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Good
morning Scott and welcome on Crossbow-Review,
can you just spend a couple of words to
introduce yourself?
Scott
A. :
Sure, thank you for having us on for the
interview, I really appreciate the opportunity.
I joined Crosman in May of 2007 after
spending close to 4 years managing the bow line
for Escalade Sports, which owns the Bear Archery
brand.
Prior to Escalade, I was with Motorola,
working with their TalkAbout two-way radios
designed for the sporting goods and hunting
market place.
All told, I have spent close to 10 years
in the hunting / outdoor industry working in
product development and sales.
I am really excited about what we are
doing at Crosman, as Crosman has been a leader
in the shooting sports for nearly 80 years and
is not about to back down now in regards to new
innovations, and product development.
You are leading a new division
(Crosman Archery) that is part of a large
organization with lots of experience in a
similar field (Air Guns) , did Crosman insist on
certain consolidated features or you were free
to start from scratch?
Scott
A. :
Once the objectives and the strategies
were agreed upon, myself and other key
individuals tasked to development the crossbow
line were given a blank canvas to work from on
design, features and function.
How much did help the
possibility to choose components produced or
already used from other sister companies?
Scott
A. :
Actually, the accessories we are using in
our kits were developed with our crossbow line
in mind.
It did help that the folks responsible
for those accessory categories were in our
building, but we still went through the normal
development process and testing.
It did help to cut lead times down and
communications were seamless, which is always a
big factor in new product development.
How are the new crossbows
selling?
Scott
A. :
Not bad, we are pleased at this point,
but like most companies we are looking for much
greater retail placement this coming season.
Last year kind of turned into a “soft
launch” for us as we did some fine tuning of the
units throughout the sales process.
The retail partners that supported us out
of the gate have reported good sell through and
are excited about the upcoming selling season.
We have been impressed by the
scope, clear and sharp edge to edge…
Scott
A. :
The optics was definitely an area we knew
we could improve on vs. our competitors.
The CenterPoint line is still relatively
young, having been introduced just about 3 years
ago, but very wise when it comes to features
consumers are demanding, without breaking the
bank.
The CenterPoint line fit in well with our
overall strategy of providing greater
performance for a better value.
During the review of the
Teton, using the crossbow and accessories we got
the impression that Crosman Archery tried to
produce a solid value package
Scott
A. :
No question.
Our strategy is to be the performance to
value leader at any price point we choose to
attack.
Meaning that we will beat our competitors
in some fashion of performance at the existing
price point we are attacking.
That could mean in speed, function or
extremely deep accessory items included with
each crossbow.
I wanted hunters to be ready to hit the
woods running with our kits.
I believe we have accomplished that feat,
as more and more buyers are seeing the value in
our crossbow kits.
We really appreciated the
addition of the “addendum to archery course”
booklet it goes a great length in helping people
gaining the necessary background on crossbow
safety and usage.
Scott
A. :
We agree, and did not hesitate to give
that booklet away with each crossbow shipped.
Crosman has been, and continues to be the
leader in teaching shooting sports safely, while
providing the most information on tips,
technique and overall safety in the industry.
We wanted every crossbow shooter to know
as much as possible about the product, the sport
and the necessary safety tips needed to fully
enjoy crossbow shooting and hunting.
What do you think of the
current trend “my crossbow is faster than your”…
Scott A. :
Coming from the compound bow side of the
fence, I have become a big believer in balance,
low noise and minimal vibration as key features
vs. flat out speed.
To gain speed, you typically have to do
so at the expense of noise, vibration or loss of
balance.
I think entry level shooters need to have
a product in their hands that deliver on those
key criteria, while providing respectable
speeds.
Our Teton shoots around 315 to 320 FPS,
while minimizing the issues I have raised.
I think that is plenty fast to harvest
big game animals while providing a crossbow that
is easy on the senses to shoot.
That doesn’t mean we won’t produce a
faster crossbow in future, but we wanted to
first develop the technology to control those
key features.
Commercial crossbows are,
generally, a consolidated machine with a
somewhat conservative design we have however
seen recently some companies daring something
different (Armcross Leopro, Horton ReCon, Swiss
Twinbow , Bowtech Desert Striker) is the market
ready for something different?
Scott
A. :
I think so, but it will take time.
Once you deviate from the “norm” in
design, it will take some time for consumers to
adopt the new looks.
The other thing that will slow down is
sales, as most new looks come with much higher
prices.
As states expand, a lot of the crossbow
sales are going to first time users that may not
be comfortable paying much higher prices for a
unit that looks completely different from
anything they have seen before.
The Teton is at the moment the
top model but it sports somewhat conservative
features such as eccentric wheels, are we going
to see a cam, and possibly faster, model?
Scott
A. :
Absolutely, we are currently designing a
new cam system that will allow for greater
speeds without bringing in additional noise and
vibration.
We will also be working on our overall
design, getting a little bit more technical in
our look.
Are you going to offer any
other color than camo? Camo is hot in the US but
there are many other countries where hunting is
not allowed and other colors than camo would be
considered less “intimidating”.
Scott
A. :
I think down the road we will look to add
a classic wood stock, with the appropriate
finish that may not be in camo, but still
designed to look like a hunting rig.
Can you disclose anything on
what’s coming next from Crosman ?
Scott
A. :
Without going into detail, I will say
that we have signed an exclusive agreement on
some new technology that will definitely
separate Crosman Archery, as no other crossbow
company will have this feature.
We hope to have this out late 2009.
Tanks Scott
for your time and for sharing your insights with
us and our readers.
Ed. |
