purchased their first firearm in 2019 or 2020.
For more info, nssf.org
Orchid Launches POS And E-Commerce For Retail FFLs
Orchid LLC announced the public launch of Orchid POS and Orchid eCommerce for retail gun stores. The new offerings are natively integrated with Orchid eBound, Orchid Pay and 4473 Cloud to offer FFLs an all-in-one software solution from firearm operations and compliance experts.
Orchid CEO Jon Rydberg stated, “We designed our POS for individual, multi-store and mobile firearm retailers and we’ve successfully worked with over 25 beta testers ranging from startups to FFLs processing $15 million in annual firearm sales to road test our new flagship product.”
Built on a touchscreen interface, Orchid POS presents retailers with customer profiles and product hot keys for easy checkout while other features, such as inventory replenishment, special orders, gunsmithing, Form 4473 kiosk mode and accounting and membership billing drive retail operational efficiencies. Orchid POS customers can also market to and attract customers with loyalty programs, CRM email marketing and expansive products from leading distributors. And, to offer maximum security, Orchid POS ATF compliance technology, Orchid eBound, is backed by attorneys at FFL Law.
Combined with Orchid eCommerce, gun stores can take their brick-and-mortar retail business online with an SEO-customized website and storefront for an omnichannel shopping experience. List in-store, on-hand products for sale nationally, sell training and event registration to local customers, and further enhance the customer experience with live distributor inventories and firearm, ammunition and accessory drop shipping through an optional AmmoReady integration.
For more info, orchidadvisors.com
RCBS Continues Support Of National 4-H Shooting Sports Program
RCBS announced it has once again named the National 4-H Shooting Sports Program as the recipient of its 2021 youth shooting sports donation.
Over the past six years, RCBS has donated a portion of the proceeds from every RCBS Explorer and Explorer Plus Reloading Kit to the National 4-H Shooting Sports Program. This year, RCBS presented the organization with a check for $5,000 to help fund youth education.
“We’re honored to once again back the National 4-H program with its mission of educating youth on safe and responsible firearm use,” said Eliza Graves, senior brand manager for RCBS. “Various 4-H events each year help give thousands of young adults opportunities to develop life skills in an environment that fosters self-worth and conservation ethics. The mission of 4-H is one supported wholeheartedly by the RCBS team.”
Each year, over 400,000 young people participate in 4-H shooting sports across the country, with over 19,000 adult volunteers and professional educators assisting with their education.
For more info, rcbs.com
Trijicon Inc. Takes A New Path To Customers With “The Science of Brilliant” Roadshow!
Trijicon Inc. has kicked off of its inaugural “The Science of Brilliant” roadshow. From September through December 2021, Trijicon will embark on a mission to visit prominent dealers across the nation and provide consumers hands-on experience with Trijicon’s full line of Brilliant Aiming Solutions.
Attendees will have the opportunity to see over 100 Trijicon products including riflescopes, reflex sights, night sights and thermal night vision optics, as well as walk away with free Trijicon gear and enter for a chance to win a Trijicon Tenmile 5-50×56 riflescope.
“The Science of Brilliant’ roadshow allows Trijicon to support our dealers while providing customers with a rare opportunity to experience our full line of products,” said Stephen Bindon, Trijicon President & CEO. “The roadshow is our grassroots approach to exposing more people to Trijicon products while showing our appreciation for our current customers and dealers.”
The roadshow’s first stop is scheduled for Sept. 24–25th at Top Gun Shooting Sports in Taylor, Mich. Additional dates and locations can be found on Trijicon’s website.
For more info, trijicon.com
