Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. Buyers talk business at the TruGlo Booth. Accelerated Business NASGW Streamlines Communication, Generates Growth! ith nearly 50 new shooting sports manufacturers joining the ranks of exhibitors at the 2007 National Association of Sporting Goods Wholesalers (NASGW) Meeting and Expo, Nov. 7-9, 2007, in Reno, Nev., business optimism was at an all-time high. “In all the years we’ve been attending NASGW, I’ve never seen the industry so energized, so willing to look at new products, and so willing to order and stock meaningful merchandise that will provide turns and margins,” said Bob Morrison, president and CEO of Taurus. “These really are the good old days.” The NASGW event, which attracted more than 150 exhibitors and nearly 1,400 attendees, is very important to the industry, according to Hewitt Grant, president and CEO of Ellett Brothers. 36 FEBRUARY 2008 W “The NASGW is the most important show of the year for distributors. It allows us to get pricing and product information ready for our dealer shows the first week of January, and without this show, we wouldn’t have the information until the SHOT Show in February,” Grant said. According to industry executives, the shooting sports market has experienced strong consumer demand for shooting and hunting products during the past two years. Product sales in virtually every category have exceeded any period in history, often by a wide margin. “Business throughout 2007 has been strong, driven mainly by handguns and ammunition. Hunting firearms are a little soft, mainly bolt-action rifles and shotguns. I anticipate 2008 to be another good year with smaller increases than in 2007,” Grant said. Optimism in the shooting sports market is not confined to wholesalers in the United States. Detlef Reuss, president of Hoffmann, a European distributor based in Mellrichstadt, Germany, said, “The somewhat weaker dollar and the strong U.S. economy has had a strong impact on our wholesale sales throughout 2007 and I expect 2008 to be equal or better.” Wayne Smith, NASGW president, was pleased with the 2007 event. “There is no question the NASGW show has a new look, a new feel and a vibrancy that has not been typical in years past. Manufacturer and sales representative attendance is significantly up at the show, as well as media attendance. Wayne LaPierre’s (NRA executive vice president) keynote address at our awards breakfast was a particular highlight for the attenWWW.SHOOTINGINDUSTRY.COM