First Lite follows suit .....

[LandYacht]

I agree to a point with the inconvenience of driving to a retail store.

If all you are doing is driving to try things on then it makes total sense to do mail order. However, there are a lot of memories made with your family while you are out on these trips. My kids love the chance to eat lunch out. They also get the chance to play at a playground they seldom, if ever see. My wife gets to check out stuff too for herself or possible gifts. The drive there is an opportunity for a possible side scouting trip.

I don’t want to do all of my shopping from home. Part of the experience is getting to actually interact with people. I am not an extrovert, not an extreme introvert. I can see where shopping from home is a huge win for those that dwell in their homes and don’t want to be part of society. I see it as a huge loss for society, as now my kids interactions will become limited to school, work, church, or home.

Don’t downplay the importance of community. With technology we have much more time to do other activities instead of raise or gather food. Look back not that long ago and most everyone’s time was spent on surviving. What we choose to do with this new time is up to us. We shape how our towns look. If your town is small, it’s not got going to grow if you are sending your money out of it.


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[Trial153]

There is a lot of stretching going on in this thread. i really dont understand how you can assume because one shops mainly online they have no connection to the community. I can count on one hand the number of outdoor related products That I have purchased locally. Does that negate sitting on two non for profit Boards over the last 10 years? What about pro Bono work I have done for Several community groups? How about pro Bono contract negotiations for local EMS? My wife cordinates the adopt a family program for our town she also volunteers On the school board and Coordinates Sunday school activities for the children in our church.

What I'm getting at is that online retail isnt an all encompassing barometer for one's involvement and care in a community

 

[LandYacht]

There is a lot of stretching going on in this thread. i really dont understand how you can assume because one shops mainly online they have no connection to the community. I can count on one hand the number of outdoor related products That I have purchased locally. Does that negate sitting on two non for profit Boards over the last 10 years? What about pro Bono work I have done for Several community groups? How about pro Bono contract negotiations for local EMS? My wife cordinates the adopt a family program for our town she also volunteers On the school board and Coordinates Sunday school activities for the children in our church.

What I'm getting at is that online retail isnt an all encompassing barometer for one's involvement and care in a community

Totally agreed. Your post changed quite a bit prior to me replying, but take a look around you on those community boards you are a part of. If they are like the ones from my town, many of them are comprised of local business owners. Those people will either be forced to adapt to a different retail model, or leave for a different town i.e. distribution hub, if we continue to send our money out of our towns.

With this model, the first time that a dollar spent on First Lite or Kuiu will benefit your town will be when Kenton or Jason come to town and eat lunch.



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[Trial153]

Totally agreed. Your post changed quite a bit prior to me replying, but take a look around you on those community boards you are a part of. If they are like the ones from my town, many of them are comprised of local business owners. Those people will either be forced to adapt to a different retail model, or leave for a different town i.e. distribution hub, if we continue to send our money out of our towns.

With this model, the first time that a dollar spent on First Lite or Kuiu will benefit your town will be when Kenton or Jason come to town and eat lunch.



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The reason A direct to consumer model for this type of product is viable is because the marketplace has already spoken. In my area and I'm sure it mirrors in many locales products like first lite are not viable product for the majority of local sales. You can stock the racks with first light in Upstate New York till the cows come home and it isn't going to sell. The clientele is going to move to a lower price line like Carhartt or walls Etc. You're fighting for at best 20% of the available Customer base for hunting cloths. And online is the absolute best way to reach the majority of that 20%. The rest can and will be happy to shop at Walmart

 

[Trial153]

I would venture to guess that the vast majority of first lite sales Already take place online. The retailers that have a brick and mortar shop Like black ovis ect ect ,Probly sell online 20 to 1 vs walk in sales.

First lite knows that. The rational behind this is simple why should we be selling our good to retailers at 40% msrp? when we can cut out the retailer( middle man and garner better margins).

We can cast blame on the consumer base all we want but the fact of the matter is this a first lite increaseing their profits at the expense of their Whole sale Customer base. They are taking the slice of pie righy off their plates.
Customers aren't screwing over the retailer's first lite is.

 

[LandYacht]

The reason A direct to consumer model for this type of product is viable is because the marketplace has already spoken. In my area and I'm sure it mirrors in many locales products like first lite are not viable product for the majority of local sales. You can stock the racks with first light in Upstate New York till the cows come home and it isn't going to sell. The clientele is going to move to a lower price line like Carhartt or walls Etc. You're fighting for at best 20% of the available Customer base for hunting cloths. And online is the absolute best way to reach the majority of that 20%. The rest can and will be happy to shop at Walmart

Again agreed 100%. We have made this model and industry has reacted accordingly.

However, these are the tip of the iceberg. Albeit, a much smaller iceberg than it used to be. Wal-mart won’t be immune from this model. Wal-mart killed a lot of the mom and pop shops in the towns that it has come to. Online shopping will do that same thing to Wal-mart. Imagine how expensive it is for that huge building to be maintained. The loss from shop lifting. The cost of hiring many people to stock shelves and answer questions for where items in the store are. The cost of clearing a parking lot of snow. Direct to consumer has a lot of pluses for the retailer. The cost savings that can be passed onto the consumer. But, those jobs are lost. Something has to replace those jobs or your town will not be the same as it was prior to those jobs leaving. People will have to move to a different industry or town that can provide an income for them.

But you can’t get around the fact that once retail has left a community, the income of that community suffers greatly. What is the revenue that maintains the public works department, law enforcement, fire departments, the community boards? Something will have to fill it’s place. The person that figures that out will be the next Carnegie or Rockefeller.




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