Digging In & Meeting The Moment

There’s no question the events of 2020 fundamentally changed the landscape of the shooting, hunting and outdoor industry, probably permanently. Mild hyperbole aside, entirely new groups of customers joined our ranks — a good thing.

As a result, it’s of great importance we, as an industry, continue to welcome them back into stores and ranges — the true front lines of the industry.

And it has to be said: Here in the early days of 2021, the stakes for capitalizing on this growth have risen considerably with Democrats controlling both houses of Congress and the presidency. It’s time to dig in and meet the moment, together.

Early-Year Challenges

Welcoming first-time customers back in 2021 is a worthy endeavor, but outfitting them is going to be quite the task in light of widespread shortages and significant price hikes on ammunition.

In fact, Shooting Industry’s 2020 Dealer Business Survey (conducted on ShootingIndustry.com from Nov. 1–Dec. 31, 2020) revealed supply shortages was the top concern for 60% of the 380+ respondents. (Placing second, concern for anti-gun/industry legislation trailed behind at 32%.)

A scarcity mentality is continuing to restrict the supply chain, according to Clay Ausley, owner of Fuquay Gun in Fuquay-Varina, N.C.

“Many customers are buying simply because they know things are getting hard to get. The pandemic, civil unrest and election created the perfect storm to dry up the supply chain for months — even years in some product lines,” he said.

Fear-induced buying will again be a key sales motivator in the early part of this year — motivated by political and safety concerns. In the Dealer Business Survey, 49% of dealers surmised self-defense was the primary motivation for why customers were buying, while 37% thought it was out of fear for future bans. Hunting and recreation accounted for 5% each. As we’ve seen in the first six days of this year alone, social unrest shows no signs of abating. Anything your store can do to promote the fun side of the shooting sports will lead to more sustainability to survive dry spells.

Shedding light on successful strategies to enhance the fun side of the shooting sports will be a top editorial priority for the SI team this year.

Your store is uniquely positioned to make a local difference and bridge the gap in your communities. USE IT AS a source of education, truth, recreation, empowerment, community — even fun.

Bridging The Gap

In this increasingly divisive time, your store is uniquely positioned to make a local difference and bridge the gap in your communities. Yes, your store should operate to turn a profit, but developing community ties may have an indirect, positive impact to that end. Use your store as a source of education, truth, recreation, empowerment, community — even fun. If your store excels in these areas, we want to hear about it, celebrate your success and share with our readers. Contact me direct: editor@shootingindustry.com.

Kinsey’s 2021 Dealer Show Going Virtual

Kinsey’s Inc. announced its annual Dealer Show, KDS21, will be held virtually in 2021. The event, which typically runs three days and is held at the Hershey Lodge in Hershey, Pa., will be held virtually from Feb. 10 through Mar. 3, 2021.

The show will launch for the firearms and ammo categories beginning Feb. 10. Archery and all accessories will begin Feb. 17. The classic, high profile portion of KDS21 will run Feb. 24–26 and will include the Hot Shows, Vendor and Dealer interactions, giveaways, and more.

“Although the show will physically look different this year, I’m positive we’ll still provide dealers the great value KDS is known for.”

Justin Gorman, VP of Sales Kinsey’s

“Although the show will physically look different this year, I’m positive we’ll still provide dealers the great value KDS is known for,” said Justin Gorman, Kinsey’s VP of sales and marketing. “Archery and Accessory categories will feature our best deals while Guns and Ammo orders will reserve guaranteed or top-priority allocations.”

Kinsey’s has partnered with JT Smith to host this year’s event. JT Smith’s virtual dealer show platform will give dealers exclusive access to the best savings of the year with show-only specials.

“We’re disappointed we could not see dealers face-to-face this year, but we’re committed to continuing to support our dealers through our best-in-class show,” Gorman added.

The virtual show will also offer dealers additional networking, learning, and growth opportunities, as well as ways for them to program their orders for the upcoming year. Dealer registration for KDS21 is open through Feb. 5. / kinseysinc.com/dealer-show

Lipsey’s Develops Google Chrome Extension

Designed with dealers in mind, Lipsey’s has launched a proprietary Google Chrome Extension.

A simple search for “Lipsey’s” in the Chrome Web Store will unveil an all new extension that features a minified website designed to streamline the purchasing and account management experience for Lipsey’s dealers. Most notably, dealers can conveniently search Lipsey’s catalog without switching browser windows or tabs.

The first of its kind in firearms distribution, the extension was developed exclusively for Lipsey’s dealers to maximize time, productivity and convenience in a simplistic form. Like other Google Chrome Extensions, the install takes seconds followed with “pinning” to the user’s Chrome Browser for easy access.

Lipsey’s development team designed the extension, headed by Aaron Keating, Lipsey’s VP of technology and chief information officer.

“We’re always working on new ways to streamline the experience for our dealers and provide tools to make them more successful,” Keating said. “Our new Chrome extension is built to save dealers’ time allowing them to focus on running their business.”

Plans are in place to develop extensions for other browsers in the future. The Google Chrome extension is available at chrome.google.com/webstore/search/lipseys. / lipseys.com

Comp-Tac Launches New Manufacturing Software

Comp-Tac recently completed the implementation of the Infor Visual enterprise manufacturing resource planning (ERP) system.

Visual delivers a complete, end-to-end, ERP solution that enables manufacturing companies to maintain a competitive advantage by delivering quality products on time. The use of this system will benefit customers through streamlining Comp-Tac’s material, manufacturing and order management processes.

“Since Comp-Tac was founded in 2001, one of our four driving principles has been to deliver on time with one of the shortest lead times in the industry,” explained Gordon Carrell, Comp-Tac general manager. “By continuing to invest in systems and technology, like Visual, we’ve lowered our current business lead time from 8–25 business days to 8–20 business days depending on order size while maintaining a rejection ratio of 0.0147%. In 2020, Comp-Tac faced record-breaking order volume, and we’re proud we maintained and even improved those numbers.”

Comp-Tac designs, manufactures and ships all its holsters and accessories from its 12,000 sq. ft. facility in Houston.
/ comp-tac.com

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