An e-commerce retailer based in El Dorado that sells marine electronics and accessories caught the local business community by surprise last week when it ranked highest among six Wichita-area companies on the prestigious Inc. 5000, an annual list of America's 5,000 fastest-growing, privately held companies.
With a 383% increase in revenue growth between 2017 and 2020, Russell Marine Products was No. 1,254 on the national list. And co-owner Justin Russell says that doesn't even reflect the Covid-19 pandemic's boost to the recreation and outdoor industry in the last year.
"For us in El Dorado, we kind of live in a bubble because we don't see a lot of local customers or have a lot of local interaction with entrepreneurs or business owners," said Russell, who co-owns the business with his wife, Diandra Russell. "Having that local recognition that we're here — it was nice, kind of a pat on the back for all of us."
Russell Marine Product is also in the midst an expansion that will double its square footage in El Dorado and add a boat dealership — the company's first foray into substantial brick-and-mortar retail.
"We're going to hit that on full front and see what kind of market share we can really gain by going local as well," Justin Russell said.
The Russells' entrepreneurial journey is one of the quintessential, American Dream-type stories, he added.
Russell says he's been a lifelong fisherman, and even tried to fish professionally after graduating with a degree in marketing from Wichita State University in 2007.
"I found out that was not for me, that was a hell of a rodeo," he said. "On the road a lot, just really wasn't my thing. But within that realm, I was very well known as kind of the Lowrance expert, if you will, which is one of the brand of electronics that we carry. So I would always get people asking, 'Could you help me set up my units, can you help me understand these units?'"
So he decided to become a dealer. In 2013, the Russells started the business out of their garage, and it took off from there. They added other brands to the lineup, and started to design their own product — like anchor lights, trolling motor mounts and screen protectors — with the help from an engineer friend and fellow WSU graduate, Edward Smith, who lives in Andover.
Eventually they rented a small space in El Dorado, but quickly outgrew it after about a year. Now they own a 7,000 square-foot warehouse at 805 N. Haverhill, in an industrial area on the north end of El Dorado.
Growth has been steady. Russell said customer experience and industry knowledge have been key to RMP's success.
"We want people to be able to save time and make things easier for them," he said. "The hope is that you can find fish faster, and ultimately enjoy your time out on the water more. We'd rather have people go catching versus fishing."
And opening a boat dealership was a natural extension of the sales and services RMP already offered.
Work is underway on adding 3,5000 square feet to the south end of the company's existing building for additional warehouse storage. And crews will also put up a separate, 3,000 square-foot building for mechanical and service repair for boats, engines and trailers. RMP's boat lineup will include Blazer, Skeeter, Yamaha, Mercury and Suzuki outboards.
Supply chain constrains means the expansion has been delayed by several months, but Russell said he expects to open in December or January.
When it's finished, Russell said expects people from all over the country will come to the dealership for electronic installation on their boats. In other words, we should expect to see RMP on the Inc. 5000 list for the next few years, he said.
"I think our reach is a lot bigger than just the local community as well, I think we'll see a lot of out of the Kansas City area, out of Springfield and a lot out of northern Oklahoma," Russell said.
