11-27-2007, 09:10 PM
It takes more than solid products and a good name to truly excel in the industry today. Many savvy manufacturers realized long ago that it also requires a combination of creativity, innovation and strong relationships with industry partners like the wholesale networks to stand out from the pack. It was this spirit of collaboration that was recognized at the recent National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) Annual Meeting and Expo held this year in Reno, Nevada.
The NASGW honors industry excellence each year with award winners selected by the wholesale members of the association. The members nominate and vote for four outstanding manufacturers that truly embrace partnership with wholesalers and support the two-step distribution system in different industry categories: The NASGW Chairman's Award for Industry Leadership, Firearms Manufacturer of the Year, Ammunition Manufacturer of the Year and Accessory Manufacturer of the Year. The winners were honored and presented with beautiful custom-made decoys at the record-breaking NASGW industry breakfast, attended this year by more than 420 members, while the Expo itself attracted over 150 exhibitors and nearly 1400 attendees.
"This has been an amazing year in terms of ground-breaking innovation in new products, record levels of collaboration between the wholesalers and manufacturers and setting new benchmarks for excellence in the industry," said Chairman of the NASGW Board of Directors, Mike Brown. "There were so many incredible candidates for these awards - the NASGW is thrilled to honor the winners chosen in each category for their commitment to growing our industry."
Text Box: From left to right: Brian Herrick, VP of Sales and Marketing for Savage Arms, with Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors.The NASGW Chairman's Award for Industry Leadership was awarded to Savage Arms. "This is a spectacular honor," said owner Ron Coburn, who modestly describes himself as a "newcomer" in the industry, with a "mere 20 years" in it to date. "To receive this kind of industry recognition from the people we serve and who are so well respected is the very best we could have hoped for. We enjoy being a leader and taking calculated risks, and we all work hard to ensure that we truly understand our market and what our customers need - and identify ways that we can effectively provide them the best way possible."
Coburn says that Savage Arms has focused on "putting the heart and soul" back into their company, starting with the factory. "It all begins where the product is manufactured. If the employees don't know what they are making or for whom they are making it, there's a potentially negative trickle down effect that ultimately can spread to the wholesalers and dealers," said Coburn, whose independent sales reps are personally educated to both carry the message of what Savage product truly represents, as well as bring feedback from the industry to the company.
"If it's not right at the factory level, it won't be right when it reaches the consumer! Getting reliable information to the wholesalers/dealers and back again to the factory is paramount. You can't be a one-year wonder in this competitive market and survive - you've got to continually prove yourself and get it right every single year.
We know our position in this industry - we're a blue-collar worker company, which means that we need to provide our customers both quality and value. We will continue manufacturing superior products that way."
Text Box: From left to right: Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors, with Sturm, Ruger and Co. Inc. President, Steve Sanetti.The Firearms Manufacturer of the Year went to another company that truly epitomizes the manufacturer/distributor partnership: Sturm, Ruger and Co., Inc. "Committed as we are to the two-tiered distribution system, we very much appreciate how the NASGW continuously provides us with better ways to effectively interface with our wholesale partners - both formally and informally - through its own ongoing communications efforts," said Ruger's President Steve Sanetti. "We also solicit and value the opinions from the distributor network, meet with them frequently and get their suggestions for products, distribution and special makeups."
Ruger's recent unprecedented (and wildly successful) product launch of its SR9 may just have set the wave of the industry's future. Rather than the typical lengthy wait between product announcement and product availability, Ruger implemented a new strategy. "We went to the distributors and asked for the names of their best dealers and drop-shipped four samples of the new product to be there on the day we announced the launch to the world. This coincided with email blasts sent to thousands of potential customers, along with the release of articles, all coordinated to appear simultaneously. I think everyone is better served with this method, and we're proud to have led the way," said Sanetti.
Text Box: From left to right: Rick Stoeckel, Brand Manager Civil Ammunition, with Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors.Federal Cartridge Company took the Ammunition Manufacturer of the Year honors this year. "We've been part of the NASGW since its inception, and feel that the association is closely tied with the heartbeat of the industry," said Rick Stoeckel, Brand Manager of ATK's Civil Ammunition. "This is a true honor!" Asked what Federal has done this year that may have played a part in receiving the award, he replied, "We've had some really good products introduced recently. Federal works very hard to design true industry leading products that aren't necessarily price point
engineered. We have a strong Premium Partners Dealer
program where we meet annually with our partners and have in-depth discussions asking them what we can do to help them enhance sales. Their feedback is extremely valuable to the success of our company."
For the second year in a row, the award for Accessory Manufacturer of the Year went to Leupold & Stevens, Inc. and was accepted on behalf of the company by Andrew York, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "The NASGW tries to acknowledge the many manufacturers that support the industry - and there has been an amazing amount of innovation introduced this year. It all starts with the product - which is why we have an extensive research and development budget invested in our future and the future of the industry. We're seeing
Text Box: From left to right: Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors, with Andrew York, VP of Sales and Marketing Leupold & Stevens, Inc.the fruits of our labors, and the distributors are seeing it, too."
York reported that when he joined the 100+ year-old company in 2002, its most popular products had not been fundamentally changed in decades. "We have since updated the manufacturing infrastructure and have introduced new creativity into existing categories, as well as launching new ones, and have subsequently seen a significant amount of growth - nearly doubling in the last five years," said York. "Looking forward, we expect to see more expansion, set an even faster pace and increase our competencies, while continuing to bring value to our customers."
For more information about the NASGW, contact the association at PO Box 881525, Port St. Lucie, FL 34988
The NASGW honors industry excellence each year with award winners selected by the wholesale members of the association. The members nominate and vote for four outstanding manufacturers that truly embrace partnership with wholesalers and support the two-step distribution system in different industry categories: The NASGW Chairman's Award for Industry Leadership, Firearms Manufacturer of the Year, Ammunition Manufacturer of the Year and Accessory Manufacturer of the Year. The winners were honored and presented with beautiful custom-made decoys at the record-breaking NASGW industry breakfast, attended this year by more than 420 members, while the Expo itself attracted over 150 exhibitors and nearly 1400 attendees.
"This has been an amazing year in terms of ground-breaking innovation in new products, record levels of collaboration between the wholesalers and manufacturers and setting new benchmarks for excellence in the industry," said Chairman of the NASGW Board of Directors, Mike Brown. "There were so many incredible candidates for these awards - the NASGW is thrilled to honor the winners chosen in each category for their commitment to growing our industry."
Text Box: From left to right: Brian Herrick, VP of Sales and Marketing for Savage Arms, with Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors.The NASGW Chairman's Award for Industry Leadership was awarded to Savage Arms. "This is a spectacular honor," said owner Ron Coburn, who modestly describes himself as a "newcomer" in the industry, with a "mere 20 years" in it to date. "To receive this kind of industry recognition from the people we serve and who are so well respected is the very best we could have hoped for. We enjoy being a leader and taking calculated risks, and we all work hard to ensure that we truly understand our market and what our customers need - and identify ways that we can effectively provide them the best way possible."
Coburn says that Savage Arms has focused on "putting the heart and soul" back into their company, starting with the factory. "It all begins where the product is manufactured. If the employees don't know what they are making or for whom they are making it, there's a potentially negative trickle down effect that ultimately can spread to the wholesalers and dealers," said Coburn, whose independent sales reps are personally educated to both carry the message of what Savage product truly represents, as well as bring feedback from the industry to the company.
"If it's not right at the factory level, it won't be right when it reaches the consumer! Getting reliable information to the wholesalers/dealers and back again to the factory is paramount. You can't be a one-year wonder in this competitive market and survive - you've got to continually prove yourself and get it right every single year.
We know our position in this industry - we're a blue-collar worker company, which means that we need to provide our customers both quality and value. We will continue manufacturing superior products that way."
Text Box: From left to right: Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors, with Sturm, Ruger and Co. Inc. President, Steve Sanetti.The Firearms Manufacturer of the Year went to another company that truly epitomizes the manufacturer/distributor partnership: Sturm, Ruger and Co., Inc. "Committed as we are to the two-tiered distribution system, we very much appreciate how the NASGW continuously provides us with better ways to effectively interface with our wholesale partners - both formally and informally - through its own ongoing communications efforts," said Ruger's President Steve Sanetti. "We also solicit and value the opinions from the distributor network, meet with them frequently and get their suggestions for products, distribution and special makeups."
Ruger's recent unprecedented (and wildly successful) product launch of its SR9 may just have set the wave of the industry's future. Rather than the typical lengthy wait between product announcement and product availability, Ruger implemented a new strategy. "We went to the distributors and asked for the names of their best dealers and drop-shipped four samples of the new product to be there on the day we announced the launch to the world. This coincided with email blasts sent to thousands of potential customers, along with the release of articles, all coordinated to appear simultaneously. I think everyone is better served with this method, and we're proud to have led the way," said Sanetti.
Text Box: From left to right: Rick Stoeckel, Brand Manager Civil Ammunition, with Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors.Federal Cartridge Company took the Ammunition Manufacturer of the Year honors this year. "We've been part of the NASGW since its inception, and feel that the association is closely tied with the heartbeat of the industry," said Rick Stoeckel, Brand Manager of ATK's Civil Ammunition. "This is a true honor!" Asked what Federal has done this year that may have played a part in receiving the award, he replied, "We've had some really good products introduced recently. Federal works very hard to design true industry leading products that aren't necessarily price point
engineered. We have a strong Premium Partners Dealer
program where we meet annually with our partners and have in-depth discussions asking them what we can do to help them enhance sales. Their feedback is extremely valuable to the success of our company."
For the second year in a row, the award for Accessory Manufacturer of the Year went to Leupold & Stevens, Inc. and was accepted on behalf of the company by Andrew York, Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "The NASGW tries to acknowledge the many manufacturers that support the industry - and there has been an amazing amount of innovation introduced this year. It all starts with the product - which is why we have an extensive research and development budget invested in our future and the future of the industry. We're seeing
Text Box: From left to right: Mike Brown, Chairman of NASGW Board of Directors, with Andrew York, VP of Sales and Marketing Leupold & Stevens, Inc.the fruits of our labors, and the distributors are seeing it, too."
York reported that when he joined the 100+ year-old company in 2002, its most popular products had not been fundamentally changed in decades. "We have since updated the manufacturing infrastructure and have introduced new creativity into existing categories, as well as launching new ones, and have subsequently seen a significant amount of growth - nearly doubling in the last five years," said York. "Looking forward, we expect to see more expansion, set an even faster pace and increase our competencies, while continuing to bring value to our customers."
For more information about the NASGW, contact the association at PO Box 881525, Port St. Lucie, FL 34988