Consumer confidence is in the news more than usual these days, what with the economy looking like Jerry Cooney after the 10th round. Even though that term has a specific meaning in macro-economics, it led me to ponder a similar matter—brand loyalty.

Brand identity is the perception a consumer holds of a given company and its products. Consumers develop an attachment to a brand—brand loyalty—and their perception of the brand controls their buying decisions more than the actual products themselves. Some brands are enormously “strong,” meaning that they have a high degree of brand loyalty. A great example of a strong brand is Apple.

All this led me to wonder: What are the strongest brands in the shooting industry? As I analyzed that question, I realized some previously well-known brands were missing, which is equally fascinating to consider. So, with a caveat that the content you are about to view is entirely subjective, let’s ask the questions:

What are the five strongest brands in the industry? What happened to the other usual suspects?

It’s All Good With Cabela’s
A huge component of brand strength is trust, and no company in the industry has created such unquestioning faith in the quality and value of its products than the Nebraska-based mass retailer.

“If Cabela’s makes it, it has to be good,” is a comment I’ve heard in one form or another from hard-bitten Alaskan guides, African professional hunters, well-heeled doctors and working-class hunters.

Cabela’s is a company of hunters. Dick and Mary Cabela have hunted all over the world and populated many of their “destination” stores with trophies they’ve collected. Their staff is made up of hunters, anglers and shooters who field test every piece of Cabela’s branded gear.

Cabela’s is also a retailer of a huge array of products from other manufacturers, but even here you see brand strength. If for any reason a customer isn’t satisfied, the product can be returned to Cabela’s for a full refund—even if they didn’t make it.

Why is Cabela’s brand so strong? It’s because of consumer confidence based on product design (by actual users), superb customer service and excellent value for the money.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you which optics company holds my No. 2 spot of the Top 5 Strongest Outdoor Brands.