3BRITISH BRANDS AND WHY TO STOCK THEM

My father was pretty easygoing but of the few non-negotiable principles he instilled in me was to only ever buy British pork. Of course, nothing else we owned outside of the fridge was British but that didn’t really matter, the concept of the patriotic purchase has stuck with me for life.

I’ll confess I haven’t done much with this principle, other than check for red tractors at the supermarket. Day to day, I can be found happily driving my German car and watching my Chinese television, but as I age I do wonder whether it’s plausible to support Britain in more aspects of my life, and seeing as the majority of my life (outside of my family) is based around shooting sports, I thought I’d dive into whether we can repatriate the gun trade.

When it comes to shooting gear, it can be a little hard to stock British-made products. “British-made” often means high prices and low margins, so generally we look to Asia or Europe to get great products for more attainable retail prices, that also have that all-important margin we need to keep our businesses viable.

This wasn’t always the case, of course. Once upon a time the vast majority of items for sale in British gunshops would have been British made. Over the last 80 years we have seen the British gun trade change fundamentally from a powerhouse of new gun and equipment manufacturer to what it is today (I’m not unhappy with where it’s at, although a few new British gun factories would be nice!)

This decline can be attributed to number of factors, from the two world wars, to the technological stagnation of our manufacturers and of course the rising costs of producing anything in Britain vs the value that has been found in countries with much costs.

With the “why its like this” covered, I would like today to discuss how we can all consider backing British a bit more.

The first thing to know is that stocking and selling British generally means thinking outside of the box, one cannot simple go to the classic big distributors and place an order. A few of them do have a British brand or two (mounts, bipods or sound moderators), but the selection isn’t wild. My presumption on this is that the pricing model doesn’t work for most British products for the distributors to buy stock, mark it up and sell it to retailers with margin to spare. Before I give a few examples of this that you could try, I need to backtrack and give credit to the British airgun manufacturers who still run thriving businesses and who are still very easy to support.

Other than the limited options, to viably get British products on your shelves, you are going to have to go straight to the source.

There are, of course, almost limitless opportunities to do this, but two examples stand out as the easiest way to dabble with backing British, and those are custom knives and custom leather.

The last decade has seen a surge in the number of new British knife makers starting up, whether they are just keen hobbyists or full professional outfits. From experience, many of these will be prepared to do a deal with a retail outlet to allow you to make money on their wares. Given the array of makers, you could choose to work with any sort of quality and price point, from simply made entry-level products all the way to fully forged custom pieces. The direction you choose will obviously be influenced by your customer demographic and how you choose to work with them will be down to your negotiating skills and willingness to invest capital. Many of these makers will be willing to put stock in on a commission sale, and although this may leave you with less margin, it is less anxiety inducing than gambling on a new venture with your own money. You may already know a local maker, but a quick Google search will bring up who is close or who you just like the most, I have a personal affinity for the work of Marmajuke Creations and Thorn Wood Forge. Both of these makers are higher end, but offering quality products is never a bad move for long term client satisfaction! I’m not saying these are the only knives you should stock, but they make a good addition to the gunroom next to the Mora and Buck stalwarts.

Leatherwork is easier again given that the art of working with leather is not just reserved for the shooting sports sector. After a run of bad luck with one of the more mainstream suppliers of leather goods (stitching and zips failed on pretty much an entire batch), the shop I ran made the choice to try and find a local supplier who could make what we needed, allow us margin and also back up any manufacturing issues in a timeframe that any customer wouldn’t complain about. We didn’t have to look far as it turned out one of our customers ran a place called Bearhouse Saddlery, which had a great reputation in the equine world and did already dabble with a few cartridge bags and gunslips. A quick phone call later about willingness, lead times and margins and an order was placed.

In this instance, the shop found quickly that customers would opt for the locally made product over any imported options regardless of price, and those who were more price conscious would buy one of the dirt-cheap options from the Internet anyway.

Selling “off the shelf” options was a great success, but the added cream on the cake was that the shop could now offer custom orders for not much more, from the type of leather to the colour of the stitching they could help the clients dreams come true with the knowledge that the people that were going to make it were just down the road, and that the quality of these product means it would last a lifetime (although I’m aware that this isn’t so good for repeat sales).

I hope this article has sparked an idea or two about how you can support local businesses within your own shop, and although it is a bit more effort than a rep walking in through the door, I can honestly tell you that it is much more satisfying, not only for the client but also for your soul!

We’d love to hear your thoughts on the topics discussed in Jonny’s article. Please send your thoughts to editorial@fieldsportspress.com.