Toxey Haas Says – Consumers are Our Bosses and the People Mossy Oak Serves
Editor’s Note: Mossy Oak Camouflage was the brain child of Toxey Haas of West Point, Mississippi. To get an overview of what Mossy Oak is, what Mossy Oak is doing, and where Mossy Oak is going, we’ve interviewed Toxey.
Question: Toxey, how long have you owned Mossy Oak?
Haas: Seems like all my life. We incorporated Mossy Oak in March, 1986. So, Mossy Oak has been in existence for about 28 years now.
Question: Toxey, tell us how Mossy Oak has changed since you first came out with the Bottomland pattern and started manufacturing Mossy Oak camouflage.
Haas: Mossy Oak is an ever-evolving company. And, you are right. It started out as a camo pattern and camo clothing company, but we have evolved into many more businesses. But the central theme of Mossy Oak never has changed. We always have been about helping people get close to nature and living a great life outdoors. Today Mossy Oak has become a symbol of the outdoor lifestyle, and the people who wear Mossy Oak are proud to say they not only go outdoors, but they are a part of the outdoors.
Question: Toxey, when you started out, Mossy Oak was about good ole boys, the basic roots of our American heritage and the outdoors. Through the evolution of the company, those principles seem to never have changed.
Haas: Our company is made up of people who just try and be themselves. I’ve always been proud of my outdoor heritage, and what I’ve learned while hunting, fishing, attempting to be a good steward of the land and trying to leave the type of hunting heritage I’ve been given by my family to others in the outdoor community. I’ve found that I don’t have to change, and Mossy Oak doesn’t have to change to pass those values on to the other people who have become a part of the Mossy Oak family. We’ve also discovered there are a lot of people who think and believe like we do. Those are the people who make up the Mossy Oak family. The strength of our company is the people we serve. We try to stay focused on what Mossy Oak people want. We’ve found our consumers lead us to the products and businesses that are now a part of Mossy Oak. I remind everyone at Mossy Oak, our licensees and the people we deal with that we all have the same boss - the consumer. Our job at Mossy Oak is to be a servant to the consumers who wear our brand, license our products and build businesses they want.
Tomorrow: Toxey Haas – Mossy Oak Wants to Be the Evangelist of the Outdoors and the Outdoor Lifestyle.
