Big Return
The SHOT Show delivers a massive return on your investment of time and money. You can’t afford to miss out.
By Christopher Cogley
When making strategic business decisions, intuition is always important. So is research. When you peel back all the layers of decision making, however, nearly every critical business decision comes down to three key words: Return. On. Investment. When it comes to deciding whether or not to attend the National Shooting Sports Foundation’s 2024 SHOT Show, those three little words can have a huge impact on your business.
Two years ago, after SHOT’s return to Las Vegas following the COVID pandemic, many critics were cynical about attendance at the show. Business owners, however, by following their intuition instead of the advice of the skeptics, helped create a very successful return of the industry’s largest trade show. That success proved that the SHOT Show is just as relevant today as it was before the pandemic, and that realization made people show up in impressive numbers in 2023 to create the biggest SHOT Show ever.
“Last year was such a pivotal year. The show really could have gone either way,” says Chris Dolnack, NSSF Senior Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. “We’re so fortunate that we have such a passionate customer base and a passionate industry. People were really excited to get back to business, and that excitement was really contagious throughout the show.”
For many companies, the enthusiasm generated at the show wasn’t just palpable; it was tangible in the form of new business, new opportunities, and new connections that made it easy for them to track the incredible return on investment that came from attending the show.
“PARD debuted our extensive line of thermal and night vision products at SHOT Show 2023,” says Derick Cole, vice president of sales at PARD USA. “We were overwhelmed with interest and successfully signed partnership agreements with two national distributors, two buy groups, five national big box retailers, and countless dealers. Our team was literally swamped at the booth from open to close each day of the show.”
It's success stories like that that exemplify the purpose of the SHOT Show.
“We are always looking for new ways to help grow the industry and provide our members with an opportunity to grow their business,” Dolnack says. “We get feedback from attendees after every show, and we pay attention to that feedback and do everything we can to incorporate those ideas on how we can improve the show and create more opportunities for every attendee.”
One way the NSSF is keeping up with the changing needs of firearms and sporting goods retailers is with a monumental new addition to SHOT Show 2024. Earlier this year, the NSSF announced a partnership with Grand View Outdoors to create the Archery Business Pavilion as part of the growing exhibition space at the show.
“We’re thrilled to open up this new segment of the outdoor industry to our attendees,” Dolnack says. “Archery has always been a complementary retail addition for many of our members, and we believe that this new show area will provide the perfect platform for archery manufacturers and suppliers to showcase their products to thousands of buyers, media, and industry professionals.”
As the popularity of bowhunting continues to grow, and more and more hunters take up archery as a way to extend their hunting season and provide more opportunities to pursue their passion, providing an offering of archery equipment has become a no-brainer for many gun stores. By creating an opportunity for those retailers to make connections with archery manufacturers at the SHOT Show, Grand View Outdoors and the NSSF are helping to grow both the shooting and the archery industries.
“This partnership with NSSF represents a significant opportunity for the archery industry to come together and demonstrate the innovation, technology, and creativity that defines archery with the SHOT Show,” says Grand View Outdoors President Derrick Nawrocki.
The Archery Business Pavilion is far from the only change to the 2024 SHOT Show that the NSSF made in response to the feedback from attendees. Dolnack says that most of the changes are minor, however, and are in response to customer suggestions of how attendees can get more out of the show experience.
The ability to keep the industry healthy and strong is one of the most important—but often overlooked—benefits of the SHOT Show.
“The SHOT After Dark event and concert was a huge success, but we heard from many of our members that they weren’t able to attend because it was on Wednesday night when they were hosting events at their booth,” Dolnack says. “So, for 2024, we’re going to have the SHOT After Dark concert on Tuesday immediately following the opening night welcome address. That way, exhibitors can reserve Wednesday night for their company parties.”
Other minor changes designed to help improve attendees’ overall experience include increases in navigational signage, creating a larger space for the Buyers’ Lounges, and moving the Education Seminars back to the Venetian. As they do every year, the NSSF is bringing in a new line-up of retailer education seminars; these seminars have proven to be an invaluable resource for many attendees.
“As our industry operates on a politically and socially unstable landscape, it’s now more important than ever to be with aligned companies at SHOT Show each year to get up to speed on new opportunities and meet new suppliers and customers,” says Jason Lonsberry, CEO of Apex Ammunition. “The seminars keep you up to date with new laws and guidelines to keep our businesses on track while bringing great opportunity to socialize with fellow shooting sports business owners and enthusiasts.”
In its 46th year, the SHOT Show is one of the longest-running industry shows in the country for one simple reason—it continually remains the best venue for people from all facets of the shooting, hunting, and outdoor industry to gather, network, re-connect, and have fun.
“The SHOT Show is a great forum that allows us to meet with our global customers, display and discuss new products, and have meaningful discussions with all layers of the industry,” says Jason Nash, vice president of marketing for CCI, Federal, HEVI-Shot, Remington, Speer, and Alliant Powder. “The NSSF does a great job to make this a celebration of the industry with a variety of events fostering the networking needed to keep the NSSF and the industry healthy and strong.”
The ability to keep the industry healthy and strong is one of the most important—but often overlooked—benefits of the SHOT Show. In its mission to be the most powerful and unified voice dedicated to promoting, protecting, and preserving hunting and the shooting sports industry, the NSSF continually implements and supports a wide range of legislative, educational, and outreach initiatives, all of which increase the health of the industry now and in the future.
“The SHOT Show is the most important resource we have to fund those critical initiatives and continue to protect the shooting industry,” Dolnack says. “Whether you’re a member or not, by attending the SHOT Show, you’re helping us accomplish our mission.”
Regardless of what sector of the industry you’re in, it’s hard to imagine a better return on investment than that.