Silver Lining - COVID forced Galco to re-evaluate its business model. When it did so, it found the proverbial silver lining.

There’s little doubt that the ripple effects of the COVID pandemic are still being felt by businesses across the country and around the world. For some businesses, the impacts of the pandemic were devastating. For those companies that were able to adjust their business model and adapt their sales strategy, however, the pandemic provided an opportunity to evolve their business and change its trajectory forever. Galco Holsters is one of those businesses.

“COVID was a huge turning point for us,” says Mike Barham, media and public relations manager for Galco Holsters. “Because of what was going on in the country, we were forced to adjust. And that’s when our direct-to-consumer business really kicked into high gear.”

Fortunately for Galco, COVID wasn’t reducing demand for its holsters. But because the pandemic was keeping people from shopping at retail stores, Galco knew it needed to adjust and find a way to get their customers the holsters they were still looking for.

“We poured a tremendous amount of money and resources into our website to make sure it was a place our customers could go and find exactly what they’re looking for,” Barham says.

The investment has paid off handsomely. Not only did Galco’s shift in  focus to direct-to-consumer sales help the company weather the COVID crisis, it provided a pathway to increase Galco’s overall sales in the years since.

“It’s really difficult for a gun retailer to stock wide and deep when it comes to their selection of holsters,” Barham says. “Going direct-to-consumer allows us to serve consumer markets that weren’t being served before.”

A great example of one of those markets is the high-end, premium leather holster market.

“It’s such a niche market focused on the shooter who wants the best leather holster they can buy,” Barham says. “But what we’ve found is that it’s a very dedicated and enthusiastic market.”

To serve the needs of that market, Galco launched its Masterbilt line of holsters and began offering them through its website. The response has been overwhelming.

“The requests for the Masterbilt line hasn’t let up since we introduced it,” Barham says. “It’s hard for a retailer to justify stocking a high-end holster like that, but our direct-to-consumer business allows us to fill that need that no one really knew existed in the market.”

While the new business strategy is helping Galco reach new customers and niche markets, Barham said that Galco’s investment in direct-to-consumer sales hasn’t diminished the company’s commitment to its local retailers whatsoever.

“We really have a two-pronged approach to sales now,” Barham says. “We have our sales department that is focused on making sure we’re giving our local retailers the holsters their customers are asking for, and we have our digital marketing team focused on selling those products that most of the retailers don’t have the shelf space to carry.”

And Barham says the increase in their direct-to-consumer business has actually helped improve sales at local retailers. 

“A guy might buy a Masterbilt holster from us, but when he goes into his local gun store and sees a Galco magazine holster, he’ll recognize the brand and is more likely to pick it up,” he says.

Given the success of the direct-to-consumer business, Galco intends to increase its investment in this arena, all the while strengthening its commitment to retailers.

“We would love to be a one-stop-shop for people, and we’re better able to do that now because now we have the freedom to develop such a wide assortment of holsters in different styles and materials,” Barham says. “And this helps our retailers, too, because if they have a customer who’s looking for a specific holster, we can usually get it to them in a couple of days.”

And that kind of commitment goes a long way toward building brand loyalty, not just for Galco, but also for the local retailers who carry their holsters.