Constant Evolution
At Savage Arms, standing still is not an option. The development of innovative product is top of mind for every employee.
Raised in Hutchinson, Minnesota, Beth Shimanksi grew up in the outdoors. She was an active camper, hiker, and angler, passions she still enjoys today. Her hunting instinct was activated when she joined Savage Arms in 2017.
A three-sport athlete in high school, Shimanksi converted her passion for swimming into a four-year athletic career at the University of Minnesota, where she earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Sports Management. She then earned a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and an MBA from Augsburg College. Her love of helping others was demonstrated by a 15-year commitment to coaching swimming at the collegiate and high-school level, where she “helped others become better versions of themselves by helping them achieve things they once thought impossible.”
Prior to joining Savage, Shimanski spent a decade at Polaris Industries, where she fell in love with connecting her brands to people who also loved the outdoors. When she joined Savage Arms, she took that same passion and applied it to the hunting and shooting sports communities.
Today, she spends time with her family in the woods or on the waters of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Hiking, hunting, and exploring has become a huge part of her free time, where she “enjoys seeing as much of our beautiful world as I can.”
SHOT Business: What do you see as the biggest challenges facing the industry in the next five years?
Beth Shimanski: Without question, growing our industry. The past few years we have seen an influx of new hunters and shooters. Our challenge is now to continue this growth of new people in this space as well as keeping those who are currently in the space active. We strive to understand what brings in new people, but also what keeps them out of our industry or prevents them from being more active. Savage strives to provide not only the right products for every type of hunter or shooter, but content they can consume to become even more comfortable in this space.
We also know there are constant threats to our industry, whether that be political limitations or imposing legislation on where and how we recreate, hunt, and shoot. Partnering with organizations that are helping us on these fronts will best set us up for longer-term success in these areas.
SB: What opportunities do you see?
BS: This industry has seen growth in the last few years, but we need to continue to learn from those new entrants to accelerate the next wave. We know that certain demographics or geographic regions are growing faster than others. As marketers, we need to best understand the metrics to which we have access to better help us not only maintain, but also speed up this growth. The next generation of hunters and shooters are hungry to be active members in our space, and we are seeing a huge push for mentorship. We need to leverage current firearm owners in order to bring in the next generation of owners and users.
SB: When you get up in the morning, what gets you excited about working in the industry?
BS: Every day in this industry is different. Consumers change. Competition changes. Marketing trends change. Our brand and products change. As a marketer, this poses a great challenge to constantly be refining and reinventing how we go to market.
As a hunter and shooter, working in this industry is invigorating. Like-minded people working together to create an engaged consumer bases is exciting. Our consumers use our products as a tool to complete a task, whether that is success at a competition, new trophies on the wall, a freezer full of meat, or protecting their loved ones. The products we provide help people fulfill a passion they have, and that is exciting to me to get to market to that passion.
SB: How will you meet the expectations of your customers?
BS: At Savage, we are constantly evolving, just like our consumers. Listening to our business partners and consumers helps us drive changes in how we do this and what we bring to market. We know that doing things how they were done in the past will not propel us to where we want to be in the future. We are constantly innovating our product line-up to meet the new demands of consumers. We reshape manufacturing processes continuously to be a better supplier to our business partners. And we are always thinking of new ways to communicate, educate, and engage with our consumers from the marketing side of the business.
SB: In a very competitive world, how does Savage stay ahead of the pack?
BS: Challenging the norm, every day. We know we cannot rest for one day in this industry. We have a hungry team of engineers, marketers, sales, retailers/dealers, and factory staff who know that if we don’t get better every day, we will fall behind. This mindset of doing things better and differently keeps us moving ahead of the competition. That could mean new processes, new products, better training, or new ways to reach people. There is a lot of noise in front of consumers today; our daily goal is to make Savage stand out to them.
SB: The new Impulse straight-pull centerfire rifle was a departure from the norm for Savage. Why did the company pursue this course?
BS: I wouldn’t say it was a departure from the norm, per se. We have always focused on product innovations and bringing reliable, accurate rifles to the marketplace. We have been very open in stating that we want to play in every aspect of the firearms market, including segments that might be non-existent in the U.S. market. When we looked at our opportunities as a global brand, a straight-pull rifle, built in the U.S. and sold for well under the price point that the other brands in this space sell for in the U.S., we knew we had a great opportunity with Impulse.
SB: What design and engineering challenges had to be overcome to bring Impulse to market?
BS: The major challenge to overcome when designing and launching Impulse was reassuring consumers about the safety of a straight-pull rifle. With a traditional bolt-action rifle, you are very clear when you close that bolt and it is locked in place. There are unknowns and concerns from end users with a model and operating style with which they are not familiar. Developing the Hexlock lock-up system, and clearly communicating that system, was key to helping Impulse gain traction in the U.S. market.
SB: How has the Impulse been received by your dealers and customers?
BS: The initial response to Impulse was well beyond our expectations. In just the first few weeks after launch, we had well surpassed our forecasted volume. Since then, we have introduced three more models to the line-up and demand remains strong. Once people get used to the different style of operation, they become a believer in Impulse. We want people on the range to try the straight-pull for the first time. Sometimes they struggle the first few times because the Impulse’s no-lift bolt handle is so different than the operation of a traditional bolt-action rifle. But after a few rounds, and especially after putting the rifle to use in the field, we are seeing people become true believers in the system.
SB: Savage has a well-deserved reputation producing very accurate factory rifles. How does the company do this?
BS: Savage has taken the processes that you find at a gunsmith or custom shop and brought them into mass manufacturing. We have an accuracy equation that goes into every rifle we make, whether that is our entry-level Axis line-up or our premium Precision series models. Processes like zero-tolerance head spacing, meaning every single bolt is married to that barrel for unmatched seeding of every round into the barrel, make a difference. A floating bolt head and precision rifling are other areas we focus on for accuracy. And finally, if needed, every barrel is hand straightened by highly skilled operators in the factory. All of these various features add up to an unmatched accuracy equation you can find in every Savage rifle, right out of the box. (savagearms.com)
