I’m one of those odd people that happens to like attending trade shows. Whether it’s SHOT Show, which everybody in the firearms industry attends, the NRA Show, a much smaller version of SHOT, or any of the smaller, more narrowly focused trade shows, each is an opportunity to find – and learn – something new.

Trade shows all start off the day in exactly the same fashion, with exhibitors prepping their booth before the buyers hit the floor. The Outdoor Nation Unlimited booth was no exception as staff steam the wrinkles out of clothes. Photo by P. Erhardt

Most people probably walk the aisles of trade shows to gawk at gear. To pick something up in their hands to get a feel for it, maybe ask a technical question, before making a final decision about whether or not to purchase said product.

But trade shows are, theoretically, for actual retail buyers. These are the men and women who hold the purse strings for their respective retail operations and it’s their job to find the right products, at the right price, that will not only appeal to their consumers but also improve their bottom line.

Of course, there used to be a great deal of business done at trade shows. Now however, much of the business is done before or after the actual trade show itself. The weekend before last I visited the Mid-States Rendezvous held in downtown Phoenix at the Convention Center.

This was my first time attending the show which caters to the Farm, Ranch and Home segment of retailers. Mid-States has only 31 member retailers. Which seemed a really, really small number of businesses until it was explained to me that those 31 companies own over 700 stores located across 31 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces.

The Mid-States show is a selling show and Gary Ramey of Liberty Ammunition, perhaps the hardest working man on the show floor, was constantly holding court in the aisle when member retailers came by his booth. Photo by P. Erhardt

And their buying power is not to be dismissed. More importantly, though, is the fact that this is one segment in the retail world that has seen growth. While pandemic restrictions hammered businesses all across the country, the Farm, Ranch and Home segment remained open for business. And not only were they open but they saw an influx of new customers that fled the large cities and urban areas.

These urban dwellers turned rural telecommuters discovered that the Farm, Ranch and Home retails didn’t just sell food or clothing. They sold everything. And you could see that on the floor of the Mid-States Rendezvous.

Sure, there were the firearms industry companies, all grouped into their section of the show floor, many in small 10’x10’ or 10’x20’ booths. And these were the companies I was there to see.

Mission First Tactical’s new Achro line of packs (above) is what brought me to downtown Phoenix. I had only seen photos and was one of those people that needs to put my hands on the product to better understand it. I also hit the EAA booth to look at their tip-up barrel pistols from Girsan when EAA President Keith Bernkrant showed me his newest pistol, the Liberador (below), with a design aesthetic targeting the Hispanic/Latino gun buyer. As Keith pointed out, at 19% of the population there’s a reason Modelo Especial became the top selling beer in America, and EAA isn’t going to get caught sleeping on that market. Photos by P. Erhardt

But walking from one aisle to the next took me from firearms to fishing to tools to pet products to groceries to equine products. It had that old school general store feel, and I was there for it.

I turned the corner from one aisle to the next and was suddenly a little kid again. I don’t know about you, but I loved those small plastic molded animal figurines. I wanted literally all of them, but my parents had other thoughts. Honestly, I didn’t know they still existed, but thankfully they do.

Made by Schleich, these animals were a part of my early childhood. How I managed to walk away without asking for a free sample I will never know. Photo by P. Erhardt

The best part, for me, about a show like this, with its small number of buying agents, is that you get a great opportunity to talk to the exhibitors about their products, the market and their business.

One of those conversations took place at the Red River Commodities booth where they had chicken feed and wild bird seed displayed. For some, having a chicken coop and a couple hens is not so unusual, and it is getting more and more common in urban areas as laws have changed to allow coops.

The home owner as chicken farmer trend is larger than you might imagine. Even here in the Phoenix Valley a number of people raise chickens, often producing more eggs than their family can consume. And they also help boost the market for chicken feed and chicken coops, both of which were on display at the show. Photos by P. Erhardt

The number of chicks produced each year has grown and grown, and so has the market supporting those who are producing their own eggs. It’s so popular that the Los Angeles Times had a September 2019 story about designer chicken coops. The pandemic, and the growing need to rely on oneself, likely had a significant impact on expanding that segment within the Farm, Ranch and Home category.

The grocery aisles of the show were particularly interesting, with numerous brands you might not be as familiar with. One might consider them off brands but the truth is likely they are simply strong brands within a narrower niche market we’re not as familiar with.

You may not find Jarritos to be a top-of-mind soda choice, but here in Arizona you can’t walk into the local taco joint without seeing a fridge backed with Jarritos. A brand I was unfamiliar with is Lola’s Fine Hot Sauce. After speaking with their sales rep, Joanna Keaton, and sampling a couple of their hot sauces, this might be my new favorite go-to hot sauce. Photos by P. Erhardt

The grocery aisles showed why the Farm, Ranch and Home segment became so popular as a one-stop shopping experience during the pandemic. Besides soda and hot sauce, there was dishwashing detergent, snacks aplenty, and enough candy options to keep the local dentist particularly happy.

The floor at the Mid-States Rendezvous was larger than I expected, and I didn’t even hit every aisle. What surprised me though was turning a corner and seeing large displays from major tool brands DeWalt, Milwaukee and Stihl. These were the biggest booths on the show floor, which made sense when you realize they had to make room to display for a couple 35-ton log splitters.

I learned a lot more about the Farm, Ranch and Home retailer during my too short visit to the Mid-States show. I wish I had been more familiar with this group before finding out the show was right down the road from me. It would have been great to sit down with one of the store group buyers to pick their brain on where they see the market going, and how that impacts their approach to new product selection. Unfortunately this was all new to me.

But, there’s always next year when the Fall Rendezvous returns to Phoenix.

– Paul Erhardt, Managing Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network