Barnes Bullets

Shari-Lynn Fix

Huntress Spotlight
Shari-Lynn Fix

Shari-Lynn Fix of Rossi Firearms

Shari-Lynn Fix joined Rossi Firearms as national sales manager in late 2001. She immediately got to work reshaping the line to fit the then-current market. She expanded the single-shot rifle line to include hunting calibers, and created the industry-first three-barrel matched set and the Muzzleloader and MiniLoader lines.

Almost immediately, the marketing tone changed to reflect the new line and approach. One of her key initiatives was the expansion of the Matched Pair to include rimfire and centerfire and the youth size models.

As a PR/Communications/Marketing person, Shari-Lynn has proven to be an excellent creative partner in developing the Rossi look and feel. Her efforts have helped convert a once-staid company into an industry leader. This is especially evident in the Youth Models and muzzleloading rifles the company now offers.

Rossi undertook a market research project to identify the specific market for the Rossi line. The research found that the core firearms market demographic is aging and there was minimal effort in place industry-wide to bring that median market age back down to assure a steady flow of new customers.

Constrained by the misdirected litigation from the anti-gun side, Rossi started looking for ways to reach the adults who help young people enter the shooting sports. Their first opportunity was with the NRA. Aside from political activity, the NRA is best known for its training and educational programs. Shari-Lynn wanted to take advantage of the NRA Junior member program to help drive Rossi sales.

Since BrazTech International Executive Vice President Bob Morrison sits on the NRA Membership Committee, Rossi asked if it could begin offering a free Junior Membership with every new Rossi Youth Model sold. Starting in September 2003, Rossi has offered this membership, and the program has been very successful at all levels. NRA rules prohibit revealing the exact number of memberships, but Rossi is very proud to be making a significant contribution to helping the organization continue to train and educate young people in safe and responsible firearm use.

Rossi’s research also led the company to the hunting trainers. Almost unanimously, every trainer Rossi spoke with commented that there was no program at any company to support them. During an industry shoot, Shari had the idea of putting together a program that would allow trainers to purchase Rossi firearms at a special price for training, as well as providing them with targets and other materials they needed.

As an example of how quickly Shari moves once she has an idea ready to go, Rossi came to the conclusion that this program was needed in October 2003-and by the November 2003 NASGW show, targets had been printed and there was a rough idea in place of how to put the program together. The plan was shown to several key distributors, as well as to the leadership of the International Hunting Education Association. The concept was very well received, and the Rossi Youth Hunter Education Program was born.

Since the program’s formal rollout just one month ago, Rossi has received applications every day. Several state wildlife divisions have placed the information on their web sites for trainers. The 4H Club, NRA, IHEA and the Boy Scouts also support the program.

In the continuing effort to generate needed new markets, Rossi approached the Boy Scouts with the thought of participating as an official provider in the Boy Scout Jamboree. The company is just now finalizing arrangements for the 2005 Jamboree, where it expects to be the official single-shot rifle and shotgun provider.

For existing markets, Shari initiated a program with distributors to assemble ready-to-go packages including a scope, case and a Rossi rifle. The distributor ships the scope and cases to Rossi, which mounts and zeros the scope, then repackages it in the case. Once this is labeled, the firearm is ready for sale. This program, which started out very small, now occupies several hundred square feet of Rossi’s Miami facility.

Today, Rossi rifles can be found at locations ranging from Bass Pro and Wal-Mart stores to home-owned establishments like Bob’s Guns in Iowa.

Rossi’s new marketing campaign is just beginning with the launch of the new youth line ad in the October Boy’s Life Magazine. Following that, the company will be introducing new ads and themes centered around, “Rossi-One Shot.”

photos by MZ Photography

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