Success Stories

Premium Partner Success Story: Glen's Army Navy  in Grand Rapids, Minnesota

Rolling With the Changes

Times change and if you want to be a successful retailer you had better change with them, said Rusty Eichorn, who along with his parents and his brother, Mitch, own Glen's Army Navy in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

There is no more Army or Navy surplus at the store for the simple fact that customers in the Grand Rapids and surrounding area have no interest in it. That's why the Eichorns emphasize rolling with the changes.

"If an item is hot you better have it and have a lot of them," he noted. This could take the form of a particular ammunition load or a tool.

"If someone asks for something more than once, you better stock it," he said. For example, Grand Rapids is a destination for serious whitetail hunters. A dealer's inclination may be to stock up on boxes upon boxes of .30.06 cartridges. There is nothing wrong with this, Eichorn maintained, but you better have a box or two of every other kind of deer load just in case you have a hunter looking for a particular style of cartridge.

"Having the right mix of products, a variety of shells, even if you only one box, is so important," he said. With this large variety, you will please the customers who shoot these other loads and you will impress everyone else with your breadth of selection.

This same philosophy applies to firearms. Eichorn suggested you have a variety of firearms available at your store even if you are only "one deep."

Having the "right mix" is just one of the reasons why Glen's Army Navy has had 10 years of increased purchasing and sales. This, despite the soft economy and mild winters.

Glen's is continually advertising the store in newspapers and on television and radio. Eichorn will run ads in the local paper and in cities that are 60 miles away. He cited one example of how the store sold 20 Browning pistols by running an ad in the Hibbing newspaper. Hibbing is an hour's drive away.

You need to be creative with your promotions, too, Eichorn said. One time, he had trouble selling a certain load of ammunition so he combined it was a more popular load and sold them two-for-one. He generated a lot of traffic for the store and good will with the promotion because although the one load was not popular, waterfowlers were certainly happy to take advantage of such a deal.

The simple things help, too, Eichorn said. "Make sure you have clean displays," he said. "And make sure your shelves are full. I've seen some stores where the shelves aren't full and they probably have the items in stock." He suggested that dealers continually review their displays and make sure they are organized and items are up front. Also, keep in regular contact with the manufacturers. If you are going to hold a raffle or fundraiser at your store, contact gun or ammunition makers to see if they can either donate product or give it to you for a reduced cost. They will likely appreciate the added attention the special event will give to their products.