Tackle Trade World - February 2024

Z-MAN FISHING LURES
MORE TALENT TO TEAM
Responding to continued
growth and dynamic product
development, lure and terminal
tackle brand Z-Man has added
two positions to its roster of
talent.
Back in July, six-year Z-Man
veteran and previous sales
manager Ryan Harder was
promoted to the company’s
newly created brand manager
position. A lifelong angler with
decades of experience in fishing
retail and sales, Ryan assumed
a critical role, bridging the gap
between product development,
marketing and sales teams.
Filling his vacant sales
manager position is Brandon
McKellar, who has joined the
Z-Man staff at its home office in
Ladson, South Carolina. He will
work directly with national sales
manager Glenn Young.
“Ryan has been a huge help to
me over the years,” said Glenn,
who has guided Z-Man’s sales
team since 2009.
“So, we feel really fortunate
to have found Brandon to step
in and contribute immediately.
Brandon’s professional,
outgoing, easy-going nature is
already proving to be a great
fit for our team. Like everyone
here at Z-Man, he’s a diehard
angler. Beyond that, his diverse
background will serve him well
while running a sales territory.”
Brandon, a native of rural
South Carolina, added: “All
those years, I lived 10 minutes
down the road from the
lake where the ChatterBait
rose from a local legend to
a worldwide fish-catching
sensation. Pretty cool how
things have come full circle,
placing me with the same
great company who continues
creating new, fish-catching
ChatterBaits to this day.”
Among his many
responsibilities as sales manager,
Brandon will serve as first
point of contact for Z-Man’s
six sales rep groups in the US
and Canada as well as its major
distributors. In addition, he’ll
provide sales and promotional
support at annual tradeshows
and sportfishing conventions.
Brandon McKellar
Costa outlines protection
work in key report
Marking its 40th anniversary year, USbased
eyewear brand Costa Sunglasses has
released a comprehensive report into its
ongoing commitment to conservation and
sustainability.
Its second edition Protect Report
captures the brand’s work during 2021
and 2022, along its community of anglers,
adventure seekers, partners, retailers and
pros, to protect waterways and to conserve
the life within.
From building responsibly made gear, to
its Kick Plastic and OneCoast initiatives
and strong partnerships with missionaligned
conservation organisations, Costa
continues to lead the charge in pursuit of its
higher calling.
Alongside these, the report also
highlights purpose-built products like the
Untangled Collection, made from recycled
fishing nets, integrated programs such as
Trout Unlimited Costa 5 Rivers program
and Costa Compete + Conserve in the bass
space.
There are also details of international
work like the Marlin Fly Project,
mission-aligned conservation partners,
as Costa supports more than 40 coastal
and freshwater organisations as well as
showcasing how it has met all 17 United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Costa brand director Jed Larkin
explained: “We recognise the important
role businesses can play in protecting and
preserving our natural resources for future
generations, and we take that responsibility
to heart.
“We pride ourselves on working just as
hard to protect our watery world as we do
to discover new ways to experience it, and
much like the first edition, this report takes
that work and puts it into writing.”
www.costadelmar.com
14 www.tackletradeworld.com