Go Back to www.IndependentRetailer.com COVER STORY 2011 Business


Leaders Forecast continued from page 103


visit to the company’s site at WholesaleImport.com shows a variety of offerings, from jewelry to hair accessories to sunglasses to beauty supplies and more. “We specialize in the dozen packs of jewelry, and hair accessories are always strong for us as well,” McMillin says. Being in such a healthy po-


sition as the New Year begins, McMillin was asked his opin- ion on whether he thinks the recession is really over, as some analysts report. “I think the media talks too much about everything. Everything is blown out of propor-


tion,” he says. “The recession is a ‘causal thing,’ which was blown out of proportion as well. If you tell people enough that things are bad, then they get bad. A lot of how fast the economy comes back depends on peoples’ confi dence in things,” he concludes. Confi dence is one thing they


have plenty of at SelfDefenseSup- ply.com, a 20 year-old company that started out as a small retailer, and has now grown into one of the largest defense wholesalers on the web. One of the keys to the company’s success, and why it has held its own while others fell to the wayside, is its humble beginnings. “We try to focus on the people like we were when we started out, so folks can get a


little of everything without a huge minimum order,” says operations manager, Randy Ellington. “We sell to everyone, including mom and pops, brick and mortars, fl ea markets and small independent retailers.” SDS has done well by diversifying, carrying a big line of products so visitors to the site always end up buying something. “We import a lot of our own mer- chandise, and we’re also resellers for most of the big name brand knives,” Ellington says. “That includes Kershaw, Spyderco, Ger- ber, Ka-Bar and more.” Actually, the company is


somewhat benefi ting from the uncertainty in the economy. “One of our best sellers right now is a


continued on page 105


104 January 2011


is Now INDEPENDENTRETAILER


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120