Rob Gallentine founded Shedhorn Sports, Ennis, Montana in 1979. It began as a small business within a Gambles Hardware shop 50 miles from Bozeman. Glen Gallentine, Rob’s dad, ran a family outfitting company that offered high-country summer pack trips, guided big-game hunts, and other services. There wasn’t a store that sold sporting goods in southwest Montana at the time. So a niche was created and the rest is history. The hardware store is gone today, but Shedhorn Sports, a family-owned sporting goods retailer, continues to be a respected one.
Shedhorn sells guns, ammunition and hunting equipment. The downtown location of Shedhorn is walking distance from the Madison River. This makes Shedhorn’s fishing tackle business easy.
Gallentine’s goal is to make outdoor life shedhorn sports
Gallentine’s goal is to make outdoor life more enjoyable by providing high-quality products at affordable prices. Gallentine starts to formulate his buying strategy immediately after SHOT Show, but admits that he sometimes “sit on his feet a bit” and takes in other shows before setting his plan at his buyer’s.
Gallentine explains that the Tenis Nike SHOT Show was a precursor for him to Sports, Inc.’s purchasing group. He also explains about the short lag between SHOT Show and when most of his actual buying takes place. “With SHOT Show I kinda come home and say, “All right, if you have to buy something, I’m going through the buying group.” Unless it’s something new like Freedom Arms, After SHOT, I returned to order three more Freedom Arms handguns for this year. Just finished the SHEDHORN S.I.N.S. show in Phoenix. We spent $700,000 to $800,000.00 with many manufacturers.
Gallentine says it’s “a wash” to try to monetize SHOT Show directly, noting that many manufacturers don’t have price lists. Although SHOT doesn’t directly impact his purchasing, he states that he loves Vegas and that he needs to be there to view exclusives from major brands like Browning and Winchester. He admits that he can’t find them anywhere else, but that he is happy to share the same sentiments about Ed Brown and Les Baer. Gallentine orders his dealer-direct orders within a month after SHOT.
Shedhorn informs customers about new products and lines via social media, both during and after SHOT. Gallentine describes his Facebook marketing plan as “viable” and says that they are always striving to improve it. He says TV and radio “do well”, but print advertising is not the right medium for Shedhorn Sports.
