NSSF Range-Retailer Expo: Education & Networking At The Forefront
Held 535 days after the close of SHOT Show 2020, NSSF hosted its largest live, industry-wide event — the Range-Retailer Business Expo in West Palm Beach, Fla., July 12–14. Despite rainy skies, the atmosphere at the Expo was upbeat and positive, with both current and prospective range owners anticipating life returning a bit more to normal.
Prior to the Expo, range owners and retailers who were planning to attend were looking forward to the event.
Mitch Tyler, owner of SafeSide Tactical in Lynchburg and Roanoke, Va., was excited about attending the Expo.
“We were all ready to attend a live event. Having the Expo in Florida, where there aren’t as many restrictions as there are in some other states, is a really smart move,” he stated.
Tom Hudson, owner of CrossRoads Shooting Sports in Johnston, Iowa, it was time the industry held a live event.
“I think it’s long overdue, and I’m glad they chose Florida,” he said. “I think going to Florida is very apropos. We’ve never closed or shut down, and I’ve never stopped doing business. I’m glad to see I’m slowly getting more folks in and starting to feel like they can be normal again. I respect everyone’s opinion on masks and on all of this; that’s the beauty of the country we live in.”
Education Focus
The first day of the Expo was dedicated entirely to education. In the first general session, Ross Gibbs from HEI Traction spoke on “Six Keys to Getting What You Want from an Entrepreneurial Company.” As an implementer of the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS), Gibbs shared his goal was to give retailers and range operators tools they could walk out of the session with and immediately use to improve their businesses.
“EOS provides simple, proven and immediately usable tools to help business owners and their leaders get more from their business,” he said. “It includes six key components that address the root cause of all business ownership challenges.
EOS teaches you how to become strong in each component so you can run a better business.”
Gibbs added EOS is designed for busy entrepreneurs and takes a holistic approach designed to solve root problems, not just address symptoms. It’s a framework for bringing focus, discipline, and accountability to a range or retail store.
Other sessions looked at brand marketing in a post-COVID world, different financing options, good hiring practices and ways to reach out to new customers. Several sessions also covered OSHA and EPA compliance issues for ranges.
Dale Krupinski, a compliance expert with MT2, discussed OSHA standards and how they apply to shooting ranges. He noted there are two sets of standards that apply to ranges, and inspections can be conducted with no advanced notice.
“It was good to see people again. Interpersonal contact is the best. The knowledge, interaction and networking were well worth the trip. It’s 100% beneficial to interact with other like-minded individuals in the industry.”
Matt Dusek, Sprague’s Sports Range & Training Manager
“It’s complex and multi-layered. Penalties can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. Don’t just assume you won’t get inspected,” he advised.
Further complicating the issue, according to Krupinski, is OSHA regulations vary from state to state. Ranges must develop, implement and maintain an effective safety and health program, he added.
EPA regulations are concerned with toxic waste disposal. Although a range operator may not think of his or her facility as generating toxic waste, that’s how the government sees lead on ranges, burned gunpowder residue, gun cleaning chemicals and other byproducts of shooting firearms. All these things are covered under the Resource Conservation & Recovery Act, which was first enacted in 1976.
Certified Industrial Hygienist Jason Smith spoke on the necessity of being sure you dispose of all waste properly. Again, regulations vary from state to state, and ranges need to be aware of what they must do to abide by the law.
“This is a very big topic,” he shared.
Networking “Well Worth The Trip”
The Expo also featured a day-and-a-half trade show dedicated to retail- and range-related products and services. Much smaller than the SHOT Show, the Expo provides a good opportunity for attendees to network with each other and with exhibitors in a slower paced environment than the SHOT Show permits.
“This is a very focused market,” observed Ean Green, dealer resource manager for Blackhound Optics. “It’s for ranges and retail stores together, and that’s who we’re looking to connect with. It’s a rifle shot versus a shotgun blast, which is why we’re both here at the Expo and at the SHOT Show.”
Kevin Pangilinan, marketing/event coordinator for Celerant Retail Commerce Software, named the Expo as an up-and-coming event.
“We love attending this,” he said. “There’s a lot of opportunity here. There are a lot of new and established ranges here to do business with.”
Taylor Phillipps, executive director of payments for Gearfire, shared he talked to a lot of people who are just now building ranges.
“With our services, which are e-commerce and payment processing, now is a perfect time to be talking to them,” he stated. “That was our main reason for attending; this is a target demographic.”
George Bentley owns a private outdoor shooting range in Marietta, Ga. He went to the Expo to get more information about range technologies and network with others in the industry.
“The Range-Retailer Business Expo is for ranges and retail stores together, and that’s who we’re looking to connect with. It’s a rifle shot versus a shotgun blast, which is why we’re both here at the Expo and at the SHOT Show.”
Ean Green, Blackhound Optics Dealer Resource Manager
“We picked up a few new wholesale lines,” he said. “It was a lot less crowded than the SHOT Show and was very pleasant. I really liked the smaller venue.”
Bentley attended several seminars and found them very helpful.
“A lot of us are making 15 to 20% on a firearm, and one of the speakers was talking about making a lot more money than that doing training classes,” he said.
At Sprague’s Sports in Yuma, Ariz., Range and Training Manager Matt Dusek shared he got a lot out of both the education portion and the trade show.
“I went with the mindset of range management,” he said. “Several of the seminars were really good, and the speakers had good ideas about range management. It was good to see people again. Interpersonal contact is the best. The knowledge, interaction and networking were well worth the trip. It’s 100% beneficial to interact with other like-minded individuals in the industry.”
Step In The Right Direction
It will be some time yet before our economy is fully open, and everything is back to normal. And there are indications what’s “normal” in our industry is going to look quite different from what it looked like prior to SHOT Show week in 2020.
But the first large-scale live event since the beginning of the pandemic was certainly a big step in the right direction.
NSSF’s 2022 Range-Retailer Business Expo will convene July 11–13 in New Orleans, La. For more info on this year’s event, visit nssf.org/expo-2021.
