Trika Hires First VP of Sales to Lead Effort in Move to Wholesale Sales

Trika, a manufacturer of fishing rods and reels, has hired David Bakken as the company’s first VP of Sales. Bakken is expected to lead the company’s launch into the retail market.

Founded in 2018, Trika reports that the company’s growth has steadily increased year-over-year through product innovation and an aggressive direct-to-consumer (DTC) strategy. Continuing its momentum in the fishing space, Bakken will oversee the company’s entry into the wholesale market.

“As a lifelong angler and seasoned veteran in the hook and bullet world, Bakken brings invaluable experience to Trika as it enters its next phase of growth. The partnership is also strengthened by over a decade of working relationships between Bakken and the Trika team,” the company said in a media release.

Bakken served as the national accounts manager at Field Logic from 2013 to 2015 before moving to the national accounts manager position at Feradyne Outdoors in 2015. He was the sales manager at Ravin Crossbows during the brand’s growth period from 2016 to 2018. He was promoted to director of Sales at Ravin in 2018 after the company’s $94 million acquisition by Velocity Outdoors. In 2020, he was promoted to the VP of Sales at Ravin and held that role until his transition to Trika this year.

While Trika said it will continue a strong DTC operation, Bakken suggested that a retail program has always been part of the brand’s strategy and will utilize the company’s “longstanding relationships in the outdoor recreation industry to make Trika’s entry into retail highly successful.”

“We are fortunate to have great relationships with people across the retail world through our extensive experience in the fishing and hunting space,” Bakken explained. “With the Trika brand and product line thriving, we can now easily pick up the phone and grow those relationships with Trika. We understand that these industries are big, but it’s also a small world in terms of people. Those relationships are incredibly important to us. Taking care of our customers so that they can take care of their customers is our mentality.”

Bakken added that his focus will be on building and maintaining relationships that grow from Trika’s innovations, which extend to retail partners, customers, and customer relationships in the fishing and outdoors industries.

Image courtesy Trika