In 2024, longtime paddlesports retailer Todd Frank, owner of Trail Head and Trail Head River Sports in Missoula, Montana, purchased inflatable canoe manufacturer SOAR Inflatables from longtime owner Larry Laba. The move abruptly saw him join the ranks of paddlesports manufacturer as well as retailer, providing a perspective few have in this industry.
Built for Retail
For Frank, the acquisition just made sense. His existing paddlesports shop, Trail Head River Sports, already employed four canoeists on staff, and he loved the product.
“We’re thrilled with the purchase,” he says. “I knew about SOAR for years and a number of friends swore by them.” Frank was excited to take over a 30-year-old legacy brand of inflatable canoes for whitewater.
“While I wasn’t looking to expand, it was a fantastic fit,” he says.
The move also quickly thrust him into the role of paddlesport manufacturer, a far cry from his familiar role of specialty retailer.
“Retail I know and understand,” he says. “But being a manufacturer is new to me and the nuance of that is quite different. Both have similarities, but demand planning on the manufacturing end is far, far more important. That part in retail has a degree of insulation; we can and do cancel orders. But that doesn’t work well as a manufacturer.”
Finding his first retailer was easy: his own Trail Head River Sports, which he opened in 2019 in a 12,000-square-foot building a mile and a half from his main Trail Head outdoor store, which has carried paddlesports for 50 years. He has since grown his distribution to include three more retailers by showcasing the boats at the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance trade show and is working to develop a tight group of retailers to bring SOAR to another layer of core boaters.
“SOAR owners are a tight-knit group that love the brand, but no one has ever seen one in a store and there’s been little opportunity for third-party validation of how awesome they are,” he says.
While he admits that retail is “a magnitude more challenging,” manufacturing has its own challenges that have required some adjustment. “Honestly, as a tiny manufacturer, I spend far more time managing the day-to-day of retail. The timelines are pretty long on manufacturing and it has some crunch times, but generally it’s easier—especially at my size.”
Frank has learned a few things from retail that he brings to the manufacturer table as well. “Be consistent, be fair, and understand that it’s boots-on-the-ground retail that builds brands. Nothing else works as well or as cost-effectively,” he says.
“As a brand, it is a different challenge, and the fun is in learning.”
As for direct-to-consumer sales while wearing each hat, he says that’s simple. “If you want retailers to support your brand, think like a retailer,” he says. “Never discount your products online, or if you do, offer the same or a larger discount to the retailers for fill-in or preseason.” That, and always charge the same shipping to DTC customers as you do to retailers.
“If a consumer buys a boat from one of the few markets we’re in, ask them to buy it from the retailer,” he says. “If you ship it directly to them, give the shop the margin as a credit on their account. It’s easy at our size, but it’s scalable to a point.”
“If you’re one of the big ones or even a medium-sized brand, are you doing the end consumer justice by taking that sale DTC if you have a stocking dealer in the market? I see ‘good’ big vendors giving consumers the options that suit them best: One, buy from the site. Two, buy from another online retailer. Three, try saying, ‘Did you know that your local retailer is 4.2 miles from your house and has this product in stock?’”
This might add more steps, he says, but it also adds more value. “As a vendor, I may need to sell it two times—once to the retailer and again to the end consumer who visits our site,” he says. “Then we tell them they can look at it in person and save shipping in most instances. It’s just not that hard to support local retail. But we got here by brands thinking they didn’t need retailers to build the activity, support the local community, and build the brand equity they’re burning in the dumpster out back with DTC discounting.”
“It’s stupid simple,” he says. “Owning a brand has made me even more entrenched in the value of retailers. I am a retailer at heart, and even with SOAR, the magic happens with the end consumer.”
This article was first published in the 2025 issue of Paddling Business. Longtime retailer Todd Frank in Missoula, Montana. | Feature photo: Courtesy Todd Frank
