What will demand look like in 2015 and beyond? How do businesses plan for and manage this demand? These were some of the questions posed to five industry expert panelists during a NASGW sponsored webinar provided by Growth Strategy Partners.
2014 was a difficult year for most companies in the shooting sports industry due to the sharp increase in demand in early 2013, then the sharp decline in later in the year. Many companies struggled with not having enough product to sell yet others now have excess inventory.
So what is the forecast for demand in 2015 and what are the best ways to manage it? Five industry experts from the manufacturing, distribution, dealer and industry research areas of our industry provided their expertise. Jeff Creamer, Executive Director at Sig Sauer; Frank Harris, Vice President at Kahr Firearms Group; Chris Carlberg, Sales Manager at Bill Hicks and Co.; Miles Hall, President, H&H Gun Range and Jim Curcuruto, Director of Research at the National Shooting Sports Foundation provided their perspectives as it applied to their individual businesses.
The panelists agreed that demand for 2015 would be at least 5% higher than it was in 2014. A survey of those that attended the webinar provided the following predictions.
50% of attendees believe demand will be at least 5% higher than 2014 while 32% believe it will be the same as 2014.
Chris Carlberg noted that the best way to identify demand is really to listen to the needs of your customers be they the end user, dealer or distributor. Unfortunately, a previous poll conducted by Growth Strategy Partners indicated that very few companies formally survey their customers on a regular basis.
Miles Hall suggested that the industry as a whole could improve if there was more and better communication internally, from dealers to manufacturers and vice versa, specifically on topics like demand planning, marketing and advertising.
Jim Curcuruto from NSSF shared some of the research they have conducted on new shooters participation, less than 5 years of experience, and noted the following; most new shooters are younger by 10 years, live in urban areas, are not hunters and are female.
The webinar discussed the level of detail the companies were planning, their demand, and what tools they were using. Sig Sauer and Kahr Firearms Group both indicated that they are planning demand at the SKU level. Although they create an annual sales plan, they manage it either monthly or quarterly to stay current with evolving business trends. Much of their forecasts are based on what the company can tangibly influence from a marketing and promotional perspective however it was mentioned the difficulty in adjusting demand within a 90 day window due to challenges in the supply chain.
Growth Strategy Partners shared some of the tools they have used with other companies in the industry to help them plan and manage demand. They highlighted a new business intelligence / dashboard tool that made analyzing historical data much easier.
The webcast was recorded and can be viewed at either Growth Strategy Partners' website http://growthstrategypartners.com/resources/videos-2/ or NASGW's http://www.nasgw.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=3755
To learn more about industry specific consulting services please visit Growth Strategy Partners at www.GrowthStrategyPartners.com or contact Chris DiCenso at CDiCenso@GrowthStrategyPartners.com.
To learn more about the National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers visit www.NASGW.org.
