From Law Enforcement to Everyday Carry: Safariland's Expanding Horizons

In this episode of the Amateurs and Experts podcast, hosts Erica Chin and Jessica Adanich broadcast live from SHOT Show 2024, with guest, Haley from Safariland, a company renowned for its law enforcement gear. Haley introduces their latest innovations, including a highly successful IWB (Inside the Waistband) holster in collaboration with Travis Haley, which has become their best-selling product. She also mentions the introduction of Staccato Fits for IWB carry, emphasizing their aim to cater to a wide range of firearms and light/optic combinations.

Erica reminisces about their experiences with Safariland products, noting their reliability and comfort during her time in law enforcement. Haley discusses the company's efforts to expand into the everyday carry market while maintaining their stronghold in law enforcement. She highlights their new armor, designed for comfort and performance, as well as upcoming collaborations with other brands, including Noveski Rifle Works for hearing protection.

The conversation also touches on the logistics and challenges of managing a booth at SHOT Show, the importance of mark ting and community engagement, and Haley's personal journey, including her upcoming start in grad school for an MBA. The episode wraps up with advice on where to find Safariland products and discount codes from sponsored athletes.

A huge thanks to Otis Technology for generously providing us with booth space at Shot Show. They not only gave us a prime spot but also furnished us with a top-notch podcasting booth, allowing us to warmly welcome our guests and create some podcasting magic.

safariland.com

facebook.com/safariland

instagram.com/safarilandgroup

youtube.com/user/Safariland

otistec.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to Amateurs and Experts Podcast. We are women who shoot, hunt, and fish. I'm Erica Chin. And I'm Jessica Adnich. We are here at Shot Show 2024, Thursday morning, excited at uh the corner of 12,200 uh in this beautiful booth that uh Otis Technology has graciously allowed us to spend time in. Um they have uh donated the space to us and um we've spent every morning here so far.

SPEAKER_02 0:33

Yeah, it's been fantastic. It's a podcast booth, but it also feels like you're kind of in a zoo.

SPEAKER_01 0:37

Yes, a zoo enclosure. Yeah, because you can see everybody walking by here, and some people actually make faces at us. And one time we had somebody lick a window, and uh it's a never a dull moment. Ever a dull moment. And right now we're here with uh Haley from um Safari Land, and uh we are excited to talk to her about some new products, some new things going on in her life. So welcome.

SPEAKER_00 1:01

Thank you guys. I'm excited to be here with you. And the booth is great. I I definitely get the zoo reference. Yes, yes, it's through the glass.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Yeah, it's really fun. Um, we have had people come up and they're taking pictures and stuff like that, but they are also like, you know, trying to throw us off.

SPEAKER_02 1:17

So and it's funny because uh Mia yesterday was like at the media breakfast, she's like, You guys aren't like live video recording artists. She's like, after I did that dance outside the windows, I realized that you might be video recording. We're like, no, we're yeah, yep.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

That's the dance time she's talking about. She did a little ditty out there, yeah, a little dance, like an inflatable tube man. And and now we have some fans out here.

SPEAKER_00 1:45

That is uh Beth Walker, that is our social media uh uh coordinator for Sparland Group. So she's done some content for our social media.

SPEAKER_01 1:53

Cool, nice, we love it. Anyway, um, I know that Sparyland has uh several new products here and uh yeah and some gun holsters and and a vest and stuff like that. So you want to tell us about it?

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Yeah, so last year we teased uh the collaboration between us and Travis Haley at Haley Strategic Partners for our new IWB holster. We had some prototypes last year, uh here at Shot that came out uh middle of uh 2023, so middle of last year. And it's our number one best-selling holster of all time. Awesome! Yeah! So it's just hit the market, it's taking off running. Last week we introduced Sticado Fits. So now we've got the C2, the CS, the P uh for IWB carry. Um, and we're gonna start doing some collaborations um like with other brands, do some wraps on those holsters. Some interesting patterns coming down the pipeline. So foreshadowing interesting things that we're doing uh with some great brands, like some really good industry partners. It's been really exciting. Um, and holsters, I mean, we've got tons of just different ones in the booth right now. Like, our biggest thing is just expanding how many fits we have. There's so many firearms and like light and optic combos that you can do. So we're trying to find something for everyone.

SPEAKER_01 3:18

And uh so IWB, for those that don't know, is inside the waistband.

SPEAKER_00 3:23

So concealed carry. Um no printing goes right inside your pants, hooks onto your belt, and you can even have like an additional mag caddy so you can uh carry another magazine with you. That's pretty cool. Yeah, so we have a bunch of the boot.

SPEAKER_01 3:36

And you know, when I think of Safari Land, because I was a probation officer for 23 years, uh our whole getup was Safari Land. Yeah, you know, every day I would put on that vest, put on, you know, the everything on there, 30 pounds, 20 pounds of of gear, and um go out in the field. And you know, all of it was Safari Land. So it's not just uh holsters, it's not just vests.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

I mean, you have a whole line of Yeah, I mean our roots are really in law enforcement, like that's what we do well. Full duty gear, armor, hard armor, shield, riot gear. So that's I mean, that's where we've been in the space for 60 years. And so recently we've really been trying to expand into that everyday carry, that you know, everyday person, that two-way supporter. Um we've done law enforcement really well. We've got duty gear down really well. So now, you know, it it's a bit of a humbling experience to try to break into a different market, but um that's why we've partnered with some some good brands, the people that know it, and they can give us some gut checks on some of the products we're putting out. And it's uh it's been an interesting journey, fun. And uh trying something new is always uh, you know, a learning experience. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

And I'm sure that shot's been perfect for that because you're you know, this is a place that someone said it yesterday really well that you come here and it's about supporting the industry, making those collaborations and those connections, and you know, to be in the law enforcement world and then cross over to consumer, it's kind of the best way to do it, honestly, because making it for law enforcement, you know that it's gonna you put it through its paces, yeah. It works. And then to cross over to consumer, then people know that it's trusted by law enforcement first responders, so it's gonna be good.

SPEAKER_00 5:19

Yeah, we've got that credibility in the law enforcement like uh arena. So taking that, scaling it back a little bit. I mean, walking down the street, making it some colorful, colorful stuff, giving it some cool patterns, but you probably don't need level four retention on like you know your everyday carry. So we're making a few adjustments.

SPEAKER_01 5:36

Well, not only did I use Safari Land at work, but also three gun.

SPEAKER_00 5:41

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

I mean, uh the holster, the even my bag is Safari Land. I think my three-gun bag is Safari Land. So you guys have a wide range of um consumers.

SPEAKER_00 5:52

I mean, we've got, of course, the the law enforcement, duty gear holsters, duty belts, but then we've also got armor. Um, and we had new armor come out the show this year, which is pretty cool. You guys will have to come by and check it out. Um it's modeled after like sports performance. So you know, vests, I mean, Erica, you've you've worn vests for years. Yes, they're bulky, they're heavy. Like when you sit, they ride up on you. This is really built to fit you like a second skin.

SPEAKER_01 6:18

So my last vest that I had was Safari Land. And when I first started, this is updating myself, um, we had the bulky blue. I mean, it was so thick and it was huge. Yeah, you cannot conceal that. And as we went along, like the last vest I had was um actually nice. It wasn't it wasn't stifling. Um, it was front zip, lots of uh Molly attachments, yeah. Yeah, attachments, and um, and it was really comfortable. I mean, it and the the the vest itself was probably a quarter of what my first vest was.

SPEAKER_00 6:58

Yeah, and even this new one, even thinner than that, without compromising any of the safety, right? So it's basically like a like a compression shirt, wow, but with four panels of armor in it. So your front, sides, and back are all covered no matter which way you're twisting and turning. Front zip. That's a Batman. Uh yeah, you put it on under your uniform, and you'll never even know you have it on. It's it's built after, you know, looking at sports performance, what athletes are wearing, so it fits like that. Um, and you could run a mile in it and never know. It's it's really revolutionary what our team has.

SPEAKER_01 7:32

That has come a long way.

SPEAKER_00 7:34

Yeah, it's uh it's pretty cool if I may say so myself.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

That's very innovative.

SPEAKER_00 7:39

Yeah, it's uh it's a good product. And then we've got comms too, hearing protection. So we um have a cool collaboration we're doing with uh Noveski Rifle Works on some of hearing protection that'll be coming out soon. We have a little sample at the booth people can check out. Um they've been a great partner to work with and uh really excited to start kind of expanding and working with other brands and doing product collabs. It's been it's been a really exciting year. So many things.

SPEAKER_02 8:05

You've got to be exhausted.

SPEAKER_00 8:08

Like you're so tired. Luckily, I have a great team. I mean, our team is fantastic.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

It I couldn't do without how many people do you have for Safari Land? Because your your booth square footage is what?

SPEAKER_00 8:20

Uh uh I mean 50 by 30, so I don't even know what that comes out to, like area. A lot. Yeah. 50 by 30 is good. And even this year, we tried to go a little bit smaller because we're like, hey, go smaller, it'll be a more intimate setting. We can really connect with people. Okay, no, no, it just made it more crowded.

SPEAKER_02 8:37

Okay, so that's like that's like being a woman being like, I'm gonna buy a smaller purse. Yeah. So I put less stuff in it. No, no, you're just gonna be cramming, cramming stuff in the purse.

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Yeah, so you know, we tried it, uh, lesson learned. Next year we're going back up to a big booth, so but yeah, there's a lot of us. I mean, marketing alone is 15 people strong now. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:56

And I mean, it takes a village when you're trying to do social media and PR and marketing and events and well, as you know, in the design marketing business myself, like when you have that many product lines, yeah, you're talking about um, you know, I think it was, I can't remember who we talked to earlier this week, but in the idea of marketing, it's such a robust loaded term, but people don't realize what all goes into just launching one product, let alone having multiple products and multiple product lines underneath one brand, and then you have brands underneath that brand.

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Multiple brands within multiple like customer verticals. So, you know, you're launching products in the law enforcement space, but then you're launching products in the military space, and then you're doing it in commercials, so like Bass Pros, like every your go-to-market strategy for those are so different. Like your team has to be so well-rounded to be able to transition from okay, cool, we're gonna sell hearing protection to Bass Pro. Now we gotta go sell body armor to this uh law enforcement market.

SPEAKER_02 9:51

Like law enforcement doesn't care about packaging, now you're in consumer, not you need packaging and POP displays.

SPEAKER_00 9:56

We've got to do something on social media, and now I gotta do like PR, we gotta do events, like it takes uh a lot of different pieces, and nobody realizes everything that goes into marketing, honestly. Yeah, like it's not just does.

SPEAKER_02 10:08

Yes, yes, I feel you, girl.

SPEAKER_01 10:10

I get it.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yeah, and I'm like, it's a lot of different things.

SPEAKER_01 10:14

I know I don't I don't realize what goes into marketing, but the other day when Jess brought it up to uh a company we were talking to had 60, has been has uh released 60 new products this year. Oh yeah and just said, oh my gosh, and the and uh the guest was talking about oh my gosh, you you understand it. And they were talking about what goes into it. I was just like, whoa. 60's a lot. That is a lot. It is it is it is a lot.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

Yeah, it's a lot, a lot of very ambitious, very ambitious and yeah, they had a dedicated, dedicated person just for events at their their company, which I'm sure you guys have a similar person, unless someone that runs all the trade shows, yeah. Because just the the trade show booth assets in itself. I mean, a 50 by 30 booth, people don't realize what that takes to set it up. And you I mean, how long have you been at Safari Land?

SPEAKER_00 11:06

Actually, my four-year anniversary was this month. Oh happy anniversary! Thank you, yeah. Um, trade shows by itself is a full-time job, just the logistics, like getting your booth built, but then getting that booth to another show in another state. And I mean, bless my team's heart because me looking at that the list of all of the shows we're doing and where everything needs to be and who we need to be.

SPEAKER_02 11:31

And how you have to pack it. People don't realize that there's requirements for every show on how you have to pack the palette, repack it up, like it's it's cuckoo bananas. And it's cuckoo bananas.

SPEAKER_00 11:45

Yeah, and I say the same thing about social media, like my social media coordinator, Beth, bless her heart. It is a 24 hours a day, seven days a week job, and you know, with all the different social platforms, all the updates to the algorithms and different sizes, different character lengths, understanding the different consumer demographics for like the different platforms, and then being able to look at that, look at the ROI, and then change your strategy and adapt it.

SPEAKER_01 12:11

Um, is that what we're supposed to be doing? I use social media for Woma. I had no clue. Everything is like one, it's it's uh it's for Instagram, yeah. You know, and that's what goes on Facebook, also. It's like one size, and I mean that's what I would do.

SPEAKER_02 12:30

We need the easy peasy level.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Yeah, that's yeah, yeah. Someone now that does it. She's fantastic, she's really great. Um, she's a competitive shooter, so she knows the industry, knows the space. I'm like, you just you run with it. I trust you, but nice have fun.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

Can can we get Beth on our team too?

SPEAKER_00 12:47

Actually, I think I'm gonna come to uh your guys' event this year.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Oh yeah, that would be cool. Maybe we can sucker her into doing our social media.

SPEAKER_00 13:00

Talk to her about it. We can't steal her. We can't steal her. No stealing.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

Yeah, we're just gonna borrow.

SPEAKER_00 13:06

Borrow her a little bit, yeah. She's really great, yeah. That's awesome. And then even, you know, I mean, you guys have met Rhonda Siddham, our community manager, just managing community relationships as part of marketing. That's a full-time job.

SPEAKER_01 13:21

Yes, I can imagine.

SPEAKER_00 13:22

Yeah like, you know, the charitable aspect and you know, the community engagement, whether it's range events or anything that comes up, sponsorships, that's another part of marketing.

SPEAKER_02 13:33

It's and it's so much more, you know, listing all those things where people think that companies are just companies and they're just selling product. No, it's it's a gobstopper of layers of different things. Yeah. And so when you guys come to Shot, I mean, what does Shot look like for you guys? I'm sure you're meeting with, you know, dealers, distributors, making collaborations and partnerships and podcasting.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Podcasting, yeah. And we've got our sales team here that's working, you know, with dealers and distributors and finding new partners. And then I've got my marketing team here meeting with potential like other brands for collaborations, meeting with you know potential charitable partners, and then we've got our content guys running around with cameras everywhere, making videos to put on social every day. Like it's uh it's a it's a full thing, it takes a full crew.

SPEAKER_02 14:20

Shaw does. What's your favorite part about Shod?

SPEAKER_00 14:24

Um, the booths. I love seeing everyone's booth designs, but they're so creative. Yes, I've seen some this year.

SPEAKER_01 14:32

I'm like, whoa. Yeah. It is really amazing, especially this floor.

SPEAKER_00 14:39

Yes. There's a yes. I w I went uh walking around for the first time yesterday. I finally got some free time and uh Silencer Co. I was over there and they have like this whole total outdoor setup. It looks like you're sitting like in the middle of a forest. It's like this is great. Can I hang out here for a little bit?

SPEAKER_02 14:57

Someone bring me a coffee, please. Yeah, this is really nice.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Gives giving me some ideas for next year.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

Maybe we maybe this could uh be in their booth.

SPEAKER_00 15:07

Yeah, we just get some sunshine. I feel like I'm sitting outdoors. Fluorescent lighting is really not doing it for me.

SPEAKER_01 15:15

No, no. We just discovered these uh buttons sounds this morning. I love it. Oh my gosh. I had to I had to use it. No, it's fine.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

The birds are chirping, it's early in the morning. I feel like snow white. Just missing my seven doors. I'll have to go find my team.

SPEAKER_02 15:34

We can rally them for you.

SPEAKER_00 15:36

Rally.

SPEAKER_02 15:36

So speaking of rallying, yeah, shot show happens, it's a super busy week for you. And next week, you have some big things happening for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Yes. Yes. So next week, I uh I am officially starting grad school. I'm starting my MBA next week.

SPEAKER_01 15:53

Yeah, that is so cool.

SPEAKER_00 15:55

I know, I'm really excited. Um gonna take it slow, you know. It's been a couple years since I was a full-time student, but um looking forward to it, focusing strictly on business. Um, you know, marketing is obviously mainly what I do, but understanding all the different aspects of finance and accounting and mergers and acquisitions will be a great learning experience. So I'm excited.

SPEAKER_01 16:20

Are you um kind of dabbling in that now in Safari with Safari Land? So maybe when you go to grad school, you're like, I know what that looks like.

SPEAKER_00 16:29

Yes, yeah. So um Safari Land's great, like they really develop their employees, and my direct supervisor, the VP of Marketing, has been fantastic, and I've learned a ton over my four years. And so I feel like going to grad school and working on my MBA is really just gonna kind of reaffirm a lot of what I've learned, and then kind of just take me to that next level. So, you know, when I'm in those finance calls, I understand all of what they're saying.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

Yes, all of the adulting numbers. Like it makes me think about I'm such a kid, the Lego movie where Angry Kitty is like numbers, numbers, numbers, business, business, business.

SPEAKER_00 17:05

Like I'm looking at their spreadsheets and I'm like, this is another language, man. Like those those accounting teams, the finance guys, woo, major props to them. Yeah, right. So yeah, but thank you. It's uh very exciting. I'm looking forward to it. First, though, I'm going on vacation.

SPEAKER_01 17:21

Oh, where are you going?

SPEAKER_00 17:22

I'm leaving Shot Show, I'm going straight to Belize. Oh nice! And so then when I get back, that's my first day of school. I feel like I've earned it after being at SHOT Show for a week. You do lay on a beach and drink a Mai Thai and get a little bit of a tan.

SPEAKER_02 17:38

I didn't even think about that. We should do that.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

That is my new thing. Like for the past two years now, like, Shot Show ends and I go straight on vacation because months of planning go into Shot Show. Like a lot of people don't realize like the front end of planning and the hotel room blocks and the design work that goes into your booth, and it's a lot. So the week after SHOT Show, like when everyone's following up and stuff, I'm I'm on vacation.

SPEAKER_02 18:03

It's like after Christmas, it's one of those things where like you know it's gonna come every year, and then you you prep all this stuff. And we said this morning, I looked and I was like, How is it already Thursday? Yeah, why it feels like it was just Sunday two hours ago, and I was saying, Let's rally and get this date done.

unknown 18:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:20

It feels like it's it was just August last week, and I was starting my shot show like planning. Yes, and then okay, well, we're here now.

unknown 18:28

When did that happen? Right.

SPEAKER_02 18:30

Oh, I remember booking my flight home, and now I was like, oh, check in for your flight. Oh, I'm I'm leaving, I'm already leaving. Yep.

SPEAKER_00 18:37

So you spend so so long planning and preparing, and you know it's like pre- preparing for a wedding. It is, yes, yes, and I think even more goes into Shaw.

SPEAKER_02 18:48

Yeah, an annual wedding we're right after there's a baby born.

SPEAKER_00 18:51

Yes. Perfect way to describe it. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 18:55

And sometimes I feel like I'm dragged to the altar and sometimes I go willingly.

SPEAKER_00 18:59

Yeah. And then every year when it's done, you're like, I want a divorce. Like, I'm not doing this again. And every year we do it again, do it again. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:08

So we forget how painful that is to have a baby and then we have another one.

SPEAKER_02 19:12

Uh-huh. So you do the vacation right after. We I feel like this is now a thing that we're asking people like, what are your go-to things that you do to prepare for shot? Like everybody, we've been talking about supplements. Oh, like would I be Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_00 19:24

So I've I mean, I've got my emergencies, my vitamins, and like my gummies, my vitamin gummies every day. There are 10 gallons of hand sanitizer in my booth because all of us just hand sanitize all day. Um, and I just I prep my team as best as I can. I buy snacks for all of us and energy drinks. And I apologize in advance. Like, it's gonna be a long week, guys, but we've got this. So a lot of prep talks, getting everybody, you know, how the troops.

SPEAKER_01 19:54

Yeah, lots of tissues when they start crying as we like order.

SPEAKER_00 19:58

We can do it. Um more day. Trying to figure out like cool gifts, like for the employees that have been here for a week and working their little butts off. Like, we did t-shirts this year for them, like super exclusive designs in honor of our 60th anniversary.

SPEAKER_01 20:13

Oh, that's cool.

SPEAKER_00 20:14

So we did scroll t-shirts for the team, um, setting up like dinners and stuff so they feel like appreciated. That's big. Like they worked hard. I want them to know that I appreciate everything that they want.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

Yeah, and it's gotta be good for team building. That's another reoccurring thing that everybody talks about is that you know, whether they're teams, they do it throughout the year, but making sure that when they're here at shot that they do, I mean, everybody works hard, but let's be really play hard too. We do, whether it's top golf or going out to the range or even just a dinner and relaxing, that that's important.

SPEAKER_00 20:43

Yeah, we do team dinners all week. Um, you know, just hang out. And I feel like now with most everyone being like remote full-time, like this is really like the one week a year that we're all together, yeah, like at once. So getting that FaceTime and just like really catching up is so nice. Like a family review. It's like a family review, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

The the part of the family you actually like.

SPEAKER_00 21:04

Yeah, yeah. That you choose to see. You choose to see on purpose.

SPEAKER_01 21:10

So uh Haley, if uh somebody wants to get a hold of some products from Safari Land, how do they do that?

SPEAKER_00 21:16

They can come by the booth. Uh, I'm there, my team's there, um, or hit us up on social media. I'm that's like one of like the easiest ways to get in contact with us.

SPEAKER_01 21:26

And uh, what if they want to buy some Safari Land stuff?

SPEAKER_00 21:28

They can go to Safari Land.com. Um, I would actually recommend that they go on our social and check out our cadre, our our sponsored athletes who have discount codes.

SPEAKER_01 21:41

Oh, we had Joanna Wilson on here.

SPEAKER_00 21:43

Joanne, yeah. So they've got discount codes on there. So I say hit that first and then go to the website. Yeah, nice. Highly recommend. Yes, that's what I would do. So those cadre codes get you like 20% off. So score, yes, and then if they want to come by the Shot Show booth. I've got uh some stickers and some cool swag and and it might have a couple of uh some VIP cards over there.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

Oh cool. We'll be buying.

SPEAKER_00 22:08

You don't need me for the next podcast, right? I can't.

SPEAKER_01 22:10

I know. We're roasting and Boeing at this point. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 22:14

I mean, if I've got some in my bag, I'll give it to you guys. Cool.

SPEAKER_01 22:18

Well, it's been great to have you on, and we really appreciate you being here.

SPEAKER_00 22:21

Thank you so much for having me on, guys. It was great to see you too. I feel like I, you know, it's been months since I've seen you guys. I know. So I'm so glad I got to see your beautiful faces. Yes, too.

SPEAKER_01 22:30

All right, have a great show. Thank you, you guys too. All right, thank you. Thank you for listening to Amateurs and Experts Podcasts. Like and follow the Woma on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn for more information and podcast updates.

SPEAKER_02 22:43

We'll see you here again soon on Amateurs and Experts.