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A shot at reaching new customers, dealers

Powersports companies catch up with outdoors enthusiasts at the SHOT Show

 

At the SHOT Show, it was hard to walk more than a few feet without seeing a gun. However, if one were to keep an eye out, a few side-by-sides, ATVs and even a motorcycle could be spotted on the floor.

SHOT Show — the Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show and Conference — is the largest trade show in that industry, attracting more than 65,000 professionals from all 50 states and 100 countries, according to the SHOT website.

However, for about a decade, the Las Vegas-based show held in late January has also been attracting a few powersports companies among its 1,600-plus exhibitors.

Yamaha

Yamaha has been an exhibitor at SHOT for about a decade. Steve Nessl, marketing manager for the OEM’s ATV/SxS group, said he and other Yamaha officials walked the SHOT Show the first year he worked for the company. By the next year, Yamaha had its own booth.

“We need to tell these people first-hand about the product, get their feedback on the product as well, talk to people who own it, and ask them what they are they looking for in future product. And as a whole, let them know we support what they’re doing — the outdoors lifestyle in general, across the board. We’re running the flag alongside them,” Nessl told Powersports Business. “And hopefully over time — and I think we’ve accomplished that in many ways — we pound home the point that the Yamaha ATV and side-by-side group are outdoorsmen, too. So we’re living the life with them; we’re using the product alongside of them, and thus even more we welcome their feedback and what they want from product moving forward.”

Yamaha’s new Wolverine  R-Spec side-by-side was unveiled on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at SHOT Show in Las Vegas.
Yamaha’s new Wolverine R-Spec side-by-side was unveiled on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at SHOT Show in Las Vegas.

The first year Yamaha exhibited at SHOT, some attendees were confused, but that confusion quickly gave way to understanding.

“The first time we showed up, people had never seen an ATV or a UTV manufacturer here before, and they were like, ‘What are you doing here?” Then they stopped and looked around, and then it’s ‘Wait a second, why haven’t you been here before?’ Right then it’s sort of like ‘OK, they get it,’ which is what I was hoping for. It’s just built itself since,” Nessl explained.

Yamaha has now been an exhibitor for 10 years, and with booth space already booked for 2016, the OEM plans to continue to be a presence at SHOT.

“We haven’t even come close to questioning why we should be here or not,” Nessl said. “Especially compared to other shows that we do; it’s right there as one of the most important ones we do all year.”

Bad Boy Buggies

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Bad Boy Buggies has also boasted a SHOT Show presence for several years, predating 2011, when Eric Bondy, vice president of Consumer Business for Bad Boy parent E-Z-GO, joined the company.

“We come predominantly for a couple of different reasons,” Bondy explained. “One is obviously to talk to dealers. There are a lot of people that come to this show that are not necessarily powersports dealers, but they’re small mom-and-pop-type outdoor enthusiast dealers, gun dealerships, those kinds of things. It bodes really well with our brand to be in that hunting population, so there’s a great crossover for us to be here. The second one is, in all honesty, a lot of these people that work this show are our customers. They do the types of things that we do from an outdoor standpoint, so it really makes great sense for us to be here.”

Each year, Bad Boy Buggies staff returns from SHOT Show with double-digit leads on potential dealers. But SHOT Show also gives Bondy and his team a chance to mingle with some of their outdoors partners and others within the outdoors and shooting industry.

Bad Boy Buggies displayed its electric side-by-sides at SHOT Show.
Bad Boy Buggies displayed its electric side-by-sides at SHOT Show.

“We have a tremendous amount of business-to-business relationships. Companies like Realtree and Rocky Boots and Glock pistols and Ruger — those are the kinds of companies that we have great relationships with. So this is a chance to interact and to mix with those folks as well and try to drive additional opportunities across the business,” Bondy said.

Bad Boy Buggies’ electric side-by-side lineup was created with the hunter in mind, as the quiet vehicle allows hunters to get to hunting sites with less interruption to the environment.

“If you’re a hunter, and you want to go sit in a tree stand, it gives you the opportunity to get so much closer in without having to walk in three, four miles to your tree stand. You can really accomplish the same thing taking an electric vehicle not only in and out of your stands, but in using it for preparation of where you’re going to hunt, so you’re not disturbing the wildlife in those areas,” Bondy said. “And then I think the other component of that is there’s a real social aspect of it. When you get into an electric side-by-side vehicle, you and I can be having the exact same conversation that we’re having right now, driving in the woods anywhere you want to go. It’s very unique.”

Great Day, Inc.

Another powersports company with a booth not far from Bad Boy Buggies was Great Day, Inc. Great Day staff drove 1,500-plus miles from their Tallulah, La., headquarters to SHOT Show to showcase its gun racks, Rumble Seat and other side-by-side and ATV accessories.

Ilar Meeks, national sales manager and vice president of Great Day, said his company booked a booth in 2005 and 2006, and then returned in 2014 and 2015.

“Shot Show is always, every year, one of the most highly trafficked shows, so you have all the major players from sporting goods, guns, tactical, law enforcement, just about anybody who has anything to do with a hunting rifle or a tactical weapon, the NRA, they’re all going to be circulating through here. And also the major players in the hunting business, like the Outdoor Channel, the Pursuit Channel, these are major players when it comes to advertising products,” Meeks said.

Great Day’s goal at the SHOT Show was to attract domestic and international retailers alike. And by Day 2 of the show, Meeks was already happy with many of the conversations he had held with potential business partners.

“I feel like I’m gaining some ground, just meeting new people and getting my feet wet in the gun side of the business. That’s not my forte, but we do have a lot of gun racks, so this is somewhat applicable to what we do,” Meeks said.

Key customers

Though powersports companies weren’t among the most prevalent exhibitors at the SHOT Show, those who were in attendance said the hunting and shooting market is a group they would never want to overlook.

“It’s huge. When your focus is on electric vehicles, our advantage is into that hunting population; that’s our core clientele; that’s our core demographic that we go after,” Bondy said. “When you think about the outdoor enthusiast and the hunter, it really crosses over to some of the traditional powersports folks. A lot of those guys are hunters as well, so we’re really trying to target that market as well.”

The SHOT Show is open only to those who work in the shooting, hunting and outdoors industries. However, just like in powersports, many of those working in the shooting and hunting industries are also enthusiasts. They’re hunting and shooting for pleasure, and many of them rely on ATVs and side-by-sides while hunting and shooting.

“They run the gamut here — traditional hunters, shooters and everyone in between. Also big land owners. So it runs the gamut here as far as the guys who are here and walking through the booth, but they’re all outdoorsmen at heart and in general, and the majority of our product appeals to them, by design,” Nessl added.

And though not every powersports OEM had a booth at the show, ATVs and side-by-sides weren’t hard to spot throughout the floor. Great Day, Inc. had a Polaris Ranger at its booth, which Meeks said attracted a lot of attention, and the NRA had a custom motorcycle at its booth. BRP also showcased a Mossy Oak-camouflaged Commander and Outlander in Mossy Oak’s booth, and other side-by-sides and ATVs were among the products at a number of booths.

“The competition has a presence,” Nessl said. “They have product on the floor in other booths, and they’re playing here in the industry. It’s a good target demographic for their vehicles, so it’s not like it’s a secret. Maybe we’ve just taken it to a greater lengths than others for now, but it’s something we’ll for sure continue to do.”

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