As I write this from my seat on a flight to Texas for the NBS dealer show, the Muddy crew is already set up and waiting.  Not just at this critical dealer show, but also half a country away at the biggest consumer show in the hunting industry (Eastern Sports in PA).  The 10 day marathon where hundreds of thousands of hunters will walk the isles to see the latest gear and all that is our industry.  Famous folks and the companies that make the hunting industry what it is are all crammed into one giant place in Harrisburg, PA.

But first, I make my way to one of the most important few days in Muddy’s year.  Where a couple hundred of the largest independent archery dealers literally buy an entire years worth of stuff.  Unlike the dog and pony shows that capture the attention at the consumer shows, this one is all business.  The archery manager and owners at these shops must do what I talked about last month:  Live with their decisions for 12 months.   They expect and get the best prices of the year only at this show.  They are not allowed the luxury of going home to think about it for a few weeks.  Buy now or pay more later is the reality.  

If they fail to purchase at these shows, Muddy and the other manufacturers won’t build enough gear.  We’ll run out and the store will face not getting this year’s hot items.  The purchase you make at your local dealer during the 2010 hunting season relies upon the dealer shows.  It all happens 6 months or more before most of you even think about that got-to-have item.  It is also a big reason why so many companies fail and end up out of stock or stuck with way too much inventory.  My personal goal at Muddy is to run out of stuff November 15 each year.  Of course we will never actually run out of all items on the same day.  We ran out of some stuff much earlier than that this year and carry other inventory into the 2010 year.  I’m sure in time I’ll get much better at reading the consumer crystal ball.  Till then, I’ll error on the side of running out.  I’d rather you guys want more than go broke counting inventory at the end of the year.

I’ll catch a flight to PA early next week and check in on our consumer staff.  Jo, Earp and a great gang of volunteers will be manning the booth in Harrisburg.  It is a great chance to see what mostly eastern hunters really think of our stuff.  If it is like last year, they won’t be shy on the comments.  We’ll hand out thousands of packets of information educating hunters about Muddy.  We feel that it is our responsibility to bring customers to the dealers looking for Muddy Gear.  I have not found a better way than to let thousands touch and feel our products at the consumer shows.

Mike and Chad will hit two more dealer shows this month.  Earp and the road crew will travel to more than a dozen consumer shows in the next few months.  Stop by and let us know what you think when we are in your area.  We don’t plan on stopping until you all get Muddy!

Larry