Southwick Associates Honored for Groundbreaking Research
For Immediate Release:Â June 9, 2011
FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — Research organization Southwick Associates was honored this week by the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) for their groundbreaking research that has helped government agencies, businesses and organizations better understand and serve the needs and habits of people who enjoy the outdoors. The presentation was made by Jim Curcuruto, NSSF’s Director of Industry Research, during the organization’s annual Shooting Sports Summit. This year the event was held in Louisville, Ky., June 8-9.
The NSSF is the trade association for the firearms and ammunition industry and the Summit was an opportunity for leaders of the industry and conservation fields to discuss issues that affect the future of hunting and recreational shooting. This year a key topic of discussion revolved around the findings of a new joint research project by Southwick Associates and Responsive Management. The project focused on the activities that compete with hunting and target shooting.
“The awards are well deserved. NSSF research would not be where it is today without them,” said Curcuruto, in presenting the two businesses with hand-carved walnut wildlife statues.
Accepting the award on behalf of Southwick Associates was company founder and owner, Rob Southwick. Southwick founded the company in 1990 and for the past 21 years has been the leader in evaluating the economics, statistics and market evaluations for the hunting, angling and shooting sports industries. Southwick Associates has a long and distinguished history of conducting groundbreaking research on behalf of most of the state wildlife agencies and industry associations to help them understand outdoor enthusiasts and create programs that better serve the public. Their work has directly led to agencies improving their license structures and pricing. The firm has also worked extensively with private businesses involved in the outdoor industry to help them better understand their markets and help improve products and services for their consumers.
“Helping develop the NSSF’s trade statistics program has been professionally rewarding and fun,” said Southwick in receiving the honor. “The NSSF has provided us the support needed to develop new research tools that help companies boost profits and increase hunting and shooting sports participation. We are sincerely grateful to the NSSF for its recognition and for the opportunity to serve the industry.”
Key projects that Southwick Associates has conducted in conjunction with NSSF have included developing the first index of hunting license sales, tracking shooting range activities and trends, generating the first estimates of lifetime expenditures expected from new hunters and target shooters and conducting the first ever annual survey of firearms retailers to identify trends. Last year, the company conducted a groundbreaking study that identified hunter churn rates and described their lifestyles. NSSF expects the findings to help guide recruitment and retention efforts for many years to come.
About Southwick Associates: Southwick Associates was founded in 1989 to serve state fish and wildlife agencies, as well as the sportfishing and hunting industries. We specialize in economic and business statistics related to fish and wildlife. Our expertise includes measuring retail expenditures by anglers, hunters, wildlife viewers and other outdoor recreationists; quantifying the jobs, tax revenues and other economic impacts of outdoor recreation; tracking trends within outdoor industries as well as identifying major distribution channels and the overall structure of specific outdoor-related industries; and analyzing the value of fish and wildlife resources and their uses including land transactions, new business ventures, fish kills and more.