Teaching Your Customers to Fly: How Kitty Hawk Kites Aims to Delight & Empower Through Experience

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[Music]

with me Stephanie bearing Haley your

professional podcasting resource for

staying on Trend and connecting you to

the news that matters in the retail

world let's talk a little shop

hello and welcome to another episode of

let's talk a little shop I'm your host

Stephanie barangeli and joining me today

is Ben Salzman with Kitty Hawk kites Ben

welcome to the show ah thanks so much

for having me Stephanie but we want to

know a little bit more about you so go

ahead we want to see how did you come to

be in this role and who is Ben so yeah

I've uh been the marketing director here

for about five years

um so obviously we're located in the

Outer Banks very near Kitty Hawk we're

the Wright brothers first flew

um so I transplanted here from New York

my my wife and I decided to move down

here about five years ago okay students

a wedding cake business and I've been a

marketing professional for a while I was

actually in the architecture industry

for about 12 years

um heading out marketing departments for

a few of um the largest architecture

firms in the world

um I work for the firm that designed the

new World Trade Center for instance

um it's amazing yeah yeah no it was it's

a it was a great time I learned a lot

about architecture I always said that I

was like an architect because I had to

talk about architecture the way

Architects do but I didn't have any

specialized training

um but yeah I was we were looking for a

change uh we got married in the Outer

Banks

a few years before we we moved down here

we had been visiting for years you know

this was a place where we would vacation

with our family

um so when it was you know time to pick

a new location this just made a lot of

sense to us a very popular wedding

destination so my wife who makes wedding

cakes this was a kind of a no-brainer

place for her business

um and I was a kite flyer because when I

would vacation here I would pick up

kites at Kitty Hawk kites typically a

new one every year different kinds of

stunt kites and I just got hooked and I

met the president and CEO on the hill um

that was we call it which is uh the

dunes of jockey's Ridge there was a Kite

Festival going on we struck up a

conversation and lo and behold here I am

I have never flown a kite before and I'm

disappointed to say that I haven't done

it and my two kids have not done it so

if we ever make our way your direction

you're gonna have to teach us how to do

it because I feel like a terrible parent

for it

well it really is a fun activity

um and it's so easy to do so let's get

one in your hands as quickly as possible

no so now tell me a little bit about

Kitty Hawk kites because that's you have

a very unique you have a dual approach

because you've got the retail space but

then you also have this amazing

adventure recreational so let's dig into

the retail stores first and tell us a

little bit more about that

sure so we have 28 brick and mortar

stores okay we actually have three major

brands so we've got Kitty Hawk kites

which is kind of the umbrella brand for

everything that we do but we also have

Kitty Hawk surf company and we operate a

number of Standalone life is good shops

we're a licensed partner of theirs as

well so

um we operate actually from Maine to

Florida we we started here in the Outer

Banks but we've we've expanded into

Coastal communities on the east coast of

the US that makes sense for us

um and yeah we're like a family friendly

Vibe right you you go to the beach and

you know you're looking for a place to

grab a t-shirt grab a kite maybe a

jigsaw puzzle for a rainy day sweatshirt

for Grandma who couldn't make the trip

that's you know what Kitty Hawk Heights

is we're we're sort of a destination

shop uh when you're in a coastal

environment like the Outer Banks or like

Long Beach Island New Jersey or Virginia

Beach or the Crystal Coast

um so uh that's Kitty Hawk kites um the

surf company Vibe is much more sort of

surf apparel We Sell Hard Goods Hobie

Kayaks surfboards stand-up paddle boards

things like that

um but then really all the the surf

apparel brands that you're probably

familiar with

um and then life is good is you know the

optimistic apparel and accessories that

they sell so we've we've got a number of

those shops so that sort of makes up our

brick and mortar retail footprint

um but yes we have a recreational

business as well so uh we actually

started as a hang gliding school back in

1974. okay so our president and founder

that I mentioned his name is John Harris

he saw a picture of somebody flying a

hang glider in the Winston-Salem Journal

back in 1973 it was just you know a

photo of someone flying and he was

taken by that image blown away he was

blown away from it completely blown away

and he uh he found where he could buy a

hang hang glider you know mail order had

a chip to himself assembled it on

jockey's Ridge and with some friends

just started to learn how to fly it

and you know when he had a great flight

he thought to himself there's no way

everybody in the world wouldn't also

want to do this yeah so he started a

hang gliding School operating out of a

small garage space right across the

street from what's now jockey's Ridge

State Park starting it from the ground

up he fully ended invested it's such a

great story that he was able to take it

from that and then expand it to having

now three different divisions of the

stores plus this Recreation that's

amazing oh yeah I mean so we're actually

about to celebrate our 50th Anniversary

next year congratulations thank you so

yeah we're we're planning on some really

big celebrations for that but

um yeah I mean it was a hang gliding

school you know it was selling hang

gliders repairing hang gliders and

started selling T-shirts and that grew

to more products and then he had enough

money to build a store and in that store

we sort of grew into you know a large

we're the largest you know kite retailer

uh brick and mortar

um so it's it's just a fun business and

you know it's really a great time to be

able to connect with our customers when

they're on vacation they're just looking

to have some fun they're in great moods

which definitely helps and it's the

Testament of time for you guys to be 50

years is huge and that means you've seen

the highs the lows what do you think has

kind of helped you stay current and in

business for so long when it comes to

sort of Trends um you know we have a

robust buying Department that attends

shows like ASD and a whole bunch of

others oh you guys have been to IGS we

love you here at Emerald you guys are

great supporters we love it yeah so

definitely you know trying to identify

what are gonna be the Hot Products

because that's you know what keeps you

relevant

um but you know our mission is to Teach

the World to fly and that you know it

starts with flying kites or it starts

with your first hand gliding lesson but

it really leads to just this overall

um you know sort of vibe we have as an

organization

um to try to lift people's spirits to

create excellent customer service

um experiences for them and um I don't

know it just sort of translates to

everything we do we're we're very

optimistic organization

um and you know we're just we're here to

have a good time and to spread those

Good Vibes with our customers and those

memories I mean vacation is everything I

remember every single vacation my family

took because it was unique we couldn't

really afford a lot so when we did go

out it was amazing so in terms of these

memories and everything do you do you

use social platforms a lot or how do you

capture some of those moments we do

um okay certainly uh you know social

media is a really powerful tool to be

able to communicate with your customers

not in just a one-way Direction but yeah

sort of a two-way street which is uh you

know really important to us

um we are always asking for our

customers to share their stories with us

one thing we're going to be launching as

we lead into our 50th anniversary

celebration is a portal on our website

in order to collect those stories

because we always hear

um you know oh we've been coming here

for the past 30 years you know our dad

brought us here and now we're bringing

our kids here and we've always picked up

a kite at Kitty Hawk Heights but we

we're talking to customers like that all

the time

um because it really is I mean

it's so impactful you know that memory

when you and you're gonna feel it for

yourself when you finally get out there

and fly a kite but there's nothing quite

like when setting it into the wind it

just it brings a smile to your face

immediately so there's no way around

that

um and people remember that experience

and then they they um the Outer Banks

were very lucky it's a drive to

destination

um so people are coming from all across

the East Coast you know a lot of people

from Virginia and Pennsylvania and Ohio

and Michigan

um and they drive to the Outer Banks and

that's their yearly vacation and they do

it year after year sometimes they stay

in the same rental home year after year

um so it really becomes a tradition

we're just you know happy to be able to

be a part of that tradition for them I

love that you're doing that because you

so you're basically you're creating this

community and it's a repeat business

model right and because they have such

good feelings about it they want to come

back and then the next generation wants

to come back so I want you to keep us

posted on how the website launch goes

because that's going to be amazing what

a great way to funnel in those

experiences and those stories and

they're going to be authentic stories

which is great yeah it's going to be a

way for us to tell our story in an

interactive way

um so it'll be at kittyhawk.com which

has been our website for for as long as

we've had a website

um so yeah we're going to be able to use

it as a tool to tell that story more

effectively because a lot of really

interesting and sometimes crazy things

have happened over those 50 years

um and yeah it's a way to sort of have

an inbound communication with our

customers and you know I remember this

time we were there and you know the

hurricane was coming through so there's

um always always fun windy stories here

we got to go on the Tesla Loop which if

you haven't been on it it is so fun it

was my first time but him he got stuck

in a car with me poor guy and we were

talking about your brand and he was like

you know we're

we're trying to recruit and get people

to come

um work for us and he goes and we're

trying to get

we're getting Savvy with what people

want to go and work for you right

because recruiting right now if anyone

went to the NRF uh recently that's been

a big topic amongst all companies small

large it's not only recruiting talent

but we're training them and um making

them long time you know partners of the

company so what's going on in that world

for you

in recruiting

um it's it's you know uh we are doing

everything we can to find the right

people

um so you know as a retail and

Recreation business model

um we've got uh you know positions

throughout the organization we've got

um certainly you know store manager uh

or assistant manager key holder type

positions in in our retail environments

which is you know this front line

opportunity to actually directly connect

with those customers which as I said you

know our customers are really a lot of

fun

um but then we've got positions we're

looking for hang gliding instructors I

mean if you want to come out here and

teach people to hang glide we'd love to

have you

um we've got positions in Recreation as

well and then reservations

um we've got e-commerce positions

available which I didn't even you know

talk about we've got four e-commerce

platforms oh wow in addition to the 28

brick and mortar Stores

um and you know corporate positions you

know we're hiring throughout our

organization we're really diagnosed

Dynamic type organization I like to

think of this as the sort of Flat Line

because yeah the opportunities here are

in very it's we're not this like very

steep vertical type organization uh

we're very collaborative you know I've

seen people move from brick and mortar

into the e-commerce Department into

something you know they were really good

at organizing the warehouse and you know

maybe they're running our warehouse now

um and you know that sort of thing

happens all the time here um so you know

the dynamicism of our organization I

think is one of our strengths

um and certainly our beautiful

environment

um it really goes along that would be

very appealing yeah thing pictures

that's definitely a perk of of the trade

and I think Kevin would mentioned that I

don't know if it was part of the

internship or you're doing some kind of

program where housing is available too

right we do

um we have housing available

um so yeah we have internships uh we

have full-time positions

um one of the uh efforts that the our

president and CEO has made over the past

few years um because you know

unfortunately on a Barrier Island land

is finite right

um so you know there's

um trying to acquire as much housing as

possible so that we can house the

seasonal workers um but in addition you

know we do have some longer term housing

options available so

um you know if you bring in a manager

who'd be a perfect fit for your surf

store but they're in Kansas City

um trying to be able to react to that as

much as possible to get the right people

on our team

um so yeah that's that's definitely an

option we have here so smart when my

kids are older I will send them your way

because I'll know that they'll get to be

in the

to get some housing so it sounds

beautiful yeah all right

so just to kind of wrap everything up

one of the things that we're trying to

do with this podcast is kind of give

insight to

the value of going to trade shows like

an ASD Market week so um I don't know if

you have gone personally but like I said

we always get to see your buying team

what does it mean to go to trade shows

currently and finding that right product

and making that money like what what are

your thoughts on that from the marketing

side well if the buyers find the right

products it makes my job a lot easier

right yeah and and going to to shows and

and you know connecting with new vendors

finding new Hot Products I mean that

really goes a long way

um you know Trends are really

um you know important I mean when when

Shoppers are in your Stores

um you know having the stuff that they

want

um not just the stuff that you want to

sell is is so important

um so I I know that you know in speaking

with Kevin who by the way doesn't feel

in any way like he was trapped on that

vehicle with you uh he had a blast and I

led to this conversation right here

right it connected eyes

um but yeah I mean he's he's brought

back

um several brands that have performed

really well in our Stores

um because that was the type of product

that our customers connected with so

um you know these types of buying shows

are absolutely critical to our

operations

I love it and then just as a marketing

person what's something that you can

recommend that you're having success

with right now or something that you're

kind of having complications that you're

trying to work on improve like from that

world what what's going on in the

marketing Insight world

well sure I mean um you know economic

conditions are this constant bobbing and

weaving um and you know we are uh we're

a tourist destination uh but we're also

dealing with uh economic impacts where

people in in our feeder markets may be

experiencing different economic

conditions maybe

um accelerated economic conditions that

we're seeing so you know when they are

here in the Outer Banks we're competing

for their dollars and they can be

spending that in the restaurants uh or

they could be cooking at their vacation

home they could be hanging out on the

beach or they could be hang gliding with

us so um it's a matter of making sure

that we are presenting what we offer in

the best possible light

um explaining how it's different

explaining how it's going to really

in in the cases of hang gliding or

kiteboarding or a parasailing or a

dolphin tour

um how it can be a life-changing

experience you know in a lot of ways and

telling those good stories about people

who have you know had their lives

changed by learning how to hang glide I

mean they're um you know just to take a

moment there was

um a veteran who who learned you know it

had become a life's goal for him to

learn to hang glide

um in experiencing some challenges

um after his deployments

um and he came and he took a few lessons

with us and he got into a tandem hand

gliding lesson out at the cotton gin

which is the one where they tow you up

and then the hang glider is released and

you store down

um and you know through that process

through you know several of the you know

trips to the Outer Banks he he connected

with a new community and it really

opened up his world and it's just such a

heartwarming story about how you know

many of the things that we offer really

can be life-changing for people

um and it's not that way for everyone I

mean that's a unique story it's not by

any means

um you know a rarity because we do hear

a lot of those stories but just grabbing

a kite and going out to jockey's Ridge

and flying in at Sunset I mean that's a

family memory that you'll take with you

yeah finding new and interesting ways to

share those stories uh and to connect

the products in our stores to what would

be a successful family vacation that's

really our job as marketers well it's no

wonder you are still in business and you

continue to thrive with the three

different divisions and the e-commerce

and everything else it just it's a

feel-good experience so I am so happy

that you and I got to chat today and if

anyone wants to connect with you or your

team what's what's the best way that

they can reach out

well you can find us anytime at

kittyhawk.com uh and our handles on

every channel are at Kitty Hawk kites uh

so just you know tag us send us a

message we'd love to hear from you

perfect and then I'm gonna

I'm gonna do everything and I want to

shop I want to go hang gliding I want to

do it all

I've got a kite picked out for you

already

[Applause]

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