Check out this article that was written on Cooper

Check out this article that was written on Cooper Holdings, and pay attention to the highlighted areas, this just reinforces what all of us Longs have been saying!!

Company Profile:
www.cooperhunting.com

Cooper Holding Corp, located in Cottage Grove TN, focuses on the development and acquisition of companies that conduct business in the hunting and outdoor recreation industries. Our wholly owned subsidiary Cooper Hunting Industries, Inc. is currently our main asset and offers a diverse product line including hunting blinds, cover scents, archery equipment, lures, attractants and hunting apparel. Our sales and marketing strategy includes distributors that market the company's products nationwide and over 350 individually owned retail outlets. We also provide E-commerce operations at www.cooperhunting.com for those who prefer to shop online.

Daniel E. Cooper
Chairman and CEO
Daniel Earl Cooper holds s a degree in Business Finance and has held numerous positions in commerce management over the last twenty years. Mr. Cooper began his career in residential and commercial real estate development in 1996 when he earned his contractor’s license in the State of Florida where he successfully managed his own construction firm for an additional eight years. 

Deciding it was time for a career change Mr. Cooper and his family moved to Southern Georgia where he served as a consultant for several municipalities in the South East District. The experience gained while conducting in depth project analysis, understanding and enforcing stringent Federal Regulations, providing analytical budget development and oversight, and providing detailed written reports to the local governments have proven to be invaluable since assuming the top position at his first publicly traded company. 

In 2004, Daniel’s entrepreneurial spirit lead to the invention of the unique and highly successful hunting accessory called the Chameleon Blind. This blind exploded onto the market and in 2006 Daniel put together a team of highly qualified associates and formed what is known today as Cooper Holding Corp.

Interview conducted by: Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor, CEOCFO Magazine, Published – June 25, 2012

CEOCFO: Mr. Cooper, would you describe Cooper for us please?

Mr. Cooper: Cooper Holding is a publicly traded company with over 450 shareholders. Our primary focus is in the outdoor industry however, we are always looking for the right opportunity to expand our corporate footprint. Our wholly owned subsidiary Cooper Hunting Industries, Inc focuses on the development of new and innovative products that make the hunting experience safe, successful, and as enjoyable as possible.

CEOCFO: Could you give us a sense of the variety of products available in the hunting industry?

Mr. Cooper: The hunting industry generates $27 billion a year primarily through the sale of guns, ammunition, and accessories. Cooper Hunting's primary focus is in the accessory market, which accounts for a large portion of the industry's sales revenue. We manufacture several types of hunting blinds and distribute various unique accessories such as Ghillie suits, facemasks, mineral supplements, flashlights and much more.

The uniqueness of our patented hunting blinds is such that we have zero competition. Our flagship product, The Chameleon Blind, is a multipurpose product designed to provide concealment in the tree over any pre-manufactured trees stand or on the ground. Traditional blinds produced by our competitors are for ground use only and leave elevated hunters fully exposed.

We have also started distributing an innovative solution to help the hunter conceal themselves in the field. Avoiding detection has always been a priority of avid hunters and the makers of the “Pure Wash System” have met this challenge by developing an environmentally friendly unit that provides a sent free wash and eliminates odors from clothing. Hospitals, prisons, and laundry services have used this technology for decades spending tens of thousands of dollars on ozone equipment. The manufacturers have successfully taken this industrial technology and developed a unit designed for residential applications. The Pure Wash attaches directly to the washing machine’s water supply and does not require hot water, detergent, bleach, or fabric softeners. The appliance dissolves additional oxygen molecules and negatively charges ions into the water without the use of chemicals. The Pure Wash is a smart choice economically, saving the average family $50 per month by eliminating the purchasing of expensive chemicals and hot water. It is also perfect for those that are sensitive to laundry detergents. We originally started to carry this item with the sportsman in mind but quickly realized the market was much broader than expected. Our sales and marketing team are conducting detailed market analysis to determine the feasibility of adding additional products that appeal to our new customer base.

CEOCFO: Regarding the products that you are doing that are different, how did you decide to develop them? Was there a need, or did you see beyond what was being done?

Mr. Cooper: The Chameleon Blind was definitely developed for a personal need. Once my son became of age I began taking him hunting in Georgia so we could spend some quality time together. We spent many days out in the tree stand getting wet and being busted by the deer because he could not sit still. I looked on the internet trying to find a product to use on my tree stand that would keep us dry, and concealed from the deer, but there were none. Since I hunted from multiple types of tree stands, it had to be something universal as well. The development of the Chameleon Blind was the result of my efforts. Other hunters liked the uniqueness and versatility the blind offered and they wanted one for themselves. I took advantage of the opportunity and applied for a patent. We started producing and selling them to a few individuals at first and it just grew from there. We are a company founded on honesty and integrity and we care for our customers.

CEOCFO: Do people purchase in your industry by name? Is branding important for Cooper or is it really product by product?

Mr. Cooper: Brand recognition is important in any industry and it is very important to me as well. I want Cooper to be a household name. I also want Cooper name to be associated with quality and customer satisfaction. We bend over backwards to satisfy our customers, and our repeat customers are there because of this philosophy. We give a 100% money back guarantee on all of our products. Although they carry a one-year manufacturer warrantee, we have continued to warrantee our blinds as far as four or five years down the road if it is a manufacture defect. Consumers are smart and as long as we stick to our core values and provide a quality product that is affordable, durable, and exceeds expectations brand recognition will follow.

CEOCFO: How do you maintain a high level of customer service as far as having your people speak appropriately with your customers and maintain that relationship?

Mr. Cooper: We are very personable with our customers. Every employee receives customer service training and I demand that every customer be treated with respect and patience. If they’ve spent their money on our product we have the responsibility to ensure that they are satisfied with the purchase. Thankfully, we have a very high satisfaction rate and receive very few complaints. Product returns are less than 1/10 of 1% and I would say that's a terrific track record. Word of mouth is very important in this business so it is paramount to ensure every customer is 100% satisfied with their purchase and their interaction with our personnel.

Facebook has also played a big role in our customer service. We monitor that daily and occasionally we will get somebody that has a complaint or an issue. We will get their contact information, call them and resolve any issue they have or we will give them their money back.

CEOCFO: Are your products carried in all the locations you would like them to be? How do you get more product to more people?
Mr. Cooper: We are continually adding new buying groups, distributors, and dealers but still have some work to do. Of course, it would be a significant achievement to have our products in some of the larger chains like Bass Pro, Cabela’s and Gander Mountain and we are working diligently to make that happen. We have a great sales and marketing team and I'm sure they'll find a way to make it happen. Our folks work hard and the recent addition of Dunham’s Sports to our list of retailers is a direct reflection on our team's commitment to future growth. Dunham’s recently placed a large stocking order with us and as we continue to add major accounts it really is an eye-opener for buyers from other big box stores.

CEOCFO: You mentioned developing new products. What is in the works?

Mr. Cooper : We have a new product called the Big Tom that we hope to launch very soon. A unique turkey blind can be deployed in three different hunting position and offers excellent field of fire through any of the five windows. You can easily hunt two hunters in it, one to call the Turkey in and one to shoot. It comes in a carry bag, it is very light-weight and you can put it up or take it down in seconds. When turkey hunting, you do something called ‘runnin and gunnin’ which is when you hear a turkey gobble, you pick up your blind and take off runnin’. You get ahead of him, set up your decoys, set up your blind, and then you start calling. To do that, you have to be able to pack up and move quickly and this product is ideal for that. There have been other blinds out there for this purpose but none of this size and/or design. The Big Tom has windows so you can shoot from both a sitting and/or prone position or you can hunt over the top if you choose to. It also has storage pockets inside for calls and such.

CEOCFO: What is the financial picture like for Cooper Holding today?

Mr. Cooper: Pretty good. We’ve picked up several new dealers and our customer base is growing. Ninety percent of that growth is coming through individually owned and operated retail locations, the mom and pops stores across the country. We are up around 300-plus locations now and our first quarter growth this year over last year is substantial. Our second quarter looks even better and as we finish up in December, it appears we will have a record sales year.

CEOCFO: How do you reach potential stores to handle your products? Is it through distributors or do you speak with people directly?

Mr. Cooper: We do a bit of both. We attend several trade shows each year and sell direct to the dealers. The benefit is that we can talk directly to the dealers who are receiving feedback from their customers. We can then use this feedback to make improvements to our products. We are in several of the major distributors across the country such as Ellet Brothers, number-one in the country, Ferris Brothers, Big Rock Sports, Sports Inc. and Hicks. We also attend several buying group shows such as NBS. A major portion of our business development and growth plan involves our partnership with the Don Coffee Company. They are a manufacture’s rep group that maintains a sales representative to dealer relationship with thousands of brick and mortar locations across 42 states.

CEOCFO: Is the internet or ecommerce a growing area for you, or do people in your industry tend to go into the stores more?

Mr. Cooper: Ecommerce is a fantastic tool for companies to generate cash flow.  I’m very proud of our newly developed sight and the team we have managing it. We have recently begun planning a customer rewards program for our web store. We want to reward our customers for shopping with us. I believe this is going to increase site traffic as well as increase revenues. People will also begin to notice, in the upcoming months, that our product line is increase by several new products each week.

With regard to proprietary products, we are actually trying to drive our customers to the brick and mortar locations. We do not like to compete with our clients. However, we do sell proprietary products on our Ecommerce site but the pricing is slightly higher than the retail locations.

CEOCFO: Why should investors pay attention to Cooper Holding today?

Mr. Cooper: The potential for an outstanding return on investment is the first thing that comes to mind. We are in an industry that continues to flourish on one of the worst economic recessions in the last 20 years. The growth we've experienced over the past six months has been phenomenal and I see no reason for it to slow. We have updated our business plan in anticipation of additional revenue streams outside of our current and late stage developmental products. Our distribution channels are widening and we are starting to see dividends from our e-commerce efforts. Most importantly, I think that the management team we've put together here at Cooper holding understands what it takes to be successful. I am extremely fortunate to have skilled professionals who are knowledgeable in manufacturing, marketing, sales, accounting and they actually care about the future of this company. I've talked a lot about our products, our growth, and our management team and we are on the right track. The one thing I haven't mentioned are the shareholders and how important they are to the success of this company. I mentioned that we have updated our business plan and investor relations was one area that we spent considerable time addressing. We need to concentrate on growing a stable investor base and bringing sustainable value to our shareholders. This is something that we are taking very seriously and is high on our priority list.

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Keep it Positive, Moving North, LONG & STRONG!! Go COHO!!

BWD