March 16, 2010

So, what is a Canoecopia??

a. an edible canoe
b. a paddlesports show hosted by Rutabaga Paddlesports
c. a canoe stuffed with fruit

If you chose “b”, then you’re correct. If you chose “a” or “c”, you probably could use some lunch right now.

Seriously, it’s my third year attending this well-known, 3-day consumer show in Madison, Wisconsin, aka “badger country.” Held this past weekend, it was clear that paddlers came out of their winter torpor in droves looking to buy new equipment or upgrade their existing. My instincts tell me traffic was up substantially up and I spoke many first time buyers.

Lots of seminars from industry experts like Bill Schultz, Wilderness Systems Pro Fishing Staff, on kayak fishing; Steve and Cindy Scherrer on various topics including choosing the correct kayak and paddling safety, a women’s approach to paddling and many, many more.

Showstopper: Wilderness Systems Commander 120. A high performance, stable boat for general use or when angler equipped, a best-in-class boat for fishing. It’s clear that kayak fishing is growing exponentially.

Category winner: Composites!! Our new production methodology has enabled us to provide a lighter, better and less expensive boat. In general, these are not inexpensive products, but they were flying off the racks. One would think fannie mae and freddie mac were offering no interest financing based on the number of composite boats we sold.

Congratulations to the Rutabaga team for executing such a great show. If this show’s success is any indication, I look forward to a very successful paddle season.

I’m excited for the next big consumer show being hosted by Jersey Paddler at the Garden State Exhibit Center in Somerset NJ on March 26-28th. See you there!

March 10, 2010

Confluence Watersports has hired Brad Taylor for the newly created position of director of field sales. In this role, Taylor will have responsibility for the company’s US field sales team to further develop their outdoor specialty dealer segment.

Taylor is well known and respected in the paddling world. He has been in the industry since the late 1990’s, including four successful years with Dagger and Perception, as a factory rep. Most recently, he was vice president of Hurricane Kayaks. He is an avid kayaker and an eloquent advocate for all of paddlesports.

“We are always striving to improve our level of service and support in ways that more effectively deliver success at the retail level,” said Shelly Moore, VP of sales at Confluence. “We welcome Brad and look forward to his input, his expertise and his creativity as we further develop our dealer support to capitalize on growth opportunities with our customers. Brad will be instrumental in leading our team to drive specialty store growth through our brands, products and programs.”

The director of field sales is a new position and will not interrupt the relationship retail partners have with their Confluence sales representatives. In his travels with the sales team, Taylor plans to eventually meet with all Confluence dealer partners to review the company’s dealer support programs and address additional strategic opportunities.

What a winter it has been! Not too long ago we finally got our own taste of snow here in South Carolina.

2009 was a challenging year for us all.  Upon reflection, I am very pleased with our entire team’s level of responsiveness and support to our customers in such a challenging environment.  Our strategy to intensely focus on all things important to our customers has paid some nice dividends.

Our outgoing quality level has been high and consistent.  Our on-time shipping has elevated to levels most companies dream about and we are now able to say our customer service team provides answers to all customer inquiries within 24 hours!

I’m proud to say that this focus has led to our retailer community choosing us as one of the “Top Ten Best Companies To Do Business With in 2009” SNEWS Survey.  A  huge hug (or a handshake!) goes out to all of our customers for recognizing our efforts.

And a huge thank you to the very passionate and committed Confluence team for such stellar performance.

These efforts have also earned us some additional recognition for our individual brands:

* Wilderness Systems earned “Manufacturer of the Year” award Canoe & Kayak’s retailer survey.  Once again, thanks to our customers for your support!

* Dagger was voted “Paddlesports Manufacturer of the Year” by Nantahala Outdoor Center.  Great partener and a great honor!

* Dagger Axis 12 received a “Best of Adventure Gear 2009” from National Geographic Adventure.

While we are humbled by and grateful for this recognition, we know we must remain committed to continuous improvement in everything we do to respond to the needs of our customers great product and best-in-class service.   We also know that 2010 will bring bigger and better things to our partnerships with retailers, to our relationships with our consumers, and to the paddle industry as a whole—and we’re excited about that.

Until next time…

Sue Rechner
CEO of Confluence Watersports