Willie
03-30-2005, 08:20 AM
Bowhunting Preservation Alliance : News : Detail
Posted: June 30, 2003
Crossbows Increase Bowhunting Opportunities in 2002 and Beyond
By Patrick Durkin
The archery industry endured some struggles in 2002, but one segment of the industry enjoyed unprecedented growth.
That bright spot was the ever-controversial crossbow. Why? The No. 1 reason was that Georgia passed a law to allow crossbows during its four-month archery season. Less significant factors were that Pennsylvania and South Carolina legalized crossbows for their firearms seasons, and Wisconsin allowed crossbows for everyone 65 and older during the archery season.
As a result, the crossbow market picked up in 2002. “The crossbow market was hotter than a pistol,” said Erik Watts, CEO of Easton Outdoors. “It’s all tied to new seasons and new opportunities. Anytime you have a special season, there will be huge potential. Without special seasons, it’s just another product category. For areas with new seasons and new opportunities, there’s talk that crossbows will be archery’s next growth spurt. For areas where the seasons are unchanged and there is no special opportunity, it’s no big deal.
“Crossbows are here to stay, but let’s remember that growth centers on having a season. That’s the way things have always been.”
Lee Zimmerman, vice president of sales and marketing for Horton Manufacturing Co. Inc., in Tallmadge, Ohio, agrees. He said Horton had an exceptional year with “extremely strong” growth. He credits the Georgia decision for his company’s success.
“One shop we heard about in Georgia sold eight crossbows in 2001, but in 2002 that shop sold eight to 12 crossbows every day all summer,”
Zimmerman said. “Crossbows have been a great business for dealers, and those sales did not hurt the vertical-bow market, from what we heard. Virtually every dealer down there said vertical-bow sales stayed identical to 2001 or were up slightly. They were elated because no one knew what would happen when horizontals were introduced.”
Joel Bell, northeast regional manager for Sportco Marketing Inc., works with Horton and the North American Archery Group. He said both companies did well in crossbow sales.
“Both companies had good years, and Horton actually had a great year, probably because of the ‘new’ four-month season in Georgia,” Bell said. “In my opinion, the growth of our industry will come from crossbows. I think it’s the most effective tool we have to recruit new archers and move them toward the vertical bows.”
Michele Crummer, chief financial officer of Muzzy Products Corp., in Cartersville, Ga., agreed with Bell that crossbows provided one of the few bright spots in 2002.
“They couldn’t keep crossbows on the shelves here in Georgia,” Crummer said. “I’m sure Muzzy benefited from that in some way, but it’s hard to attribute increased broadhead sales to crossbows. I see the crossbow as producing new bowhunters for Georgia. I don’t think it’s taking away anything from current bowhunters. I see it as providing a way for older hunters to come back in or a way to attract new archers. It had to have been a bonus for us.”
Zimmerman agreed that crossbows will result in more people hunting deer. “This gives families and friends more opportunity to get together and fling arrows,” he said. “When you give people more ways to interact and hunt together, you can only increase hunting participation. There’s no logical reason to oppose crossbows. With increased herd sizes, decreasing numbers of hunters, and more need to recruit hunters and increase hunting opportunities, the crossbow sits out there untapped but ready to address all those issues. It’s truly the last untapped resource in archery.”
Johnny Grace, national sales manager for Parker Compound Bow Inc. in Mint Springs, Va., said Parker hopes to capitalize on this market by introducing a crossbow in 2003.
“We’re bringing out crossbows this year,” Grace said. “We see the crossbow as a crossover market, and we plan to put Parker’s technology into that. Our proximity to Georgia played a part in our decision, but we’ve discussed it in the past and the market seems to be growing. When we polled our dealers about crossbows, about half of our thousand and some dealers have a viable crossbow opportunity, but only about half of those dealers had been stocking crossbows.
“So, we’ve been studying that market, and we think Parker is at a point where we’re hitting our stride and ready to take on new projects.”
Posted: June 30, 2003
Crossbows Increase Bowhunting Opportunities in 2002 and Beyond
By Patrick Durkin
The archery industry endured some struggles in 2002, but one segment of the industry enjoyed unprecedented growth.
That bright spot was the ever-controversial crossbow. Why? The No. 1 reason was that Georgia passed a law to allow crossbows during its four-month archery season. Less significant factors were that Pennsylvania and South Carolina legalized crossbows for their firearms seasons, and Wisconsin allowed crossbows for everyone 65 and older during the archery season.
As a result, the crossbow market picked up in 2002. “The crossbow market was hotter than a pistol,” said Erik Watts, CEO of Easton Outdoors. “It’s all tied to new seasons and new opportunities. Anytime you have a special season, there will be huge potential. Without special seasons, it’s just another product category. For areas with new seasons and new opportunities, there’s talk that crossbows will be archery’s next growth spurt. For areas where the seasons are unchanged and there is no special opportunity, it’s no big deal.
“Crossbows are here to stay, but let’s remember that growth centers on having a season. That’s the way things have always been.”
Lee Zimmerman, vice president of sales and marketing for Horton Manufacturing Co. Inc., in Tallmadge, Ohio, agrees. He said Horton had an exceptional year with “extremely strong” growth. He credits the Georgia decision for his company’s success.
“One shop we heard about in Georgia sold eight crossbows in 2001, but in 2002 that shop sold eight to 12 crossbows every day all summer,”
Zimmerman said. “Crossbows have been a great business for dealers, and those sales did not hurt the vertical-bow market, from what we heard. Virtually every dealer down there said vertical-bow sales stayed identical to 2001 or were up slightly. They were elated because no one knew what would happen when horizontals were introduced.”
Joel Bell, northeast regional manager for Sportco Marketing Inc., works with Horton and the North American Archery Group. He said both companies did well in crossbow sales.
“Both companies had good years, and Horton actually had a great year, probably because of the ‘new’ four-month season in Georgia,” Bell said. “In my opinion, the growth of our industry will come from crossbows. I think it’s the most effective tool we have to recruit new archers and move them toward the vertical bows.”
Michele Crummer, chief financial officer of Muzzy Products Corp., in Cartersville, Ga., agreed with Bell that crossbows provided one of the few bright spots in 2002.
“They couldn’t keep crossbows on the shelves here in Georgia,” Crummer said. “I’m sure Muzzy benefited from that in some way, but it’s hard to attribute increased broadhead sales to crossbows. I see the crossbow as producing new bowhunters for Georgia. I don’t think it’s taking away anything from current bowhunters. I see it as providing a way for older hunters to come back in or a way to attract new archers. It had to have been a bonus for us.”
Zimmerman agreed that crossbows will result in more people hunting deer. “This gives families and friends more opportunity to get together and fling arrows,” he said. “When you give people more ways to interact and hunt together, you can only increase hunting participation. There’s no logical reason to oppose crossbows. With increased herd sizes, decreasing numbers of hunters, and more need to recruit hunters and increase hunting opportunities, the crossbow sits out there untapped but ready to address all those issues. It’s truly the last untapped resource in archery.”
Johnny Grace, national sales manager for Parker Compound Bow Inc. in Mint Springs, Va., said Parker hopes to capitalize on this market by introducing a crossbow in 2003.
“We’re bringing out crossbows this year,” Grace said. “We see the crossbow as a crossover market, and we plan to put Parker’s technology into that. Our proximity to Georgia played a part in our decision, but we’ve discussed it in the past and the market seems to be growing. When we polled our dealers about crossbows, about half of our thousand and some dealers have a viable crossbow opportunity, but only about half of those dealers had been stocking crossbows.
“So, we’ve been studying that market, and we think Parker is at a point where we’re hitting our stride and ready to take on new projects.”