Fly Shop inventory
- This topic has 32 replies, 15 voices, and was last updated Dec 3, 2009 at 2:41 am by
.
-
Posts
-
Zach — thanks for the interesting post. That is an excellent way to categorize the high-profile fly shops. Do you have a sense for how sales split between on-site and on-line at the destination and big-city shops?
Also, is there an easily accessible source for a list of the top fly shops by sales?
Dan,
While we are not blessed with an abundance of fly shops here in Kansas, we do have a few. Most, unfortunately, are not of the Mom and Pop variety, but there are not NONE.
Yager’s Fly Shop in Lawrence is a great shop. Small, but very friendly and helpful. In addition to the brick and mortar shop Ronn and Donna have a vibrant on-line store http://www.yagersflies.com. Ronn will order what you need if they don’t have it on hand.
I grew up in a family business 😉 know all about the inventory. I was looking for a certain spey line, running line and backing for my reel. (stocks the brand) The other item I was looking for was a Simms ExStream hat. Shop carries a large and varied inventory, a great shop and I’ve been in more than I care to own up to in my travels. Large Simms stocking dealer.
I was there this past week, got the same answer, ordered online, be here first of the week.
As KB say’s, small shops may head into extinction in the next few years but if you look at a lot of these shops they are not typical retail locations my shop is located in a family owned Barbershop that my dad started over 35 years ago I know of another shop that is located in a small town pharmacy and yet another large materials dealer who’s very extensive materials operation is located in his house locations like this have an advantage of having little or no fixed overhead expences. Many Fly Shop owners are drawn into the business because a hobby got out of hand or because of a local niche that needed to be filled. To the credit of much of the fly fishing industry they will take a chance on a small time operation as long as you can meet some basic requirements and show some growth over time.
MSI started fly fishing and fly tying while in St. Louis, and so developed a relationship with Feather-Craft.
Contact the place that makes it in Michigan City, IN. They call it Glissen Gloss and it is made by Source Marketing.
Interesting read.
I’ve worked in shops over the years and customer service was always a big part of keeping folks loyal coming back in. There were times when I would make a special order only to find out that I was backordered from my supplier and would either try to find another shop in the area that had the item or would tell my customer that if they needed it quickly they might do better to go somewhere else. You hate to turn away a customer for a ring up, but it is even worse to loose a customer because of bad service.
I was sometimes hard to explain to folks that even though they could find the item from an online retailer, the wholesaler does try to keep their stocks at a managable level and do sometimes run out, making it hard for retailers to resupply.
David,
I have to admit that I don’t blame you for ordering online. The shop could have ordered that stuff for you no problem. To bad for them that they lost some business because of not being on top of their game.
-Mike
I don’t feel bad if I go in a shop, they don’t have what I am looking for and order it online, but I ask for this stuff, many times over. The owner is a great guy, we go back near 25 years, but it is Spey times in Tennessee 😉 (generation) and cold weather is upon us. I could lived without the hat, have been wearing a Columbia Yazoo hat for 20+ years, but wanted a hat to keep in the dry bag, clean and ready at a moments notice.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.