independents day

Firearms played a pivotal role in American culture even when this nation was the property of another. Retailers have been selling guns to hunters and firearms enthusiasts for nearly as long, but in recent years business has been stormy. Mega-sellers, under fire from the anti-gun lobby, struggle against bad press as well as the financial burden set upon the industry by punishing insurance regulations. Independents face all of that, plus the challenges posed by the Internet, and mass merchandisers with the purchasing power of small countries. Many privately owned stores in this traditional industry have thrived against all odds. Presented here are three that reveal the secrets of their survival.



Carter's Country Outdoor Stores

Like most retailers in the shooting trade, Bill Carter Senior, founder and president of Houston, TX-based Carter's Country Outdoor Stores, was first a hunter and firearms hobbyist. Back in 1961, Carter left his job as an iron worker to purchase a distressed shooting range in Houston. He spruced the place up and sold guns and ammo via a 10-square-foot retail annex. Carter's four-store chain now has annual sales of $25 million.

The typical firearms customer has changed, Carter observes. For example, "re-loaders" are no longer a significant factor in the marketplace. Forty years ago, many shooters reloaded their shells with homemade, high-quality ammunition generally unavailable at the factory. This practice, known in industry parlance as "rolling your own," went out of fashion as the shooting business became more sophisticated. With the introduction of computer-blended powders, high-performance calibers, and premium ammo, fussy firearms enthusiasts could buy factory-made product matching their lofty quality standards at neighborhood gun shops.

The typical customer has changed in other ways, as well, Carter adds. Shooting enthusiasts are far more selective today, thanks in large part to the Internet. A 'net-savvy gun buyer often knows more about shooting products than his neighborhood retailer, and this can make him a tough nut to crack. As a result, the business is more challenging than it used to be, and retailers are now more inclined to hit the books to learn more about the products they sell.

"Less than a decade ago, a customer tapped the brain of the salesmen working at his local gun shop for product data," Carter says. "Now all the information he could possibly need is just a mouse click away. A customer-verses-retailer information gap can be a deal killer for an independent." He adds, "Since a small to mid-sized store can't compete with a box house price-wise, it has to push service to attract and sell customers. Information is a huge part of any store's service offering, and in the past few years many retailers have worked hard to catch up with customers in this area."

The swell of information available via the Web has also altered consumers' buying habits, Carter notes. Sophistication has made shoppers more fixated on quality, and less reticent to spend serious money on high-class product. Hunters, a prime example, are shifting to better-quality optics now, thanks to knowledge they glean on the topic via the Internet. This has made it incumbent on retailers to carry as much top-drawer stock as they can cram into the store. Keeping pace with this trend, Carter's currently carries 980 SKUs of ammo alone.

One of the primary distinguishing characteristics of Carter's Country Outdoor Stores is specialization. In each store, the stock-in-trade is strictly limited to guns, ammo, and outdoor and hunting gear. There's no jock-stock on the shelves, no fishing tackle, or anything else unconnected to the operation's bread-and-butter inventory.

Carter's also invests heavily in advertising, principally in the local newspaper in which it runs a quarter-page ad costing roughly $15,000 per week. The ads combine a power pitch with a folksy 125-word column entitled, "Old Bill Says" wherein Carter offers wit and wisdom on current events, reminiscences on topics of local interest (such as wild hog hunting in the 1940s), and appreciative observations on life in the slow lane.

"Historically, our clients have been small-town, slow-paced and family oriented," Carter explains. "We've skewed our stores to that marketplace; made them smallish and cozy compared to those of mass merchandisers on the one hand, but well-stocked and sophisticated on the other. We make a deliberate effort to appeal to both sides of our typical customer's personality, and that probably explains why we've been able to hold on to our following for so long."