The power of promotion: is your store a "must shop" destination? Building that type of image is vital to long-term success

Shooting Industry, Feb, 2003 by Ray Oeltjen

Welcome To Texas And Carter's Country

About 1,300 miles southwest of Jay's Sporting Goods, a giant in the shooting sports industry is entering its 43rd year of serving the hunters and shooters of Texas. Bill Carter has taken Carter's Country stores to the pinnacle of shooting sports retail success. With three stores in Houston, and one in Pasadena, Texas, Carter's Country has grown into an American shooting sports legend.

Bill Carter, founder and president of Carter's Country, is modest about his success and his role in creating this landmark in retail shooting sports. However, Carter's dedication and passion for the shooting sports and his unyielding support of the 2nd Amendment has served his customers and the industry as professionally and ethically as anyone in the business.

Carter's family is also very involved in Carter's Country. His son, Billy, is manager of the Spring, Texas, store, and his daughter, Lori, works in the accounting department. Bill's wife, Ellen, has long been a vital component of the business' management and is in charge of the accounting division.

Riddled Promotion

Carter's first foray into advertising was not entirely successful. He quickly realized that small product ads in the Fall resulted in customers buying up the good deals and then waiting for the next Fall sale. In his quest to find something that might draw customers, Carter secured a $5,000 loan for an electronic running deer.

He showed it to local sports writers who enthusiastically wrote about this novel idea. Unfortunately, after a couple of rifle shots, the deer needed considerable repair. The now non-running deer turned out to be a failure, but Carter learned the extraordinary power of promotion. Suddenly, hunters all over Houston knew about Carter's Country because of a failed experiment.

Today, Carter is a master at promoting the image of Carter's Country. He has established his stores as the place to go for good value and excellent service.

That is not to say all promotions at Carter's Country have worked exactly as planned. There was the famous Rattlesnake Roundup that brought a huge crowd to the store. The heat of all those people caused the air conditioning to shut down. As the store got hotter, the rattlesnakes became aggressive and the snake handlers almost lost control. Although it was a great promotion, Bill decided to forego live rattlesnakes in future store promotions.

Special Promotion

One of Carter's trademark promotions is his annual pre-season finance sale. Carter's Country promotes these multi-day events heavily with print ads, radio spots and cable television ads. Representatives from top vendors attend the sale and work behind the counter promoting their products. Sports personalities are often brought in to add a special attraction.

During the promotion, customers are able to purchase high-end products and receive instant financing right in the store. A key factor to the success of these promotions is inventory. Carter's is known for having the products you need when you need them. It's a rare customer who doesn't find exactly what he is looking for at Carter's Country.