Archery Business: Jul/Aug 2010
20 archeryBUSINESS July/August 2010 'CAN'T MISS' SHOPSsion bow instead. If they can't afford a new bow they're putting on new cables and strings to up-grade their equipment and carry them through the season." I t's a similar story for A l Kraus, owner of Black Hills Archery located in Rapid City, South Dakota. " P eople are still going to hunt. I t's not an overly expensive venture once you have your initial bow and gear investment, plus they just love the sport. We're seeing hunters push their old bow for another year so that's been a boon to our service department," re\037ects Kraus. T he economic downturn is on the minds of most Americans, including archery pro shop owners, but those surviving in the market have discovered how to make their shops "destinations" for area archers. Here are some of their secrets.SERIOUS TECH SERVICEA rchery isn't rocket science, but it doesn't hurt to always have a "rocket scientist" on staff. Huh? At North T exas Archery in Farmersville, T exas, Fay Frignon is that rocket scientist. The shop is basically a two-person operation, and manager Frignona talented pro staff shooter for M athewsserves as the full-time tech to ensure each bow is set up speci\036cally for the customer taking the bow home. He's been set-ting up bows for 30 years, and his meticulous attention to detail is one of primary aspects that attracts archers to North T exas Archery. " I specialize in taking a bow and \036tting it perfectly to the shooter," Frignon says. " T hat includes everything from the draw length to the height of the peep. Once the bow is set to shoot I'll give them tips on how to shoot a bow to its full potential, if they want the assistance." Frignon recalls one recent customer who was having trouble shooting his bow. The man's groups splayed out on the target like buck shot. After a few minutes of sharing shooting tech- niques with the archer, Frignon had the amazed customer grouping arrows in a 1-inch bull's-eye. Larger box stores can't always provide that same personalized tech service, especially when dealing with increased "peak time" customer traf\036c. Although the large superstores can lure customers with their glitz and variety, Kraus doesn't see the stores as something to fear. In fact, Cabela's and Scheels opened two new loca-tions recently near his shop, and he believes it's bene\036tted Black Hills Archery as well. " T hose large stores bring more customers to me as well," explains Kraus. " T hey're selling tons of bow packages and some are just not set up right. So ultimately they end up down here be-cause through word of mouth they've heard about our pro shop service. We don't care where they bought their bow. We'll tune them, \036x them, and when it comes time for them to upgrade to a new bow there's a good chance they'll choose us." T o keep that "rocket science" status and con-tinue to be on the leading edge of technology, savvy shop owners attend bow manufacturer schools. Kraus recently attended a three-day, limited workshop hosted by M athews I nc. T he course had a focus on advanced technical ap- Al Kraus at Black Hills Archery builds a custom string for a customer on the spot. When products are backordered or an odd size comes up, Kraus is ready to help with a custom string or cablea service that de\037nitely sets his shop apart. 018-025_AB10JUL-cantmiss.indd 20 6/8/10 10:12:23 AM
You must have JavaScript enabled to view digital editions.
