TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020   |   SUBSCRIBE    ARCHIVES   

INDUSTRY
Kelly Brand Management (KBM), a sales, marketing, and business management consultancy is excited to partner with Crosskix, a leading footwear company.
Prestige Imports LLC and General Wholesale Distributors have partnered with the Boone and Crockett Club to create, produce and nationally distribute a line of premium whiskeys with the help of Anheuser Bush distributor network in Maryland. The partnership serves to celebrate the rich tradition of the outdoors and provide support to preserve Maryland’s hunting and fishing heritage with fundraising opportunities.
Everest, the first, online multi-merchant marketplace for the outdoor recreation worlds is proud to announce the addition of MidwayUSA Foundation to its philanthropic program, Everest Gives Back. Everest Gives Back is a multi-faceted program that provides charitable contributions to several well-known conservation and veteran non-profit groups.
FeraDyne Outdoors, manufacturer of more than 20 industry-leading brands, announces the retirement of International Sales Manager, Lennie Rezmer, and the resulting transition of International Field Representation to Outdoor Marketing International (OMI).

HuntStand® is proud to announce it is the first founding sponsor of Bowhunters United, an exciting new national nonprofit membership-based organization that launched Oct. 1 and strives to make a difference for current and future bowhunters.
JOBS
Alliance Outdoor Group – Home to Rambo Bikes, X-Stand Treestands and Sniper Treestands is looking to add the multiple positions to their team.
MEDIA
Despite a shortened season due to Covid-19, Competition Archery Media (CAM) recently completed a successful 2020 season of archery coverage that showed tremendous growth for the two-year-old company.
Harvest Home Films LLC has teamed with multiple extremely accomplished producers to create a film that delivers a strong and proper message about hunting and the outdoors. One of these producers is Simon Swart, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.

NEW HIRES
Kelly Brand Management, a sales marketing and business management agency is proud to announce and welcome Dan Scriver as director of sales for grocery and convenience.
The Council to Advance Hunting and the Shooting Sports is pleased to announce that Charles ‘Swanny’ Evans will join the Council team as Manager of Partnerships.
RubLine Marketing is excited to announce the addition of Abi Johnston to the agency’s team. Johnston is a Graphic Designer with a wide range of media design skills from print to web and digital. Her wide range of talents will complement the team at RubLine.
Outdoor Sportsman Group (OSG) Publishing announced it has hired Mark Demko as associate editor of Petersen’s Bowhunting. Demko, a lifelong bowhunter and award-winning outdoor writer, will play a key role in creating content across “The Modern Bowhunting Authority’s” print, digital and social media platforms while working from OSG’s Harrisburg, PA office. The announcement was made today by Petersen’s Bowhunting Editor Christian Berg.
NEW PRODUCTS
Irish Setter continues to expand the successful VaprTrek franchise with the addition of higher insulation levels, an all leather option using proprietary Irish Setter Earth Field Camo camo-dyed leather and easy on/off options - one with a side zipper and one with the BOA® Fit System.
Upland hunting is a unique event, that combines the walking of an elk stalk, the speed of sporting clays and the patience of an antelope hunter. And it has dogs, which makes any activity better.
Your best cold-weather hunting ally, the Heater Body Suit, is specifically designed to keep your backside glued to the stand when the mercury dips. It’s guaranteed to work or you get your money back—assuring that your hunt will never again be compromised by the elements, no matter where or when you hunt.
Store everything from boots to accessories to all of your layers in The Trunk from Scent Crusher®, the easy stow-and-go unit that’s changing the game of organization and travel for hunters. Toss this rigid, weather-resistant container in the back of your truck with no worries. All your hunting items will stay fresh, dry, and scent-free thanks to Scent Crusher’s revolutionary ozone cleaning technology, now packed into a hard-sided, easy-to-use trunk container.
ONLINE
The auction closes October 15th at 9 pm EST. Please head to the Auction, register for an account, and have fun bidding!
RETAIL
Where legal, a solid wildlife feeding program can be the single most beneficial aspect of a land and herd improvement program. MonsterMeal® Feeder Pellets are the only commercially available complete source for deer and wildlife. Most commercial deer feed is actually a relabeled beef feed. Deer and other Cervids need a pellet that is specifically designed to meet all their seasonal needs.
The busy archery selling season is now underway and Delta McKenzie’s Iowa factory is in full production keeping up with demand. The Delta factory has been running full steam and has product ready to ship to retailers nationwide. Delta’s team has been busy over the past few months gearing up in anticipation of a robust selling season. Backyard archery has been especially popular this summer and retailers are also expecting higher than usual participation this coming hunting season.
Easton had announced earlier this year the 5MM Full Metal Jacket offering in the nostalgia of a classic hunting engraving on the industry’s flagship arrow shaft. “Easton’s Utah factory is coming to the end of the planned the 5MM FMJ Legend Engraving Series work order production runs,” said Gary Cornum, Easton Marketing Director. “We’re encouraging those with interest in this classic series FMJ to order soon since production is now coming to a close,” Cornum said.
Following introduction of the bowhunting industry's most sophisticated, performance-driven broadhead ever, SEVR™ Broadheads has designed the Ti 1.5 to for more penetration in the largest game animals. The SEVR Titanium 1.5 uses the same basic design as the Ti 2.0 but features a specific blade configuration for hunters who need more penetration for tougher animals such as elk, moose, and bear.
TOURNAMENTS
In March 2020, Scholastic 3-D Archery was set to host the 5th annual Indoor National Championship with record-shattering participation numbers when along came the coronavirus pandemic that sent shockwaves around the world. The Scholastic 3-D Archery National Staff began working on a plan to postpone the Indoor National Championship and change the format to a “virtual” event which would allow states to conduct the national tournament in a smaller “mini-regional” type format with archers competing at multiple locations across the United States.
The Bay Path Archers in Southbridge, Massachusetts recently hosted joint ASA/S3DA qualifiers for the New England states of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
 

IRL is shorthand for “in real life,” meaning, taking an experience from the virtual world to what is happening in the here and now, your reality. For me, the biggest IRL moments have revolved around shopping – be it groceries or retail. I’ve taken my experience from an 80/20 mix of in-store shopping to online shopping – to a 5/95 shift during sheltering-in-place - to now about 20/80 ratio. Needless to say, my retail/grocery world has flipped, and I’m not alone.

These photos are from the one and only trip hubs and took this year – to go “up north” near Two Harbors, Minnesota

According to a recent article in Wall Street Journal, “How Coronavirus Changed the Retail Landscape,” COVID accelerated a shift in how we shop with online credit-card transactions increasing dramatically and e-commerce sales in the second quarter rising by 44.5 percent, compared with the same period in 2019. (Stats from the Commerce Department.) Currently, stores are seeing an uptick in consumer spending, thanks to COVID restrictions lifting and stores getting creative using sidewalks to push merch, but WSJ is reporting foot traffic is still down year-over-year.

(Except I would like WSJ to show some stats for archery and gun shops year-over-year as I’m fairly certain – given my own IRL experiences – it will be up.)

If you weren’t comfortable with giving your credit card information online to complete a transaction, you most certainly are now. This fast-forward move is something known “accelerating the inevitable.” There were a lot of accelerations these past months – learning Zoom and Microsoft Teams for your virtual meetings is another example.

I had to experience Lake Superior IRL, which meant seeing how cold the water is this time of year.

However, there are some of us who yearn to return back to leisurely walking the aisles of Target, sipping our skinny latte from Starbucks (while navigating our face mask), and discovering new items. That’s right, I’m talking about real-life, search-and-purchase missions right between the bread aisle and the snacks. Those moments when you arrive at the spices section and ask yourself, “When did McCormick’s come out with all these new seasonings?” Or perhaps next to your usual go-to morning bowl of boxed cereal, you see there’s a new brand, and it has less sugar, and you can actually study the box for the list of ingredients. You are thrilled and excited to try these new things – none of which you would have discovered if you did your usual Instacart order.

Recently, I did some IRL retail therapy – and boy, it was good. I didn’t realize how disgusted I was with the online clothes shopping I’ve been (forced) to do lately. Most items don’t fit, or the style/color/material is something I never would have picked up if I saw it more closely. And now, I want to help my local retailers stay open. When visiting a small town in northern Minnesota, I promptly bought new fall outfits and was overjoyed with the selection and customer service. Someone waiting on me! Someone showing me another option! Someone telling me how fab I look! Yes, please, I’ll take all of the above.

We also did some hiking and found fantastic views of the lake.

Since COVID, several major department stores have applied for bankruptcy protection. And according to that same WSJ article referenced above, around 5,000 stores in the U.S. have shut their doors for good since April. I’m sure you can name a few in your town. While some sectors are winning (eBay, automotive and discount chains seem to have the best profit margins, according to WSJ), many are losers (luxury goods, and those relying heavily on in-store foot traffic).

Still, brands are launching new products every day and as a consumer, I feel it is up to me to seek those new products out. This may be counter to some reading this as you feel brands should seek you out. Yes, to an extent. But perhaps it is time to stop shopping from Instagram ads and instead, take a stroll through your local retailer, mask firmly in place, of course. You know, experience some IRL for yourself. -Michelle Scheuermann, editor, Archery Wire

ARCHERY WIRE
Event Calendar

NOVEMBER 29
Southern Classic Top Turkey Tournament

Presented by Texas Archery Academy. $50 Entry Fee. Register at http://TexasArchery.Info/dallas-tournaments 

JANUARY 7-9
ATA Trade Show

Indiana Convention Center, Indianapolis, IN

 
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