Karl’s Fishing & Outdoors Opens Second Retail Store at Mall Of America

Karl's Fishing & Outdoors, a fishing and outdoor retail and e-commerce brand, recently announced the opening of its second brick-and-mortar outpost located at Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota. Karl's has deep roots as a digital platform, created for both seasoned and beginner anglers, and this foray marks a milestone in their growth and expansion of a unique retail experience for their customers.

Located in Mall of America, one of the United States most iconic retail, experiential and dining outlets, Karl's Fishing & Outdoors is a 2,000-square-foot storefront that combines retail with a customer focused hands-on approach. The interactive store features products from a wide variety of fishing and outdoor brands, including those from parent company Catch Co.'s portfolio. Following the successful launch of the first Karl's Fishing & Outdoor store in Fort Worth, Texas, the new store will host fishing meetups, seminars, philanthropic events and entertainment.

"As a Minneapolis native, I grew up visiting Mall of America,” said Ross Gordon, founder and CEO of Catch Co., Karl's Fishing & Outdoors parent company. “To be opening a store here is sort of a dream come true for me. I grew up fishing in this area and know how many anglers, both young and old, are here. My wish is for more local Minnesotans to be able to experience our products up close and find a product they love, which is the most exciting part of our expansion."

The store design features interactive, tech-enabled experiences that demonstrate how products are used to catch fish, such as interactive displays that let you touch and feel baits and see how they act underwater. Shoppers can choose from a variety of leading brands such as Mystery Tackle Box, The Googan Squad, BioSpawn, 10,000 Fish, Postfly, HUK, Shimano, Daiwa, Lew's, BOTE, Hydroflask, Duke Cannon, and others. Products include rods, reels, tackle, kits, tools, fly fishing gear, kayaks, apparel and outdoor lifestyle items.

"The Karl's Fishing & Outdoors flagship store brings fishing to the biggest stage in retail at Mall of America," said Catch Co. Director of Retail Experience Teeg Stouffer. "We're doing it in a unique and interesting way, creating an intimidation-free shopping experience for those who are new to fishing and outdoor activities, and a fun, engaging place for people who already love to fish."

The store will host a 10-day Grand Opening Celebration Oct. 7 – 16, 2022. Fishing YouTube Influencers will make appearances, and shoppers will have access to exclusive giveaways and special offers. Grand Opening Celebration details are available by clicking here. Karl's plans to roll out stores in other locations throughout the United States.

 

Hawke Optics Promotes Paige Shipe to US Marketing Manager

Hawke Optics recently announced the promotion of Paige Shipe to US marketing manager. As the company continues to take on strong growth in the market, Paige’s new role will help bring the brand’s awareness and demand to another level. Having Shipe in this new role as Hawke prepares for its largest marketing campaign going into 2023 is key to continuing its stronghold in the United States shooting and hunting market.

A lifelong hunter and outdoor enthusiast, Shipe has brought her involvement in the hunting and shooting industry to Hawke. Throughout the past 2 years, her passion for the industry, along with her extensive background in marketing and design, has shined in her production and brings a valuable perspective to the brand. Shipe takes extreme pride in educating, sharing experiences, and inspiring others.

“When I say the people in this industry have become my family, I mean it,” Shipe said. “Working within an industry I have held close to my heart my entire life has been an extreme blessing. I put my best foot forward every day to continue enhancing the Hawke family and brand, and to bring up the next generation of hunters and shooters.”

“Paige has done an outstanding job since she began 2 years ago,” said Kevin Sheehan, Hawke Optics VP of sales and marketing. “As our overall marketing efforts have grown significantly over the past few years, Paige has played a huge role in maximizing our exposure and enhancing the quality and cohesiveness of our marketing.”

Since its beginning, Hawke is a family owned company with a presence in more than 60 countries.

 

TenPoint Crossbows Promotes Phil and Steve Bednar

TenPoint Crossbows recently announced the promotion of Phil Bednar to president and CEO of the company (Hunter's Manufacturing Co. Inc. dba TenPoint Crossbows) and Steve Bednar to executive vice president and COO. Phil joined the company in 2008 and most recently held the position of executive vice president of sales, marketing, and product development, while Steve joined the company in 2013. Steve's most recent role was that of executive vice president of operations.

In 1994, Rick Bednar and his father, Bill Bednar — an Archery Hall of Fame recipient — founded TenPoint Crossbows. Since the company's inception, it has remained family owned and operated. Now, over a quarter of a century later, Rick's sons, Phil and Steve, mark the third generation to lead the company.

"This is another exciting moment in our company's remarkable 28-year history,” said Rick Bednar, executive chairman of TenPoint Crossbows. “I'm excited to see these two fine young men advance to the next chapter in their careers. Phil and Steve are brothers, best friends, and business partners. With their passion for business, our customers, employees, and brand will greatly benefit from these promotions."

After graduating with an MBA from the University of Akron, Phil Bednar joined TenPoint as a marketing assistant. Since then, he has held multiple positions in marketing and sales. Most recently, Phil was executive vice president of sales, marketing, and product development. He is the conceptual leader in bringing new products to market.

“Phil is an incredible thinker and strategist. He knows the numbers, the market, and the customers better than anyone,” added Rick.

During his tenure, Phil has been responsible for the growth and success of the crossbow market, perhaps most noticeably in the launch and development of the company's Wicked Ridge brand in 2010. Built from the ground up under his direction, the Wicked Ridge brand has grown into an independently successful crossbow brand with crossbows featuring impressive technology at a value price.

"I am honored, excited, and humbled for the opportunity to guide TenPoint into the future," said CEO Phil Bednar. "From day one, my dad established the guiding principles for this company – family owned, Made in America, and hunter-focused. With an incredible management team and excellent employees, Steve and I will continue these principles while moving TenPoint forward for years to come."

Steve Bednar joined the company after graduating from Ashland University in 2013 with a degree in supply chain management. Like Phil, he has filled many roles on the operations side of the business, most recently as the executive vice president of operations, overseeing the entire production process. Rick said, "Steve is remarkable in his thought processes for operational efficiencies, process flow, manufacturing, and logistics."

Steve focuses on integrating technology into the production and assembly process to increase the production of crossbows and reduce the number of errors during the process. As a result, the company has expanded its production of crossbows per person by an astounding 20%.

Rick will continue to be an integral part of the business, serving as executive chairman and focusing his efforts on engineering. Along with his nephew, Director of Engineering Mike Shaffer, Rick will lead the company's engineering team, whose sole objective is to work with the product development team to bring to life tomorrow's crossbows.

"I have 40 years of inventions sketched on a notepad that I can finally start bringing to market," Rick said.

 

Safari Club International Foundation Commits $75k For Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation’s Wildlife Conservation Education

Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation, a leading provider of outdoor skill, safety and conservation curriculum to schools nationwide, will receive $75,000 from Safari Club International Foundation to support OTF’s Wildlife Conservation Unit in its Outdoor Adventures program in middle and high schools nationwide.

As part of its mission to protect the freedom to hunt and promote wildlife conservation worldwide, SCI Foundation has committed $25,000 in support per year for each of the coming 3 years.

“Safari Club International Foundation plays a vital role in protecting the future of hunting and wildlife through conservation and education,” said Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation Chairman Kyle Shidler. “At OTF, we’re educating the next generation of men and women who love the outdoors and want to see it protected. SCIF’s forward-looking generosity will significantly help us educate students across the country as to the importance of wildlife conservation.”

“SCI Foundation is extremely proud to be a partner with Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation,” said President Brook Minx. “It is critical that our youth learn about modern sustainable use wildlife management and having this available in our schools across the nation is important to our mission.”

Based in Tucson, Arizona, SCIF is the leader in conducting and supporting scientific and technical studies for sustainable use wildlife conservation. They also are leaders in education on the essential role of hunting in science-based management of wildlife and habitat.

OTF’s Outdoor Adventures program is a fun, interactive course where students are taught lifelong skills using an integrated, 34-unit curriculum comprised of math, science, writing and critical thinking skills. The 290 detailed lesson plans cover angler education, archery, hunter education, boater education, orienteering, survival skills, camping, outdoor cooking, challenge courses, backpacking, mountain bike camping, paddle sports, rock climbing, shooting sports, CPR/first aid and fauna, flora and wilderness medicine. OA teachers can pick units specific to their region and local ecosystems.

Founded in 1981 in Dallas, the Outdoors Tomorrow Foundation is a public nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization. For many schools, grant money offsets the cost of the program, plus OTF offers matching funds for equipment as new schools join. The resulting classes can be taught as a P.E. course, local elective or with agricultural science and wildlife management. The Outdoor Adventures education program is offered in 980 schools in 46 states nationwide with more than 90,000 students participating each year and more than 415,000 program graduates since its inception. Each OA student spends 180 hours learning outdoor education per year. The program has totaled 16 million classroom hours of outdoor education to date.