WALMART out of Paintball part 2
As a Paintball feild owner or someone starting a paintball field what Walmart does or does not do can greatly influence your business. In one of my early blogs I reported Walmart’s intention of dropping out of paintball in their stores similar to what Cabella’s and Sportsman’s Warehouse have done.
As it turns out Walmart has decided not to abandon paintball in all it’s stores. Just like any product on a Walmart shelf, if it does not produce a certain margin or sales numbers, it’s gone and replaced with something else.
After talking with some qualified industry insiders Walmart has eliminated paintball from some stores and continues to do so. However in some stores they have simply reduced the shelf space and other stores have been unaffected. Walmart has continued to order paintball supplies through the first 3 quarters of 2009 and so far it looks like they will continue in the 4th quarter of 2009.
What is in store for 2010 in anyone’s guess and we will find out soon enough. I personally believe Walmart is a blessing for a paintball field . Why? 2 main reasons:
#1. If Walmart caries it then it must be safe or OK to do. Think about it, little Bobby wants to go play paintball for his next birthday party and Mama bear is concerned. However Mama bear did see paintball markers at Walmart the last time she was there, subconsciously this is a huge factor in her decision to let little Bobby play.
#2. It’s great advertising. Think about it, if you walk down the isle you can’t miss the paintball items. It gets you thinking about it. Many a bachelor party has been booked simply because some one walked down the isle and saw some paintball stuff and it gave them the idea to go play.
That’s it for today, for some great info on starting a paintball field go to : www.moneypaintball.org