Latest / Ducks Unlimited Podcast / DUX SERIES: The Reeds Story & the Ducks Unlimited Expo Experience (Ep 774)

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DUX SERIES: The Reeds Story & the Ducks Unlimited Expo Experience (Ep 774) · Ducks Unlimited Podcast

• 0:02
  Jimbo Robinson: We got an email last night from a a guest that attended last year, and I mean, this long email about how great the event was. And me and my husband will be back this year celebrating our fourteenth wedding anniversary in no better place. If I told my wife I was we were going to a sports show in Memphis for our anniversary, for our fourteenth anniversary
• 0:20
  Drew Arnold: It's not a sport.
• 0:21
  Jimbo Robinson: The last one.
• 0:21
  Adam Arnold: It was
• 0:22
  Jimbo Robinson: awesome. Yeah. But, like, that people are making it a destination as part of an experience, and it's not us that are doing it. All we did is provide the platform.
• 0:32
  VO: Can we do a mic check, please? Everybody, welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast. I'm your host, doctor Mike Brasher. I'm your host, Katie Burke. I'm your host, doctor Jerad Henson. And I'm your host, Matt Harrison.
• 0:50
  Welcome to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, the only podcast about all things water fowl. From hunting insights to science based discussions about ducks, geese, and issues affecting waterfowl and wetlands conservation in North America. The DU Podcast, sponsored by Purina Pro Plan, the official performance dog food of Ducks Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan, always advancing. Also proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're winding down with your best friend or celebrating with your favorite crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly.
• 1:38
  Jimbo Robinson: Welcome back to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast with a new series starting today that we will be hosting over the next few months called the DUX series, highlighting companies and organizations that are highly involved with our DUX show coming up this into this summer. I'm your host today, Jimbo Robinson, alongside this series cohost, mister David Schuessler. And today is the first episode of this series, and we have two amazing guests, mister Adam Arnold and mister Drew Arnold.
• 2:09
  Adam Arnold: Thank you for having us.
• 2:10
  Drew Arnold: Hey. We are honored to be here. This is gonna be fun. Not only kicking this off, but being with you two legends here at DU.
• 2:16
  Jimbo Robinson: I was about to say that. Well, then they just stole that. They're representing an amazing company, Reeds Family Outdoor Outfitters from Walker, Minnesota. But before we dive into everything, Reeds and DUX and your family, we have a fun thing we like to do called the flock shot. Flock shot.
• 2:37
  Spray and pray. Yeah. Kinda how you shoot, Drew.
• 2:39
  Drew Arnold: The flock shot.
• 2:44
  Jimbo Robinson: Coffee drinker or not, Drew?
• 2:46
  Drew Arnold: Only with Korean.
• 2:47
  Jimbo Robinson: Ah. Mhmm.
• 2:48
  Drew Arnold: And a red.
• 2:49
  Jimbo Robinson: Absolutely black. Absolutely in black. This this series here worked perfect how we're sitting. Cream, black.
• 2:56
  Drew Arnold: Love it.
• 2:57
  Adam Arnold: I like it.
• 2:57
  Jimbo Robinson: I know. Favorite color Gatorade?
• 3:00
  Drew Arnold: I'm gonna go the white Gatorade.
• 3:03
  Jimbo Robinson: What's the flavor? What's it called?
• 3:05
  Drew Arnold: Couldn't tell you.
• 3:06
  Jimbo Robinson: Absolutely red. What's the flavor? No idea. So I've learned
• 3:10
  Drew Arnold: What's your color?
• 3:10
  Jimbo Robinson: My favorite this is one of my favorite questions because no very few people know. They know the color. They have no idea what it's really called.
• 3:18
  Adam Arnold: That's good merchandising, Jimbo. That's what we do.
• 3:20
  Jimbo Robinson: I have retailers. I've learned along the way.
• 3:22
  Drew Arnold: Yours Frosty. Frosty ice. How about that?
• 3:24
  Jimbo Robinson: Yours is glacier cherry, and yours is fruit punch. Fruit punch. Beautiful. Alright. I've had to learn them.
• 3:30
  David Schuessler: Alright. Next one. 870 or 1100?
• 3:33
  Adam Arnold: Oh, 1100 all the way. 410-1100.
• 3:36
  Drew Arnold: Oh, 410. That's good. 1100 all the way for sure. 100%.
• 3:39
  Adam Arnold: Tough to find. It's very tough to find. Still around. 410-1100.
• 3:44
  Jimbo Robinson: That is not at
• 3:45
  Drew Arnold: all Ethos.
• 3:45
  Jimbo Robinson: I wish I would say.
• 3:46
  Drew Arnold: Or super black eagle, David. Ethos.
• 3:49
  Adam Arnold: Agree.
• 3:49
  Jimbo Robinson: Super black eagle.
• 3:51
  Drew Arnold: You can't get better shot.
• 3:52
  Adam Arnold: High high rib on the Ethos. Bad shot. Better.
• 3:54
  Drew Arnold: Bad shot shoot a super black eagle, sir. No. Good shots like David, Ethos, 20 gauge.
• 3:59
  David Schuessler: Alright. I wanna see this one. I wanna say this one, braid or monofilament?
• 4:04
  Adam Arnold: Oh, mono all the way.
• 4:05
  Drew Arnold: I would totally agree. Mono all the way.
• 4:08
  Adam Arnold: We're classic. We're old school, man. This is, like, grown up freshwater.
• 4:11
  Jimbo Robinson: You said that was ultra.
• 4:12
  Adam Arnold: This is Northern Minnesota classic, and you're little stretching it.
• 4:16
  Jimbo Robinson: We fish rock piles with cheese. 1,100. It's an school classic. I ate 70. I'm just telling you.
• 4:22
  Okay.
• 4:23
  Drew Arnold: Alright. I'm telling you.
• 4:24
  Adam Arnold: You can still still find a few. Favorite gas station snack. You go first. I know mine.
• 4:29
  Drew Arnold: For sure, a beef stick with little cheddar in the middle.
• 4:32
  Adam Arnold: Good lord. Buc ee's brisket. Come on. Buc ee's all the way.
• 4:36
  Jimbo Robinson: Yep. Where's the nearest one?
• 4:38
  Adam Arnold: It's gotta be thousands of miles away, but Texas. Missouri is the close one to Minnesota.
• 4:43
  Jimbo Robinson: Hey. Bring one of Buc ee's fans.
• 4:45
  Drew Arnold: We're all Buc ee's fans. How about you guys? DUX.
• 4:48
  Jimbo Robinson: Yeah. In Texas.
• 4:49
  David Schuessler: There
• 4:49
  Drew Arnold: it is. Every team member at Reeds has made one, two, or three experiences that go into Buc ee's because that merchandising is best of class.
• 4:57
  Adam Arnold: It is. Their quality their their quality from the merchandising to the people, top notch, the way around. We use it as an example, like, retail. So this is family business retail. This is where Drew and I grew up.
• 5:07
  Right? Classic, old school, sporting goods store, gift shop mentality, but you you learn the basics of retail. Right? So it's what is an end cap? What does it show?
• 5:15
  You know, how does it display? What how does it present to the customer? They have mastered it. Like, that total experience, and that's part of actually what kinda became Reed's Reed's is a destination. Bucky's a destination.
• 5:25
  That's part of why we admire it so much. And so when we ran into it down at the very first DUX, it was like, it just resonated. You know, one of our fun lines is, Bucky's, it'll change your life if you look at it the right way. And we believe that. I mean, it's one of those experiences where you go in, it's a destination, It's it's all in and they it right.
• 5:43
  David Schuessler: Well, I I think when you see people putting their sticker on their back window, it's it's become a lifestyle. Yep. Absolutely. I mean, that that that's one of the qualifiers for a lifestyle. Right?
• 5:54
  You people are putting your sticker on their back. Well,
• 5:57
  Jimbo Robinson: it's they took the model of a pilot. In my opinion, they took the model of pilot, Flying J, right, Loves, and they just took it to a whole another level because before Buc ee's and bef when I was a kid, the pilot stop, the love stop, the flying J stop was was the destination. You would you would plan your trip. My parents, you know, would plan our trip or when I was in college, we'd plan the trip to stop there because it was a one stop shop with, you know, decent food. So now It's an experience, buddy.
• 6:23
  Adam Arnold: It is. It's that funk an experience.
• 6:25
  Jimbo Robinson: We are actually getting two Buc ee's close to Memphis. Love it. There's one Love it. 15 miles up the road here, and they're they've redone everything around it. It will be amazing.
• 6:37
  And then there's go there's one supposedly going in West Memphis. I have that sign's not up, and it doesn't show up on Waze yet as a future Buc ee's, which you know you're big when you're showing up as a future stop destination. But that's very interesting that you say that, and I've been thinking about it the whole time how they you know, there's always a series when you walk in of of whatever holiday is next.
• 6:58
  Adam Arnold: You bet.
• 6:58
  Jimbo Robinson: And it's all kids stuff. Yep. And that's the first thing the kids see. It's And about
• 7:02
  Adam Arnold: the experience that the staff delivers too. Like, they are very scripted. They do a beautiful job. Their interactions with all their team is top top notch all the way around, and that's about what we try and do too in our business.
• 7:12
  David Schuessler: And clean clean bathrooms.
• 7:14
  Drew Arnold: Hot brisket. Hot brisket, clean bathrooms.
• 7:17
  David Schuessler: Hot brisket and clean bathrooms.
• 7:18
  Drew Arnold: But it comes back to the experience and
• 7:20
  Jimbo Robinson: I like how you went there. You went hot brisket first and then clean.
• 7:24
  Adam Arnold: Clean bathrooms.
• 7:25
  David Schuessler: Right. Absolutely.
• 7:26
  Adam Arnold: That was impressive.
• 7:26
  Jimbo Robinson: You're a thinker. Oh, man. Okay. Alright. Bucky's in.
• 7:33
  We're good.
• 7:33
  Drew Arnold: Okay. Yep.
• 7:34
  Jimbo Robinson: So I think that before we go anywhere, tell us a little bit about you two, and then let's dig into where did Reeds come. Like, what is Reeds? Right on. I wanna hear the story. Well because I haven't gotten to hear the story of of how your dad did it.
• 7:49
  Drew Arnold: This is good. I think we get before we can go about us, it's not about us, it's about generations of Reeds Mhmm. In Little Town of Walker, Minnesota. I mean, today on the sign, I think says 09/1952 people, and it was all about making a memory, making a destination, to make fishing what it was and make people come and stop and make that family history of, hey. We gotta stop by Reeds and see what's new, what's hot, what's Jeff selling, what's Kay selling, the moccasins, etcetera.
• 8:12
  But there's nobody better to tell the I'm gonna say the thirty second to eight minute version than Adam. He's very, very good at it.
• 8:19
  Adam Arnold: That's a big range, so But thank you, Drew. But, you know, really what happened is we are the third largest lake in Minnesota, right, Leech Lake, destination by trade. And our father, back in the forties and fifties, we had a grandfather, Keith, and his dream was to have a resort on Leech Lake. And you guys have had the good fortune of being there, we've been able to share it. Just so you know it's a special place, right?
• 8:41
  It's it's God's country, we call it. But our grandfather had that dream, and so in the forties and fifties he had a resort, and my dad's the second oldest of seven, our dad's the second oldest of seven, and as part of growing up on the shores of Leach Lake during the summer times, went back and was a warehouse, my grandpa was a warehouse worker in the in the off season, they'd run back and forth. And part of growing through that is that experience of connecting the outdoors, for sure it's about fishing and hunting, and our grandfather was the guy who took, know, every son got the four ten to and he took them duck hunting, and that's where all this connection comes back to. But what happened was, as the resort had to be sold, grandpa got sick, etcetera, when mom and dad were getting married, their senior year high school down or senior year college down in the cities, they came up and classic story when dad's gonna say, okay. Hey.
• 9:29
  I'll go show you where I spent my summers, and they meet the weep weeping widow at the bar. Right? And she was made Reed. Ah, that's why Reed's is Reed's. Because back then, there were four bait shops in town, but Reeds had the reputation for the best bait and the best fishing contest to the point where that fishing contest, dad had actually won at one time when he was a resort kid and brought his northern in there.
• 9:48
  Was like, we have the pictures. It's awesome. So that connection to Walker brought our mom and dad back up there. They were from out of town. So they kept the name Reeds because that was a connection that all the vacationers had.
• 10:00
  Right? So it's still a vacation area. And so through that, they literally had there was a 25 foot wide bait shop, 50 feet deep. There was a 25 foot wide gift shop connected by a door next to it, apartment above it, and newlyweds took $236 of wedding money, got married two weeks before a fishing opener, threw the cash in the till, opened up, didn't know what they were doing, and let it let it fly. And so from there, the good news was when they counted the inventory before they signed the deal, they knew there was enough inventory to pay for the deal just by how many widgets they found inside.
• 10:33
  There was fishing, there was old figurines.
• 10:35
  Drew Arnold: They didn't know what they were, David. Were just gonna it happen.
• 10:38
  Adam Arnold: They're gonna make it So the way it went, and, you know, our our our dad is is amazing in the sales, especially. He'll be the Tasmanian devil salesman forever, makes memories better than anybody else in the in the world probably, and her mom is a fantastic businesswoman, and that was a great partnership that that they have built on. So grew up in the apartment above it, and slowly over time, you know, it it grew from that to the grocery store opened up on Main Street in Walker and moved down the street. So we got a little bigger at that point.
• 11:10
  Drew Arnold: And then at that point, you have nothing to do in the wintertime because there's nobody in Walker. So truly truly become a sports show guru. Right? So there's no Internet at this time. So you go see Jeff Arnold on the corner.
• 11:21
  Doesn't matter if it's Kansas City, Milwaukee, anywhere in North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, etcetera. You go see Jeff, figure out what's new for rods, reels, electronics, trolling motors. Old school days, give him his credit card. Eventually, it'll ship to you in the next one to two weeks, and it was a handshake agreement, and that's how it was done.
• 11:37
  David Schuessler: How many shows do you think your father has worked over the years?
• 11:42
  Drew Arnold: Sure, I'm gonna say at least over 15,000. Yeah. Consumer shows on the ground to the point where we did this with a 20 foot old horse trailer, carpeted on the sides covering the tables, pulled by a Jeep Wagoneer, but then he bought a 1986 DU 2,500 GMC Suburban, one of the Ducks Limited
• 12:03
  Adam Arnold: Edition. It
• 12:05
  Drew Arnold: was awesome. That's what pulled the trailer for many many years until the late nineties.
• 12:10
  Adam Arnold: But you think of the think of the back in the days before internet and brands like Garmin, like, he brought literally Garmin to the Midwest.
• 12:16
  Drew Arnold: Garmin 12 was no that was it was not North Of Kansas City.
• 12:20
  Adam Arnold: Mhmm. Right. Yeah. Hummingbird. Like, when when when Flash when Flasher DepthFinders became Flashers and Hummingbird came out with the first LCRs, that's that's how they got distributed.
• 12:29
  It was through a sports show. It was one one customer at a time making that experience, making that connection.
• 12:34
  Drew Arnold: So January, February, March, that's what they did for income. Then April time, they were literally making Snells, pouring sinkers in the basement, and selling them as jobbers to sell the resorts. By May 1, people would show up and off it went.
• 12:47
  Jimbo Robinson: How long does the season last? Like, what is the season up there?
• 12:50
  Drew Arnold: Show season or
• 12:51
  Jimbo Robinson: No. No. No. The busy fishing and and resorts.
• 12:53
  Drew Arnold: June, July, and August.
• 12:55
  Adam Arnold: Really? It's it's a great question.
• 12:56
  Drew Arnold: Anglers now are up there through October because of this great thing of bass and musky, because walleye slows down as the water heats up. So, I mean, really have a solid three months, but bleeds into five based off all the multi species.
• 13:08
  Adam Arnold: There's layers of it. So it's really unique. So we went from we talked about the resort was kind of what brought us up here. So our main lake, Leach Lake, and the surrounding lakes, I mean, it was resorts, you know, proliferated. That was the community.
• 13:22
  So Leach Lake has went from over a 100 resorts back in the days, right, to now what do we have?
• 13:26
  Drew Arnold: 26.
• 13:27
  Adam Arnold: 26. So a lot of so it's changed our customer, changed experience, and this is the kinda long answer to your season question. Mhmm. Because a lot of the the people that come as vacationers are guests of a lake home owner now as opposed to a seven day, five day resort guest, which it was decades ago. So it changes the season because a fisherman like Drew's talking about, I mean, soon as ice is off, so ice on Leach Lake was off on what, the twenty second this year of April?
• 13:51
  Drew Arnold: Which is two weeks early, which
• 13:52
  Adam Arnold: is great. So we're we're like crappie fishing is now, fishing opener's exciting, walleyes start this weekend, etcetera, and that runs all the way through October. But like the crunch season, walkers bust on this town goes from, like you were saying, less than a thousand people. We'll have over 20,000 people in the area every week just cycling through. It's exciting.
• 14:10
  It's awesome. Right? But that season, now it's kinda like life changes between graduation parties and high school sports. It affects when families can really be available together to come up. So our seasons have evolved.
• 14:23
  Right? It's very condensed from the June to the August now, much more than ever has. It used to have a lot more flexibility. It was like a, you know, memorial it used to be Memorial Day to Labor Day, and then expand even beyond that.
• 14:33
  David Schuessler: So it's evolving. It but you're a retailer Mhmm. A wholesaler to people like Ducks Unlimited Yep. And own the resort. We're busy.
• 14:42
  Yep. So so Very busy, but the first time and I've been to the resort several times. But the first time I walked in, I went, You come, you stay, you don't need to bring your fishing rods. If it's in the wintertime, you don't need to bring your snowmobile or your snowmobile helmets because you're able to provide everybody there with top of the line gear that's coming from the store. I mean, it's a great mix.
• 15:04
  Drew Arnold: Yep. So you're you're spot on, David. So I'm part of the compliments on how we make Reeds better and make the customer experience better and make memory. Because Adam and and our wives decided we should go purchase Trappers Landing Lodge in the South Shore Leach Lake. The goal of Trappers was to do exactly what you just said, David, have the best gear, the best service, the best advice we do at Reeds, but now on the water.
• 15:24
  So the guy or gal can go hunt fish, go shoot a grouse, whatever they wanna do. Check out the the gear in the ProShop items truly like a library system. So check out a shotgun, check out a rifle. The Yeti coolers provided All included. Top notch.
• 15:37
  So you you show up and off you go. And you're staying in probably the best accommodations on Leech there there is for sure From Greater North, you can't really beat that. So now you take the gear, you put the best location on the lake, on the main lake, and the experience is great. So that's why we did that. And then the the other goal is to get those customers obviously using the great quality product and bringing it back to Reed's.
• 15:59
  David Schuessler: Right. So, Jimbo,
• 16:01
  Drew Arnold: I don't know
• 16:01
  David Schuessler: if I've ever told you this story. We took a a group up to have a meeting. Mhmm. This was in 2019, and we were going duck hunting. Yep.
• 16:08
  And but we get up there, and somebody had mentioned to somebody, well, the walleye are still.
• 16:14
  Drew Arnold: Oh, yes.
• 16:15
  David Schuessler: Yeah. The bike's still on. So one of this one of these meeting attendees from Arkansas goes into the checkout area. Yep. Right?
• 16:24
  The pro shop. Yep. Gets a rod, asks somebody, what do I need to throw? And they show him whatever jig or whatever, walks out on the dock.
• 16:32
  Adam Arnold: Remember that.
• 16:33
  David Schuessler: Five minutes later, 32 inch walleye outside the window holding the recording thing. Yeah.
• 16:37
  Drew Arnold: We're having dinner and tiny. We're try it. Oh, it was awesome.
• 16:41
  Adam Arnold: It was good.
• 16:41
  Jimbo Robinson: It was good.
• 16:42
  Drew Arnold: But but the goal of Trappers was to, you know, connect those two, make those two memory makers be the best they can be for the area in Leech Lake. So when you take Leech Lake, you've got 1,200 lakes within five miles excuse me, 15 miles of Leach. So come back to the community. It's it's just not Walker. I mean, it's everybody lives within that fifteen, twenty mile range.
• 17:04
  Jimbo Robinson: It's very I've been trying to think about I've been I'm I'm I'm, like, visually thinking about a town of 900 to a town of 20,000, and it's just, like, mind blowing to think about. But then as I sat here, I'm like, you know, it's it's a lot like duck season down in in Arkansas. Stuttgart is very similar. Stuttgart's obviously a lot bigger to start, but during duck season, it's hustling. And I mean, you go to Walmart and and, you know, it it the lines are deep, and you go to I mean, there's so many people there, and it's always funny to hear, like, oh, it'd be fun to live here.
• 17:33
  I'm like, for three months. I'm like, when it warms up, the mosquitoes down here are something that nobody can ever imagine, but it's crazy to think about it, and that's kind of like that's the the only comparison we have. But it's a short it's a shorter time. It's obviously not families, I mean, it is some families, but it's not the vacation style. So it's really interesting.
• 17:54
  It's it's it's an amazing model. It's an all inclusive model, basically.
• 17:59
  Drew Arnold: 100%. And and the goal of trappers, like a hit on, was tie everything together. So you go back to what grandpa Keith used to guide out of was a a 28 foot criss craft, wood criss craft, actually parked in the marina where we've got pictures of dad holding the fish with his two brothers at Reed's Pork Shop at age 12 and grandpa parking his boat in the marina. So Adam and found this beautiful Chris Craft. The staff thought it was crazy, and we cut the bow off it.
• 18:24
  Adam Arnold: I still think we're crazy.
• 18:25
  Drew Arnold: And the still that's still a factor. And the start of it is the check-in desk at the resort. So you check-in. It's got the white sides and the back props and the exhaust coming out. It's awesome.
• 18:33
  That is cool. Yeah. It brings back the the legends because grandpa at the resort, Jeff and Kay, our parents had adventure north out on Pine Point. So then the four of us thought we should continue on that.
• 18:43
  Adam Arnold: That's better with big marriage, the connection to people. And, you know, that's what's kinda it it's it it's fulfilling because you take this beautiful small town, and and we've been able, and thank you to the partnership with with with Ducks Unlimited. Mean, together, you talk about seasonality and stuff, it we've really evolved. Right? Mhmm.
• 18:58
  So from from that retail side of it, there's an evolution that is very seasonal, you know, and and we're blessed to be in fishing as an industry because we have ice in Minnesota and will hopefully for a very long time. So we're able to carve out a niche, not just in rigging your boat in electronics because we're the best in the business. When it comes down to these, you know, folks that are rigging rangers and all the high end pieces and parts, you know, when it gets to Garmin and Hummingbird and Johnson Outdoors, Minn Kota, that high end boat rigging, we've got a real specialty niche in that, decades of experience, best team in the business. But then come fall, we switched gears. Right?
• 19:34
  Now we have now now we had to build out and figure out what to do in the gun business, and we we know how to sell guns at retail well, and we hope to see that continue to grow and and, you know, hand to hand. Right? Just an experience, how how how to fit the shotgun to somebody's face and length of pole and they'll go through it. So, like, we take a lot of pride in those seasons and having a team. You know, we've got over a 100 full time employees, you know, having a team that can step up and take care of people at at that next level.
• 19:58
  And so it's it's not a standard outdoor shop experience. Like, we're family business, but we we have the resources and the commitment to the customer experience to to make it something special. And and we wanna we wanna be that that place that people drive to because as you hear, I mean, we're 200 miles north of Minneapolis. We're closer to Canada than we are Minneapolis. Right?
• 20:16
  So which probably a good thing, but it was a joke. It was a joke. So But but but but it's worth the draw. Right? It's it's worth the drive, and we have people drive from all over the Midwest to come up, whether they stay overnight or it's just a day trip.
• 20:30
  It's worth the experience. And so not only we're gonna make sure they get a great deal, we're gonna make sure they get great service, but it's experience whether it's at the resort or whether it's in the store. What happens is, you know, that season changes and becomes ice. So now we have ice fishing. And we figured out through ice fishing, not a lot of people want to be in that space because you're shipping big things, they're bulky, and back in, this was probably the nineties, that really carved out another niche.
• 20:54
  Someone said, now we're shipping big things, and you gotta figure out how to do it and hold space, and what we were able to do is operate out of pole barns basically, four miles apart, driving around the back of pickup trucks, etcetera, to make that all happen and still get it out one door, and at a certain point, we said, no, we're gonna go take this to the next level. And and and so as as we went to the next level, one was, okay. Hey. We're gonna we're gonna build this big store and this this is how we're gonna operate, and that big store was down in the Brainerd area. Well, Gander Mountain bought that about three years later after we started it, and it was a game changer because we had to look inside.
• 21:28
  Right? We had to say, Now we gotta figure out this ecommerce thing, you know, because because we couldn't do anything else that that customer experience hand to hand, and that's what really allowed us to grow and and and, you know, part of the blessing that came out of that Brainerd experience was connection to to you guys. You know, that was back in Waterfall Hunters Park.
• 21:44
  David Schuessler: Right? That's right. That's year. That's word
• 21:48
  Jimbo Robinson: What year would that have been?
• 21:49
  Adam Arnold: Man, it had to be 2006? '3. No. It was 2003, probably. Really?
• 21:55
  2002 it's in that in that range. Right? Yeah. Right? When you guys right?
• 21:59
  When waterfall hunter party were a big deal because we were great running triage. We were helping them happen.
• 22:02
  David Schuessler: That was about o five, o six.
• 22:03
  Adam Arnold: It was o five, o six. Okay.
• 22:04
  Drew Arnold: Pallets and pallets of decoys.
• 22:06
  David Schuessler: Pallets and pallets of decoys. Yeah.
• 22:07
  Adam Arnold: And so and then and then well, the waterfall hunter party was great, but then we had to spice it up, and that's when the ask was, hey. What about a sportsman's night out? Mhmm. How how do we mix this up? Because, you know, we've we've you know, the decoys were the dried originally, but it needed to evolve.
• 22:19
  Jimbo Robinson: Sportsman's night out is when I is when Reeds came down south, I believe, is when the Sportsman's Night Out is because you had to expand what you what you offered. Well, and
• 22:29
  David Schuessler: it it was partnerships. At the time, it was partnerships with people who had the knowledge of what people wanted. Yep. We know a lot about fishing, but we're not experts at Ducks Unlimited. And we have limited warehouse space.
• 22:43
  Adam Arnold: I mean That's right. That was
• 22:44
  David Schuessler: Like like, I could fill that warehouse out there up with ice fishing stuff. I know I've seen your warehouses. But to have a partner where where the chapters could go and order what was specific for their community because waterfowl hunter parties, sportsman's night out, all those the raffle nights that we have, they have to be location specific because it's not a one size fits all. They don't kill a ton of Mallards in South Texas, but they kill a lot of blue wing teal and pintails. Well
• 23:15
  Adam Arnold: And that on demand. Right? It it right. We're we're happy to have the inventory pre basically, presorted. We had bundles, packages, and wherever the shoe fit, wherever it made sense to be placed where it was in the country, we were okay holding it.
• 23:26
  Right? That's our job. That's our obligation. So that that warehouse flexibility was something I I I think that was important back then.
• 23:33
  David Schuessler: So as as somebody who myself is from a family owned retail background, I chose not to stay in it. Both of you chose to stay in it. And, Adam, and I I know you went to Notre Dame and Yeah. And and, like, had probably had every opportunity not to go back Yep. To the 900 people people in Walker, Minnesota.
• 23:53
  I believe you went to school down
• 23:54
  Drew Arnold: in the cities through St.
• 23:56
  David Schuessler: Yep. St. Thomas. Okay. So what was the draw to come back?
• 24:01
  Because a lot of people are like me, and they're like, oh, I grew up in it. I love it, but that's not what I wanna do the rest of my life.
• 24:08
  Drew Arnold: I think part of the fun challenge was Adam was an attorney, and I was a a sophomore at Saint Thomas trying to figure out which direction we're going. We both knew what we thought we're doing. At that time, family issues in the North were going on. So Adam, I said, alright. Well, let's let's see if we can work together and and take on a new challenge.
• 24:26
  In doing so, Dick and Rico had Woods and Waters once again, a a trading shop swap mentality on the cities. Adam and I bought that together, took three or four stores, built them into one, ran that, said, alright. We can work together. Let's let's figure this out. So by a year and a half of doing that, said, alright.
• 24:43
  Well, let's let's go back. We'll set up shop in Brainerd, build that up, and then see what happens from there. So I think that was part of it. My original goal was, you know, to go be a sales a sale a traveling sales rep because I enjoy talking and selling and engaging with people.
• 24:59
  David Schuessler: You got a lot
• 24:59
  Drew Arnold: of shots. I was just I was just coming back
• 25:02
  Adam Arnold: to fix a problem. I was just coming back to fix a problem for a little while.
• 25:05
  Drew Arnold: Yeah. Yeah. Fixing the problem became a lifelong challenge.
• 25:10
  Jimbo Robinson: What's really interesting is, and this is is kind of a bizarre thing to say, but I I told David this yesterday, like, for most people, for all of our listeners, Duck Dynasty, they remember the show Duck Dynasty. Right?
• 25:24
  Drew Arnold: Absolutely.
• 25:25
  Jimbo Robinson: And your family somewhat reminds me of the makeup of that family. You have an icon who had a dream and a vision, Phil Robertson. Yeah. And then you have, you know, one of the sons, Willie, who has the marketing and the kind of that part of, you know, the mind of, hey, let's let's just continue to grow this. And then you've got another one who's, you know, can out sell everybody, right, with Jay's?
• 25:49
  And just and you think about their family dynamics and it's very, very similar, you know, I mean, from Louisiana to to Minnesota's a long way, but it just it it resonated yesterday of, man, there's a lot of of the family and and the family dynamic and how each person in that family got something different from their father. Right?
• 26:09
  Adam Arnold: I'll take that as a compliment. Absolutely. Compliment.
• 26:12
  Jimbo Robinson: Thank you.
• 26:12
  David Schuessler: Down in this part of the world, that's an incredibly hot compliment.
• 26:15
  Drew Arnold: Appreciate that.
• 26:16
  Jimbo Robinson: I mean Thank you. You talk about a destination. Yeah. Monroe, Louisiana and probably Locker Matt Harrison. Minnesota is similar, and there's no reason to go there except to see that their place.
• 26:29
  I mean, like, appreciate that.
• 26:39
  VO: Stay tuned to the Ducks Unlimited Podcast sponsored by Purina Pro Plan and Bird Dog Whiskey after these messages.
• 26:55
  Jimbo Robinson: I wanna ask a question about the resort though. Sure. So resorts in the South and not resorts, let's say lakes. There's tons of lakes in the South and everybody fishes. Is water sports a huge deal?
• 27:05
  Drew Arnold: Yeah. Yes and no. On on Leech Lake, it truly is not. It's more a recreational lake, but we're we're not to the water sports level that we are a 100 to 200 miles south of us. Everything walker takes six months to get going in a trend.
• 27:19
  So is there, you know, 25 surf boats on the lake? Maybe. Is there a 100 pontoons pulling a tube? Absolutely. Is there a 100 boats that are 16 to 18 foot with a 60 on the back pulling a tube?
• 27:32
  Absolutely. So, yes, recreation, 100%. Water sports, yes, on the I'm gonna call it the family dynamic. You know?
• 27:38
  Adam Arnold: But it's a huge lake. Mean, functionally. Absolutely. I mean, it's 625 miles of shoreline. I mean, we have 18 miles across, so it's rough a
• 27:45
  Jimbo Robinson: lot too. So it's mean, that's I grew
• 27:48
  Adam Arnold: up there's a lot of bounce in there. There's a lot of waves.
• 27:50
  David Schuessler: I I went to the middle of that lake.
• 27:52
  Drew Arnold: Pelican Island.
• 27:53
  David Schuessler: Pelican Island with Adam one morning duck hunting, and Jimbo, like, you couldn't see anything but water around you. Beautiful thing. It's more like being in the Gulf than than
• 28:05
  Drew Arnold: the freshwater.
• 28:05
  Jimbo Robinson: Well, I mean, I I, you know, we've got Pickwick around here. Grew up on Hartwell in South Carolina, and, like, water sports, that's that's that seems to be the destination. Now it's a great duck hunting lake. David and I used to actually battle before we knew it for, you know, spots to duck And hunt on this old and but it's interesting because that's and I see how water sports are evolving constantly. Right?
• 28:28
  The surfing and, you know, now the ARC boat, which will be really interesting to see how that electric boat kinda takes over and what happens and if there is a trend to move towards electric boats, but it's very interesting.
• 28:41
  Drew Arnold: But number one priority on leech is fishing for sure. Yep. And then family wreck is number two.
• 28:45
  Jimbo Robinson: That's awesome. Yep.
• 28:46
  Drew Arnold: Leech is a fantastic fishery for walleyes, bass, known for muskies for many, many years, monster northern. Now we have smallmouth along with largemouth, when I say bass, and tons of perched crappies. I mean, if anybody wants a multi specie lake, it's for sure the number one in the state.
• 29:02
  Jimbo Robinson: So I got a family of four thinking about a random destination for this summer.
• 29:06
  Drew Arnold: Flying to MSP, get a car, drive to Walker.
• 29:09
  Jimbo Robinson: It's two hours, you said.
• 29:11
  Drew Arnold: Yep. Put you up at Trappers. All you truly need is your apparel and your footwear, and everything else taken care of. The coolers on-site, the rods, reels, everything's on-site.
• 29:18
  Adam Arnold: Species you wanna go through for that day. Yep.
• 29:20
  Jimbo Robinson: Two shows. Obviously, if you have no idea what you're doing on the fishing, there's somebody that can help you. Just say, hey. Hit this spot, this spot. They're probably on a Garmin or one of your electronics.
• 29:28
  Right?
• 29:28
  Drew Arnold: But what a lot of guys do in that situation, Jimbo, is they come in the first day. They get acclimated to area. They check-in the resort. They go have fun at Walker, be the tourist. Right?
• 29:36
  Second day, we put them in the boat with a ace fishing guide. You learn wherever you're staying. So if you're trappers, you learn that side of the lake. So the next two, three days, you rent a boat from us, all the gears included. The guide or our team will mark your spots exactly where to go, and now you know how to fish, and you have success.
• 29:53
  Making memories with your kids. It's the name of the game. Because if you go out there and float around and catch one walleye, they're not gonna have a good experience. No. They're they're not coming back to leech.
• 30:01
  Jimbo Robinson: So let me
• 30:01
  Drew Arnold: That's how we gotta make it easy for them and doable.
• 30:03
  Jimbo Robinson: So four days.
• 30:04
  Adam Arnold: Yep. Four days. Ideal. Yep.
• 30:06
  Jimbo Robinson: Four days. Ideal.
• 30:06
  Drew Arnold: Cool. And
• 30:07
  David Schuessler: Jimbo, pack a light jacket for nighttime. Oh, yeah. That's the that's one of the great things about it. Yeah.
• 30:15
  Drew Arnold: But if you forget that, that's why Reeds is 15 miles away. We're we're not that far too.
• 30:20
  Adam Arnold: When you check-in, you get a coupon at Reeds.
• 30:21
  Jimbo Robinson: Don't worry. Oh,
• 30:22
  David Schuessler: I figured.
• 30:24
  Jimbo Robinson: That's awesome. So
• 30:26
  David Schuessler: one of the one of the things that I believe has enabled your growth, the partnerships that you have with so many inside of the industry. I mean, when when you walk into your store, it seems like everybody is is repped. Yep. Yeti, Sitka, Bindelli, Beretta. Like, it's it's I mean, they're they're all there, and you carry a lot of that into DUX.
• 30:53
  Absolutely. Absolutely.
• 30:55
  Adam Arnold: And so here here's here's one thing about Reeds, and maybe it was a mistake twenty, thirty years ago. We didn't go private label. A lot of our partners in industry in the retail level are private label. Right? And it doesn't matter if they're big, small, they're all great operators.
• 31:06
  We never did that because our we believed, and this is from our parents, our customers wanna come for the best brands. They want the best service, etcetera. Right? Well, we partnered with those brands deeply, and we didn't go out on our own with the private label piece. And so today, back to brands and partnerships, we are a bridge for what we feel are the best brands in the industry, whether it's in the hunting side or fishing side, into a lot of our customer base.
• 31:34
  And so whether it's how they're represented, you know, we're in town 900 and people, and we we have one of the 20 Benelli walls in the country as a Benelli premier dealer. Right? So those commitments to those big brands, those key brands that people are know they want great service and our selection, I mean, we'll have on hand at any given time 30,000 to 40,000 guns. That's pretty insane, right, for a retailer. Well, we have the ability to have support of the brands and be able to know that we have to support your events in a very strategic way that we we will house that, and and we will be able to have it on demand basis so that we can support the events when it's prime time for you guys.
• 32:12
  Right? And that's all part of it. One of the new prime times is DUX. And so that's that's what I wanted. I just wanna get that out there because that, you know, the the partnerships in that being that Bridge, so like when you come to our booth at DUX, the Browning reps are standing inside of it.
• 32:25
  The Bonelli reps are standing inside of it. You know, we're excited to see some of the new folks that are gonna be aligned this year as well. I mean, last year, the the we had custom YETI wetlands series. The only place you could ever put your hands on one as a as a customer without going to an event was it at DUX in our booth with a true YETI wetlands edition cooler. We're gonna have some of that again this upcoming year, different versions of it, and some pretty pretty cool deals.
• 32:52
  Drew Arnold: But, Adam, that comes back to the partnership. And David hit this. When when you walk into Reeds, exactly that. You're not looking for a Reeds sweatshirt. You're looking for the YETI cooler.
• 33:00
  Right? So that bridge that Adam's talking about is where we can take a great brand like YETI, embellish them and work one on one with them, everything from the payment side to creating your guys' exclusives for DU and making that partnership simple for them and a win for DU 100. That's that's part of the key, and that's where we gotta keep growing those new relations with the key factories that are out there that still want to work together and make it happen instead of going direct to consumer. And you about
• 33:26
  Adam Arnold: new and unique. So, like, we're really excited that this year within the DUX Reeds booth, not only are we gonna have the Bonelli and Browning and Beretta. Right? But Henry wasn't at DUX last year. We're gonna be standing there side by side with them.
• 33:42
  Drew Arnold: Yep.
• 33:42
  Adam Arnold: Yeah. I mean, the the custom serial numbers for a chapter, that's exciting. That's exciting. Cool stuff. So Henry's super excited to be part of it.
• 33:51
  There's this little shop called Rob Roberts. They do they do a little bit of work in the industry. I mean, and and they're a great partner of ours. We got some collab projects that are gonna get revealed at DUX. It's exciting.
• 34:02
  I mean, it's gonna be cool stuff, and it won't it won't be anywhere else in the world except at DUX, and we'll have Rob Roberts and the team with a couple really special Reeds, Rob Roberts collabs that they're gonna be fun.
• 34:13
  David Schuessler: But we we gotta go check that one out.
• 34:15
  Jimbo Robinson: I didn't hear anything that that just said because I Rob Roberts is like the king of guns around here, and I can't even like, I am not that just went one in or out the other. Because then I went to thinking about, oh, okay. Got that bronchie. Got that. Yep.
• 34:32
  So Which is cool to me because you're combining my world down here Absolutely.
• 34:38
  Adam Arnold: And y'all's world. Absolutely.
• 34:39
  Jimbo Robinson: And so for our listeners, like, everybody in the South knows who Rob Roberts is. Right? And and a lot has to do with his Bonelli, you know, Bonellis have been a big gun down here in the South and and and my age group, that's that was the first iconic gun my dad ever shot. You bet. Right?
• 34:58
  Mean 100%. We all had eight seventies. We had a BPS. Like, I remember those. He had an old 1,100 that he would never let anybody touch.
• 35:05
  But, like, I when I was young, you know, February, six, seven, eight, in that '99 range, '14, when I remember what dad was shooting, it was the Superbike Eagle one. Okay. So, like, that's what I remember. So I know that everybody's I'm 40, but everybody's memories of what their dad carried was totally different, but Benelli to me is just a special brand because that's what my dad, my hero carried
• 35:31
  Adam Arnold: You bet.
• 35:31
  Jimbo Robinson: And shot. And so, you know, it's been passed on
• 35:34
  Drew Arnold: and and The three b's are very, very close to our heart and our old family as well. Oh, absolutely. Brownie number one, Benelli, and, of course, Beretta. But come back for Rob Roberts. Right?
• 35:42
  He doesn't do anything with Beretta.
• 35:44
  Jimbo Robinson: Right.
• 35:45
  Drew Arnold: The new eight eight hundred that he's playing with today is special. Yeah. 300 that he's playing with today will be epic.
• 35:51
  David Schuessler: If I'm not mistaken, when when DUX was in Texas Mhmm. Because of your relationship with Bonelli, the first place anybody could shoot the 28 gauge super black eagle was at then this was the memory.
• 36:05
  Adam Arnold: You're spot on.
• 36:06
  David Schuessler: Well, you're right So we had the well, we had an opportunity to see, try, and buy shotguns. It was the '20.
• 36:14
  Jimbo Robinson: Was it the '20?
• 36:15
  Adam Arnold: I It was 28. It was the 28.
• 36:17
  David Schuessler: Yeah. How many rounds did we put through that one firearm? Because I I remember when the rep showed up, he, like, had a case, and he's like, it's here. It's here. And we all ran over and looked at it, and we must have put five, six thousand rounds.
• 36:32
  Adam Arnold: Oh, yeah. It was at least five. I was trying to figure out if we we got close to 10 because I was counting cases of 28 gauge. We were scrambling to find more 28 gauge to shoot out there.
• 36:40
  David Schuessler: A line of people. Absolutely awesome. Just a line of people to shoot five times and then go get back in line.
• 36:47
  Drew Arnold: Let's do it again.
• 36:48
  Adam Arnold: It felt that good. Golly.
• 36:50
  Jimbo Robinson: That does not seem like it was that long. Yeah. I mean, four years three years ago.
• 36:54
  Drew Arnold: The other the other thing we talked
• 36:55
  David Schuessler: about Jimbo, it was six. Is that
• 36:58
  Jimbo Robinson: when the 28 gauge came out?
• 37:00
  David Schuessler: Was that was that the first DUX? That was the first DUX.
• 37:03
  Adam Arnold: Yep. It was big hand to press. There you go.
• 37:06
  Drew Arnold: So the other thing at DUX that we gotta keep in mind is not only when you come to Reeds, can we see the right gun manufacturers, but you go back to the brands. Right? Right now, we facilitate with your guys' help over 20 different preferred vendor programs. So come meet our team for your local chapters, walk through them, and let us show you how we can actually help DU make some more money with the right brands. That's part of the game, Jimbo.
• 37:29
  Because otherwise, you have the same Remington's and everybody else down the line. Yep. Wait. Jeff junior over here.
• 37:34
  David Schuessler: It's real. Takes me back
• 37:35
  Drew Arnold: to the
• 37:36
  Jimbo Robinson: Missouri state convention. Sorry.
• 37:38
  Drew Arnold: It's good to know.
• 37:38
  Adam Arnold: It's .com. It's reedsgunsandammo.com. VIP deals is your coupon code.
• 37:43
  Drew Arnold: So with with that though, we have created two different websites. We've got the the gun friendly version. What I'm saying was reedsgunsandammo.com, and then reedssports.com is more fish based. Because, yes, at d u x, can you talk about Garmin and fish and crappies? Absolutely.
• 37:59
  Yes. We can do that. We can make it happen.
• 38:01
  Adam Arnold: But I think that's what part of what makes DUX so special is we have, you know, certainly it is you all have created the the master moment for chapters, volunteers, RDs, to collab together, and and and vendors all it's just it's beautiful, the vision that this has evolved to, but at the same time, anybody can show up. Like, that's what I loved about last year. It was like it was everybody. It seemed like half of Tennessee was there. Right?
• 38:25
  And and so everybody can come, and it's such a quintessential waterfall experience, but there's this overlay of this chapter engagement, and we do both. Right? We're trying to help we're trying to the chapter experience. That's part of why we were talking about Rob Roberts. There's some unique stuff that's gonna be just for chapters for fundraising only, and then there's gonna be these other collabs that you're never gonna see it as a customer, and, you know, they're they're not distributed at gun shops.
• 38:47
  They're not any place else. And so you'll be able put your hands on meet Rob, meet Doug, meet the whole team, and it's just such a unique experience where it has this stakeholder DU family involvement, but yet at the same time, everybody can participate and engage in it. That's what we loved about it. Our booth is huge because of it. Like, mean, the show floor, we feel like, has such a great vibe that bringing this together and being able to come as a family during any time, but at the same time come as a stakeholder in the DU family and how you're gonna help next year is really, really unique, and I just love how it's evolved to that point.
• 39:22
  Drew Arnold: And I would say the other in addition, though, is when you step back and look at the great event, compliments you to David and Jimbo.
• 39:29
  Adam Arnold: No. No. No.
• 39:29
  Drew Arnold: You got Logan. You got Logan. You got Dana.
• 39:31
  Jimbo Robinson: Dana. They
• 39:32
  Drew Arnold: all made that happen.
• 39:33
  Adam Arnold: 100%.
• 39:33
  Drew Arnold: And and that really is happening because they are listening to a lot of vendors and a lot of partners that want to make it the best event. So for a waterfall guy or gal or the youth joining the sport, it's a slam dunk event. When is that? July what? Thirty first?
• 39:47
  Jimbo Robinson: Through August 2.
• 39:48
  Drew Arnold: Perfect. My wife will love that, Jimbo. Anniversary is the first, so that'll be a great spot to be in.
• 39:52
  Jimbo Robinson: We can't wait. We got an email last night from a a guest that attended last year, and I mean, this long email about how great the event was. Me and my husband will be back this year celebrating our fourteenth wedding anniversary in no better If I told my wife I was we were going to a sports show in Memphis for our anniversary, for our fourteenth anniversary
• 40:11
  Drew Arnold: It sounds last one. It was amazing.
• 40:14
  Jimbo Robinson: Awesome. Yeah. But, like, that people are making it a destination as part of an experience, and it's not us that are doing it. All we did is provide the platform. It's our it's our sponsors, vendors, people like y'all that have made that show what it is.
• 40:28
  Drew Arnold: And members. Cause if the members don't show up They got and the volunteers don't show up, it's nothing. It's attendees. 100%.
• 40:34
  Jimbo Robinson: And the the vendors that do sports shows, the dad, the Jeffs of the world, right, that have done their whole life, they know what to do. They know what drives people. And the exclusives and the one offs in the social media world has created a totally different vibe. And you want to be the first one. I mean, we had I remember last year coming across the street one morning at 6AM, and Alex White comes out the door, and Alex isn't a morning person, and he has this smile, like this bounce to him.
• 41:02
  And I'm like, what is up? He's like, dude, there's a there's a dad and son over there that drove through the night to be the first one in to get a Beau Brooks signature Bingo. Call. And I'm like, from where? In Pennsylvania.
• 41:15
  Wow. Love it. 6AM, we don't open till ten. I was like, we need to go get them some breakfast or something. Like, we'd like that is incredible, but that's and it's your dad understands it, but those of us that haven't lived in the sports show world our entire life, we don't understand that mentality, and it's amazing.
• 41:31
  Drew Arnold: And and that's that's the pro of still having shows and great events across the country because social media and Internet has sort of destroyed that, but if you still want to hear
• 41:39
  Adam Arnold: Jaded retailer now.
• 41:40
  Drew Arnold: Hear that. Well, I mean, truly. But if you wanna touch the product, actually hear the lows and outs and get a killer deal, you still go to a show somewhere in the country.
• 41:48
  David Schuessler: It's come full circle.
• 41:49
  Drew Arnold: 100%.
• 41:49
  Adam Arnold: And and be a bit with with the factory. Like, it it makes a difference when the factory team is in the booth, being able to interact, and you can ask that question, get that honest answer, solve a problem, whatever it may be, and DUX has evolved to that. So back to your comment about the vendors, what I was really impressed to see one of the things I was really impressed with last year is to see how a key partner like Perina stepped up. Right? So, I mean, you you look at all the outdoor experience they had for dogs, interaction and fun, right, at at DUX previously, like, how do they change it?
• 42:16
  What did they have? Every fifteen minutes was a new speaker or demo. I mean, it was crazy how much, you know, just the interactions and how much talent they brought to the table. That was fabulous. And so, again, it's somebody authentically in the industry, authentically present, and be able to pick your your time and opportunity to meet with them and be and and actually get your answers or learn from it.
• 42:36
  It's fabulous. It's it's like nothing else. And one of
• 42:39
  Jimbo Robinson: the things you said earlier really stuck with me is is that customer experience. And I think that one of the things that this team, the DUX team has done is looked at, okay, what were when you look at last year, everybody's like, it was perfect. Don't change anything. Don't change anything. But the Walt Disney model is you can always change and evolve to make things better no matter what their experience is like.
• 42:58
  And so that team sat back and was like, alright, where can we improve? What what little things can we can do to make this experience better? And one of the things was is it seemed like, you know, okay, Saturday was such a thrill jam packed day. It was the biggest day we had people wise, but 05:30, 04:30, it died. Right?
• 43:20
  People were out. Standard. From us, from our view, it was like, okay. How can we make that last hour and a half a draw to the vendors? Because it's like you don't want to carry this momentum and then let it die off.
• 43:32
  Right? So we were like, let's let's do it. And so that team did an amazing job of trying to insert some new things and some crowds that we think will draw people into stay just a little bit longer. And I'm not gonna totally reveal what that is yet, but it's going to be, I believe, very epic of what we are trying to do to keep people there throughout the entire day. And it's not you know, we can't do anything else to to bring more people.
• 43:59
  All we're trying to do is make the vendors experience. And that's the kind of things that that team
• 44:02
  Adam Arnold: Great call.
• 44:03
  David Schuessler: Well, and That's beautiful. It's gonna take more time this year because we've added an entire floor.
• 44:08
  Jimbo Robinson: That that's true.
• 44:09
  David Schuessler: So for those that came last year, you need to take the time it took to see everybody, put a third on it because there's a whole another floor based on demand and just the opportunity that we have to expand it. And they're and it's, you know, it's not an entry level type deal. They're fantastic companies who didn't have the opportunity because we were sold out last year. We chose to expand it.
• 44:35
  Jimbo Robinson: I mean, Fred's Inc. Yeah. Pretty iconic in the industry. Yeah. That's where Fred's Inc will be.
• 44:40
  Love it. So, I mean, like, that's they don't get much bigger.
• 44:42
  Adam Arnold: Well, but well, here's the thing. That's why, you know, looking back and talking to people on the show floor last year at DUX, that's why you gotta come for two days. It's not a one day show because a lot of people couldn't get through both wings of the show floor even in one day.
• 44:55
  David Schuessler: There are Jimbo and I talked about this the other day. I'm talking to people who were an exhibitor, and I had no idea because I did not have the opportunity
• 45:07
  Adam Arnold: Everybody was
• 45:07
  David Schuessler: go and shake hands with everybody. It was that busy.
• 45:10
  Drew Arnold: And I know you got a wait list
• 45:12
  Adam Arnold: for next yeah.
• 45:13
  Drew Arnold: But the waitlist is gonna continue to grow because the other opportunity you guys are provided that nobody else does at any other show in the country is you have the opportunity in the mornings to put your RDs in front of every vendor. So if the vendor wants to get after their stuff, guess what? They're gonna meet with you guys one on one. It's
• 45:27
  David Schuessler: an opportunity to to have that Absolutely. That one on one relationship with the organization.
• 45:31
  Jimbo Robinson: I I the the funniest story from last year is the leather belt. So we come back to the office, you know, Monday, Tuesday, we were still unloading. I think the following Monday, everybody there's, like, four people here with this new leather belt with the d logo. And I'm like, where did y'all get this? And they were like, at the show.
• 45:48
  I'm like, where? They're like, oh, he was, you know, right here, here, and here. And I'm just like, man, like
• 45:54
  Adam Arnold: You never even saw it.
• 45:55
  Jimbo Robinson: Never even saw it. And and so he happened to be at a film festival here locally, and I went straight to the booth, and I said, I want the same belt that all these guys got at the DUX show. And he was like, it was a young kid. It wasn't Jack, the owner of the company. And so I think I scared this this young man.
• 46:12
  He was like, I don't know I don't know what it was, and he measured me anyway. So it was it
• 46:16
  Drew Arnold: was a cool What was the buckle?
• 46:17
  Jimbo Robinson: It's not a buckle. It's just a it's
• 46:19
  Drew Arnold: What'd just a have? A big duck at it?
• 46:20
  Jimbo Robinson: No. Put my initials. Little lab? No. I put my initials.
• 46:23
  I do like that. I do have a wood duck like that. I put my initials on it. I like to be a little different, you know, than everybody else.
• 46:29
  Adam Arnold: You are a different, Jimbo.
• 46:30
  Jimbo Robinson: It's okay. It's Alright. So we've got to as we begin to wrap up this show, Reeds has the retail store. Sir. The experience.
• 46:38
  The custom.
• 46:39
  Drew Arnold: Two of them, actually, sir.
• 46:40
  Jimbo Robinson: Two of them.
• 46:41
  Drew Arnold: One on one on Leech Lake and one on Mille Lacs Lake.
• 46:44
  David Schuessler: In Garrison, Minnesota. Going on here, Merrison? Of the largest DUX membership event annually, Fishing for Ducks held every February.
• 46:53
  Jimbo Robinson: Maybe we'll talk about that on the next show.
• 46:54
  Adam Arnold: Deal. Fishing
• 46:55
  Drew Arnold: for Ducks is epic. Actually. If you've never been, Jimbo
• 46:58
  Jimbo Robinson: I'm I it's
• 46:58
  Drew Arnold: You need to come.
• 46:59
  Jimbo Robinson: Maybe maybe not this year, but I we are taking the new mobile DU podcast trailer, which is in the parking lot to Fishing for Ducks. Our amazing, world famous audio engineer, Chris Isaac, back there, his vision. And we it's it's been a year and a half long vision that that we finally got received a couple weeks ago. So it's going to Fishing for Ducks. Awesome.
• 47:29
  Drew Arnold: In Garrison, Minnesota in February. Epic. Put that on your calendar.
• 47:33
  Jimbo Robinson: It's gonna come sliding in through
• 47:35
  Adam Arnold: the ice. And we will we will we will at that moment, we will share how Fishing for Ducks began the Reeds partnership then. How about we'll do that online?
• 47:42
  Drew Arnold: Yes. Save that.
• 47:43
  Jimbo Robinson: We'll be on
• 47:45
  David Schuessler: the Now watch watch watch Chris' face, Chris. We're going to drive your beautiful new trailer five miles out into the middle of the lake.
• 47:54
  Drew Arnold: On 30 inches of ice. And for
• 47:56
  Adam Arnold: It'll be floating.
• 47:57
  Drew Arnold: But And for you and Jimbo, you've never been on ice, so this is great. No.
• 48:02
  Adam Arnold: You have? Perfect. I'll let you go then.
• 48:04
  Drew Arnold: I'm from Marquette, Michigan.
• 48:05
  Jimbo Robinson: Oh, you're good.
• 48:06
  Drew Arnold: Alright. That I got. Raised around that.
• 48:08
  Adam Arnold: Beautiful. Beautiful. Alright.
• 48:09
  Drew Arnold: Alright. Well,
• 48:09
  David Schuessler: that didn't land the way
• 48:10
  Adam Arnold: I thought you would.
• 48:11
  Jimbo Robinson: No. But I'm not going. I'll stand on the shore and watch
• 48:14
  Drew Arnold: that trailer on the ice, so that's gonna make me nervous. Yeah.
• 48:18
  Jimbo Robinson: Well, anyways, where can people find you?
• 48:21
  Drew Arnold: Well, first option is Walker, Minnesota or on reed'ssports.com, but the average hunter listening in needs to get on reed'sgunsandammo.com, and every hunter who supports DU can use a VIP code to get on and get a deal. Oh. On Reeds. Hey. There's no there's no shadow bomb on him on that one.
• 48:40
  Jimbo Robinson: I know.
• 48:40
  Drew Arnold: VIP deals. VIP deals.
• 48:42
  Adam Arnold: It's a coupon code. It's on it's on right now.
• 48:44
  Jimbo Robinson: Oh, so all of our listeners, that is something that I don't think I've ever been able to offer on anybody, but Reeds Guns and Ammo dot com. VIP deals, gets you a special
• 48:54
  Adam Arnold: Gun deal? Discount, whatever whatever Discount. Best deal we have for a customer on the floor. Yep. You can get it online by listening to this podcast on guns and
• 49:03
  Jimbo Robinson: We'll put that in the decoys, everything. Let's go. That is awesome. Thank you, Jerad.
• 49:07
  Drew Arnold: Load your cart up Yeah. And then use that at checkout.
• 49:09
  Jimbo Robinson: Boom. It's awesome. Just watch it go down.
• 49:10
  Drew Arnold: Mic drop.
• 49:11
  Jimbo Robinson: It's like when you get Kroger and you put in your your phone number, and then you go, like, yes. Save $4.78. One gallon of gas. Let's go.
• 49:19
  Drew Arnold: Let's save let's save $400 in your new Benelli. Now let's go to where it's at.
• 49:24
  Jimbo Robinson: I'm glad y'all don't come down here more often.
• 49:26
  Adam Arnold: I'm glad you're real broke.
• 49:28
  Jimbo Robinson: Well, thank y'all so much, not only for the partnership, for for what y'all have done for DU, but just for for for being a part of our growth. And I truly mean that. The the growth of of our event system, you know, a lot of it came, and y'all have been with us on this ride through this growth pattern that we've seen, and and it's because we've been able to offer so many great opportunities to our attendees and members, and everybody's seen a banner. Everybody has seen a banner at an event. If you haven't, you're going to the wrong event.
• 49:56
  Drew Arnold: That's true.
• 49:57
  Adam Arnold: And the best part is they keep getting better every year.
• 49:59
  Jimbo Robinson: Absolutely. And
• 50:00
  Adam Arnold: that's the beauty of it, and that's what makes it exciting, and we are honored by the partnership. We we have something that is very special, that's decades long, that you you know that nobody cares more in the industry for DU than Reeds and the Arnold family, and we're here for you, and we'll keep the good things going. We appreciate. We're honored.
• 50:17
  Jimbo Robinson: As we close, what's the fish room in Porto on Leech Lake?
• 50:20
  Drew Arnold: It's gonna be epic. 47 degrees on the South on the lake, 42 on the North on the lake because Minnesota fishing over this weekend, Jimbo, and it is gonna be great.
• 50:27
  Adam Arnold: He's talking walleyes.
• 50:28
  Jimbo Robinson: Where is your where is your hole?
• 50:30
  Drew Arnold: So sure. Right in front of Trapper's Landing Lodge right about 8PM. We close at 05:30. It gets me with the kids in the boat by eight, and from eight to 09:30, it'll happen. I'm nowhere Nine feet of water.
• 50:41
  You do. Gold jig. Actually, know
• 50:42
  Jimbo Robinson: the right word. David knows.
• 50:44
  Drew Arnold: Yeah. David knows. Exactly.
• 50:45
  Jimbo Robinson: Gold jigs. Yeah.
• 50:46
  Drew Arnold: I know something. But, you know, but as Adam said too, it's a this has been a fantastic partnership for many, many years to come led by the the chief one and only mister David himself and Scott, who represents all of you guys as a monster ambassador for DU with Reeds. Mhmm. Works hand in hand with Ty and Wadia and Adam and our entire Reeds team. I mean, the partnership couldn't happen without great people on both ends.
• 51:07
  Team at Reeds and the team at DU. So thank you. Thank you for the opportunity.
• 51:11
  Jimbo Robinson: Well, we can't thank you all enough for being here. And to all of our listeners, check out that VIP deals in the footnotes. Check out reedssports.com, reedsgunsandammo.com, and check out Leach Lake, the Trapper's Landing, excuse me, Trapper's Landing Resort. I'm gonna check it out when I leave here because I think if you hate mosquitoes and you're tired of the hot, apparently, that's the destination. Go check it out this summer.
• 51:40
  Thank you all for being here, and I have to get y'all to a meeting before I get in massive trouble. So we are going to close this show. Thanks to all our listeners out there. We'll see you next time on the Ducks Unlimited Podcast, the DUX series.
• 51:55
  VO: Thank you for listening to the DU Podcast sponsored by Purina Pro Plan, the official performance dog food of Ducks Unlimited. Purina Pro Plan, always advancing. Also proudly sponsored by Bird Dog Whiskey and Cocktails. Whether you're winding down with your best friend or celebrating with your favorite crew, Bird Dog brings award winning flavor to every moment. Enjoy responsibly.
• 52:17
  Be sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show and visit ducks.org/dupodcast. Opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect those of Ducks Unlimited. Until next time, stay tuned to the Ducks.