Most "outdoor" distributors I've found are "outdoors" in the vein of granola eating Birkenstock wearing hippies which doesn't work for what I'm looking for. The outdoor industry seems to shun the entire concept of distributors for some reason.
You just described the EORA show in Greenville, SC. Have you ever attended? The last time I went there were so few vendors that they could have almost held the show in the entrance hall. We walked the entire floor including stops at a few booths and were gone in 45 minutes. Very disappointing.
Our sports store is only 4 years old so I appreciate getting your insights on other vendors. I am going to have to take a hard look at Sports South. You're not the first person to suggest them. Big Rock carries a massive inventory but it is definitely focused on field, stream and salt water. Their wholly owned Calcutta brand is about all the only thing they carry for campers. I haven't seen anything there for more technical outdoor activities. There is one thing about Big Rock - they have several pricing levels and you have to lobby hard to make sure you're on their best tier. Don't listen to them when they tell you that "it's just pennies". It's a 10%+ difference on average. Ellett was a great gun, ammo and boating supplies vendor until they ran aground and broke apart. Sorry to see them go. I actually just started using Davidson's in the last month. I'm giving their Gallery of Guns program a try but I have the same objections to buying from them that you do. The upside is that their annual minimum requirement is very low. I can probably achieve it by purchasing most of my stocking dealer programs from them. Those programs are pretty much the same wherever you go. Also, any purchase at any time of five long guns gives you 90 days dating and can be combined with stocking dealer programs. That's basically how I plan to use them. If it's not working out in a year I'll move on.
When I said $1M to get into NBS I meant that's the minimum you need to spend with them alone. I wouldn't bother talking to them if my revenue was less that $3M annually. And it IS less than that.
In my other world, I've been a member of Ace Hardware for 38 years. Adjusting to the sporting goods world after living in the soft, warm Ace cocoon for so long was a huge culture shock. If I ever want to add anything new to my Ace store, I can usually click the website a few times and land on a suggested planogram for the line I want, the name of the rep, the final cost along with extended payment terms, an online dealer agreement form and a contact for getting an outside team to come in and set everything up for me. Needless to say, my entry into the sporting goods world felt like being dropped off in the Australian Outback with just a rusty canteen and a ball cap.
Anyhow, thanks for your suggestions. I'm definitely going to look into some of them.
Oh, and Go Tigers!