Expanding to meet the customer's needs

Dennis Justice opened Nylla's Variety in 1986 along with his mom, for whom the store is named. It began primarily as a variety store, and then expanded into other areas to service the community. Since Justice was a gun guy, he knew there weren't many local options for purchasing guns, other than the bread-and-butter deer rifles, shotguns, and .22 rifles at the ever-present monster mart in a bigger town not far away.

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When Justice opened the gun section in Nylla's Variety, it caught on immediately. He applied the rule of finding a market and servicing it. The big-box store didn't carry handguns, and the gun shops located a half-hour drive away had the pricey guns found on the covers of the firearm magazines, but offered nothing at the low-priced level.

Justice saw an opening in the market. He brought in a line of entry-level pistols and revolvers. He found that revolvers like the Rossi, and pistols on the order of the Phoenix Arms .22 sold well. Generally, such guns are found on display in a small glass showcase.

On the wall behind the case, inaccessible to customers without permission, are the long guns. Many are used hunting rifles and shotguns, traded in on new guns. They have sale prices that give good bargains to the customer, and better-than-new-gun profit margins to the store. Airguns and paintball guns are available, too.

"The guns and ammunition are about 30 percent of the shop's business," Justice said, as I pick out a box of Federal Hydra-Shok .45 ACP. Local customers won't find much choice in premium defense ammo at the local "big box." Justice knows this, and keeps higher-end ammo on hand for his customers.

The video business Justice and his mom started naturally expanded into the gun side. The shop has a large selection of firearm and hunting videos that brings in "destination shoppers" who can't find such videos to rent at "regular" video outlets. Learning from this, Justice also keeps a stock of Paladin Press, Loompanics and other firearm and survival titles in inventory, which customers will have to look long and hard to find elsewhere in the county.

Justice is also a gunsmith, specializing in AR-15 and 10/22 rifles, and 1911 pistols. He says custom gun work constitutes about 50 percent of his firearm business. He also does a lot of business on the Internet, which also keeps book and video sales moving briskly. Military surplus gear, from camouflage clothing to boots and whatnots, make up a large part of his non-gun-related sales.

Nylla's sells about 200 firearms per year. That wouldn't keep a dedicated gun shop in business. By making the gun business a part of an unrelated business, Justice is able to do something he loves, while making good money at the same time. The video, book, and general variety elements of the shop keep the firearm enterprise healthy, profitable, fresh and fun.

Justice's mom died a while ago. He kept her name on the business. She approved of the firearm side, of course. She understood.