Heritage and longevity are something that many businesses in our industry understand. NASGW is no different. 2023 will mark the 70th anniversary of NASGW. This organization has been around longer than most of us have been alive. The organization has changed numerous times over the years as NASGW was initially founded as Sporting Goods Jobbers Association in 1953. It’s no surprise that things are much different in 2022 than when NASGW began, as are the businesses and industry NASGW serves. In the past 5-6 years, we have recently seen quite a few changes, including the Annual Expo, SCOPE, and the services NASGW provides.

The last two to three years have been a whirlwind, if you haven't noticed. It seems like it's been one challenge after another. From Covid to riots, supply chain issues to staffing shortages, more supply chain issues and major inflation. When will it all end? And just recently, we've been glued to the TV watching the invasion of Ukraine, knowing very well this will lead to some form of disruption, the first impact probably being oil and gas prices.

Reflecting back on this year’s SHOT Show, I have mixed reviews. For one, the absence of many non-essential people made it much easier to maneuver the aisles on the way to meetings and avoided the 5 minute scramble of someone trying to find the person we were scheduled to see. Coming off two record years for our industry, attitudes were very positive. Our vendor partners are still hesitant to offer any special programs as there are still pockets of strong demand. However, we are starting to see the inevitable slowdown and the accompanying overstocks. Despite our best efforts, it’s impossible to perfectly predict when to shut orders down while still capitalizing on sales opportunities. That’s why vendor communication is critical and a unified voice from NASGW members is needed. So now we press forward and get creative again in our business strategies, something we tend to ignore when demand draws inventory down and customers are eager to prepay to get more.

Happy New Year! As we close out 2021, I’m filled with a sense of accomplishment for the goals I’ve fulfilled in my work and personal life, but a little emotional for the events that filled my life with joy and pride. I’m not one to wish away the years, but I think we can all agree that we’ll be relieved to see America grow out of the restraints of COVID and political challenges. We have a pile of work to do before we get back to “normal”, but we are resilient. We’ve survived many attacks on our industry and have continued to grow stronger. We haven’t faced our last hurdle, by any means, but will carry what we’ve learned from the battles we’ve won into 2022 with an increased fervor!