To understand just where things stand between some fly-fishing manufacturers and the independent retail shop, all you need to do is look through your email history, and see just how hard some of those manufacturers are hitting the direct-to consumer angle.
Order now! Black Friday deals! Cyber Monday specials! 50 percent off… closeouts on reels… get a free personalized inscription on your rod… free hoodies thrown in… buy one, get one free! Dozens of emails flooding my inbox, every day.
The one that I could hardly believe encouraged me to visit my local fly shop, and support the dealer, because, after all, they are the secret sauce that makes fly fishing work. The irony… like a “go get ‘em tiger!” for the dealer. After you’ve been stomping on their toes for a week, a nice pat on the head.
Of course, some manufacturers still care about retail sales through dealers, but nobody notices because their presence is only marked by their silence.
For some of the largest brands in fly fishing, the direct sales strategy can’t be hidden anymore.
The local shop will only survive by being the teaching haven… or resupplying flies… or choking rivers with more guide trips, because they can’t make money by selling “stuff” against their suppliers.
And that’s a pretty bleak outlook for the health of fly fishing. Sorry to be the Grinch, but it is what it is.
K. Deeter
