One of the biggest news items leading up to ICAST/IFTD was the very recent announcement that Hardy & Greys has been acquired by Pure Fishing. Pure Fishing owns some of the world’s leading conventional tackle brands (like Berkley, Abu Garcia, Stren, and Sebile), as well as some prominent fly-fishing names (like Pflueger, Fenwick, and Hodgman). The Hardy acquisition, however, is clearly significant—even symbolic in the context of ICAST and IFTD working together—as it marks one of the most prominent examples of a conventional tackle company strengthening its position in the fly market through the addition of some of the most iconic international fly fishing brands.
Angling Trade had reported that Hardy & Greys had been seeking a new owner for some time, and when the deal was signed, we interviewed Jim Murphy, president of Hardy & Greys for North America to learn how this move would affect the businesses of the companies—and their retailer partners—in the future. Here is what he had to say:
Murphy will remain the president of Hardy & Greys in North America, and these brands will continue to operate as independent entities. Their sales representatives will remain focused on these brands, and they “have xanax for sale no prescription every intention of keeping the Hardy & Greys focus on the independent specialty market.”
“Dealers will not see changes in terms of what they can expect from Hardy & Greys, but what Pure fishing will bring to the fore are stronger merchandising and marketing assets that will help us with a more coherent offering, as well as in-store merchandising, training, and other things that benefit retailers.”
Hardy’s design team will offer its expertise to Pure Fishing, and we’re already seeing some “crossover” thinking in Hardy’s new product lineup introduced at ICAST/IFTD, which includes SILEX spin and casting rods, which use the company’s popular SINTRIX technology. Also new for 2013-2014 is a new JET series of fly rods which retail between $449 and $549 (available in October), a “repatriated” (produced in the U.K.) Bougle reel series, and a number of other Greys-branded mid- and low-pricepoint rods. (Stay tuned for the Angling Trade printed product guide in the coming weeks for more specifics.)
Also note that Pure Fishing will also likely have a major impact on Hardy & Grey’s operations on the materials sourcing side, which could lead to greater economies and expanded availability of new products down the road.
6 Comments
My greatest fear has been realized. Goodby Hardy as I have know it.
Neville, I think you may be right. Tradition and quality will likely be sacrificed by their new masters.
The Hardy/ Grey’s partnership was good for American dealers, at least in my experience. Over the last several years, we have been able to offer a wider variety of products and introduced many new customers to the brand. It has changed with imports, etc. but the quality of the products has been high and the price to value offered ratio is consistently excellent. Innovation has also been solid with the ten foot FX2 Streamflex trout series and the Zenith series in particular. The “Made in England” pedigree has been preserved in some of the reel and rod lines. I truly hope that this component will be maintained and possibly enhanced. The history is definitely part of the brand value.
Really sorry to hear this, another high quality name to be cheapened.
The only company buying Hardy worse than Pure Fishing would be Wal Mart! But in a way that happened anyway.
Just a few of the companies owned by Pure Fishing parent company Jarden are Hardy, Greys,
Abu Garcia, Berkley, Shakespeare, Campingaz, Coleman, Fenwick, Gulp, Mitchell, Stren, Trilene. K2, Rawlings, Ball, Bee, Crawford, Diamond, First Alert, Forster, Hoyle, JavaLog, Kerr, Lehigh, Leslie-Locke, Loew- Cornell and Pine Mountain; Bionaire, Crock- Pot, FoodSaver, Harmony, Health o meter, Holmes, Mr. Coffee, Oster, Patton, Rival, Seal-a-Meal, Sunbeam, VillaWare and White Mountain; and more…
Quoted from Jarden web sit
“Jarden products can be found in America’s top retailers, such as Target, Walmart, Toys R Us, Dicks Sporting Goods, The Sports Authority, Academy, Modells, and Hibbetts to name a few”.
If the big box can buy: toasters, coffee makers, health products, home products, snowboards, camping, sports equipment, outdoor recreation, fishing, fly fishing and much more from one source that sums it up for small business.
When our fly fishing customers see the formerly known “quality brand companies” in the big box stores they will stop buying that brand for a pro shop brand (history has proved this)…
TJ,
Point well taken. If Hardy goes that way, it won’t be Hardy anymore. Big box stores don’t often offer the expert knowledge that a small shop does and it takes that knowledge to sell high end gear.
Hardy in North America is gone. As an avid Hardy collector and angler, these guys are the lamest. They will ruin this brand within a year. The service is non-existent and the management is almost blatantly self-distructive. Good luck getting parts, doing repairs and anything else customers have relied on for years. Sad, very sad.