There was recently some negative comments on an endurance chat group regarding EasyCare selling direct to the public. My response on the subject is below.
It's
frustrating to see this type of feedback from an endurance rider.
EasyCare has been a consistent supporter of AERC since
the early eighties. I would bet you
would have a hard time finding a copy of Endurance News without one EasyCare
advertisement. Most months of Endurance
News have more than one EasyCare advertisement, many have two to four. In addition to advertising in Endurance News,
EasyCare has had a similar advertising presence in magazines like Equus, Horse
Illustrated, Horse & Rider, Trail Blazer, Trail Rider and Western
Horseman. This 25 years of consistent
advertising drives business to EasyCare dealers. This push through technique
has helped tack shops, e-commerce retailers, mail order catalogs and
wholesalers sell the EasyCare product range. Consumers will contact an EasyCare
dealer and ask for an Easyboot by name.
In addition to the push through created by our national
advertising campaign, EasyCare has put a great deal of energy into other tools
that push traffic to our dealers. We
have an Online Dealer Locator that helps consumers find the closest dealer in
their area. We have an online Hoof Care Practitioner Locator that helps
consumers find professionals that can fit EasyCare hoof boots. We have videos and blogs that help consumers
learn about hoof boots and natural hoof care techniques. We also have one of the best natural hoof
care and hoof boot article databases available to the public. Each one of these tools helps dealers sell
our products.
EasyCare has also been a long time supporter of AERC and
the sport of endurance. EasyCare is a
Platinum Sponsor of AERC. We have
donated thousands of ride awards over the years and continue to donate awards
every month. EasyCare is going to be a
consistent vendor at the AERC National Convention. We attended the AERC convention this year to
educate consumers about the EasyCare product range. All sales were directed to the EasyCare
dealers exhibiting at the convention. This support of AERC and the national convention helps endurance
retailers sell our products.
EasyCare has also given a great deal back to several
local trail systems. We have donated
money and are members or sponsors of the Arizona Trail, Tahoe Rim Trail,
Western States Trail, The Equestrial Land Conservation Resource, Nevada All
State Trail Riders, and several others. These donations have helped support trails and trail riding. This support helps dealers sell our products.
Although the majority of business decisions made by
EasyCare are to support our dealer channel, EasyCare does sell direct to the public. Why do we do this? The biggest reason is to reach our customer
base. Many, many horse owners live in remote, rural areas that are sometimes
100+ miles from a retail dealer. These
consumers are many times the same people who don't have high speed access and
the ability to shop online. They don't
want to drive to a dealer, they want to speak to a knowledgeable customer
service person and have the product shipped. EasyCare would do these customers
and horses a disservice if we didn't sell to them. EasyCare takes care of these consumers at
MSRP so our dealers are not undercut.
I personally would be more concerned with the
manufactures who don't give their dealers the push through support needed to
sell their products.
I agree with your statement "Competing with your
retailers is never a good idea for a manufacturer." We don't compete with
our dealers, we support our dealers. Here
is a short list of companies that have similar business models.
www.apple.com
www.nike.com
www.levi.com
www.profchoice.com/index.html
www.toklat.com
EasyCare's support of AERC and endurance riding is not
justified by the financial return we get back. EasyCare supports AERC and the sport of endurance riding because we love
the sport and the people involved. I did
my first endurance ride when I was 12 years old. I rode Tevis twice as a junior
and some of my best family memories are at endurance rides. It's a great sport
and a great bunch of people.
Garrett Ford
AERC# 1265
Comments