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Frequently Asked Questions: |
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I see your company's products everywhere, how long have you been
in business? 10 years. What was your first product? Fishin' Glue for mending things in the outdoors. It's water proof and scentless when dried, 4 seconds. The braided line craze made it a household name among fishermen and then the fisherman realized it did more than seal line knots. Who gave you your best start in the business? Bass Pro Shop sold over $3,000 of Mr. Wiggly in one Spring Classic Show in Springfield, MO. and outdoor writer, Louie Stout wrote a great article on Fishin' Glue for "Bass Time" magazine. That same year, pro angler, Jay Yelas from Texas did a "Pro Anglers Tips" segment on Bassmaster's TV show and we were on our way. How did you get the Walmart account so early in your business? Anglers demanded Fishin' Glue often enough. Note: Walmart has since gone to their own brand with another manufacturer, but we still sell nationally to K Mart, Bass Pro and Cabela's Catalog and ship internationally to 12 countries. We also make Fishin' Glue in a handy tube and recently introduced Fly Fishin' Glue. A Huntin' Glue product is currently being developed. How did you come up with so many products in four years? We are fishermen first, and not just about making money. Most of our profits go into designing something new and helpful for anglers. Anglers from all over the country send us new ideas also. Do you design all your own products? All but one, the Wing-It Bobber which was invented by a railroader, E.B. Christensen, from Minnesota. It is a great design that won "Best Of Show" in 1997 at the Las Vegas, American Sportfishing Association show. The Wing-It Bobber has been out less than a year and we have sold over 150,000 already. How do your promote your products so fast? A new product will be shown at 30 to 40 sport shows a year, we do some print ads and TV. Knowing what tradeshows, magazines and TV shows to promote our products is the key. The World Wide Web will introduce "New" products faster and in greater detail. I wish the "web" would have been around five years ago. We have been growing at 25 percent a year without the web and are looking for it to raise our growth rate a little higher. How do you invent a new product? What needs to be fixed or greatly improved on for all anglers is our key. When we invented the Mr. Wiggly, there was a lot of good baits already on the market, but not for the young or casual angler. Angers saw our video of how it worked and bought them like crazy from the very first sport show. We knew we had a hit right away and it was just a question of time before they "Demanded" a smaller one, Jr. Wiggly. Thousand of anglers were using glue in the outdoors but not all glue is waterproof and Fishin' Glue was a hit right away. Our Injector Series of Worms, Lizards and Grubs still remain the only soft plastic bait that has a full body hollow scent chamber. Anglers putting the scent inside the bait is only half the story. The hollow cavity makes the hook-set easier, makes the bait as soft as a real worm and it will float higher for Carolina Rigging. Don't use scent in fishing? Put your rattles inside the hollow bait to attract fish by sound, the Injector Series is very versatile. Anglers have told us at sport shows that it is a soft as a high dollar hand poured bait. How do you get so many anglers to try you product? Great prices at sport shows, Bass Pro's Spring Classic or World's Fair, print ads in magazines like North American Fisherman, Bass Times or Outdoor World. In 1998 we will be featuring a variety of tackle type kits on the web to introduce new anglers to our products with a dealer listing of who carries what and where. Where do you take your new products first? Every new product we introduce goes to Bass Pro Shop for the Spring Show. You get to visit with so many different anglers from everywhere, you can get a good read on your new idea right away. Only the internet can compete with that concept. Walmart will only take a look at it if anglers are demanding it very loudly and most fishermen don't know they have that right. Bass Pro has an advantage over Walmart because of the catalog, they can carry more product to show anglers. That's nothing against Walmart, they only have so many pegs for fishing products. That's one reason the World Wide Web will grow among fishermen, they can get what they want if some store doesn't carry it for them. |
