powfly

I think Jerry is barking up the wrong tree although in the process he most definitely highlights some good points and eye opening stats. It’s a worthwhile read for sure. I thought I’d get this off my chest….

By now a lot of folks have read the drama between The Trout Shop in Craig, MT and Simms, their now ex vendor next door. In short Jerry’s lamenting blog posts against Simms selling to box stores and his shift in inventory to Cloudveil (uhhhh?) got him cut off from Simms altogether.

While I agree with many of Jerry’s points regarding the specialty fly fishing shop being integral in the advancement of the sport, I have wonder how much damage the big box stores are doing compared to other areas.

My perspective comes from working in specialty shops and for distributors/manufacturers from the age of 16 until the present. I’ve dealt with everyone from the mom and pop gas station/bait shop to the Cabelas and Bass Pro’s of the world. Currently it looks as if shortly I will be the owner/operator of my own specialty store. My question is this, how much negative effect do the large box stores have on the independent fly shops?

Obviously places like the old Reno fly shop that had a plethora of box chains open up in their back yard are going to get hurt hard. But for the average person, who doesn’t have that, are they really that bad?

I for one think that our customer base splits between loyal fly shop customers and those who enjoy the Disneyland aura of doing business with those operations, and would rather not have to deal with a fly shop due to ego, antisocialism, or whatever. In between we’ve seen a huge wave a value shoppers, who as a friend says, “Shop everything to the penny.” Their business can literally be bought and sold by whoever has the best price, no matter how miniscule the difference. We’re all guilty of it in some facet or another so I can’t pass judgment.

The thing about the box stores is they play by the rules. I never have to worry about them discounting or running back door deals. I’ve never heard a fly shop customer say “I was going to buy that Sage ONE here but I opted for Cabela’s.” The box stores service those who wouldn’t be caught dead in my store. In turn this helps the manufacturers grow their market share beyond just the specialty stores and be healthier overall. I once had a small company complain about a $30 invoice for a warranty that slipped through the cracks and was a few days late. They justified their aggressive techniques by taking the easy way out and blaming the box stores, it went like this:

“We don’t (can’t?) sell to Cabelas like Sage so we have to keep things managed a lot closer.”

To which I responded “I wish you would so you’d gross more and would have more wiggle room.”

I was pretty astounded with their response of “We’d really like to but then our sales would increase and we’d have to work a lot more hours and a lot harder.”

Akward silence ensued…

A few days ago I was having a conversation with an industry big wig and he closed as he always dose by legitimately asking me to let him know if there’s ever anything he can do to help. I now have a request. I could care less who you sell to, be it the box store or Joe’s bait box, just be sure to enforce the integrity of the price and product.

With the sales tax war in full effect just about everyone in my territory is discounting the tax. I use the word discount because that is what it is. Sales tax is still paid on that sale just at the discounted price, plain and simple. This alone isn’t enough to really ruffle my feathers but combined with free fly lines, discounts for fly club members, and everything else I have to wonder how the industry can sustain this? The dealers are only weakening their own bottom lines by whoring out sales from dealers legitimately playing by the rules. Less margin = more difficult to pay their bills which isn’t good for them or the manufacturers trying to collect. I was pretty astounded when the aforementioned dealer who didn’t want to seem to work more hours was getting paid consistently 5 months past due by their featured dealer in my territory….Good Grief!

My point is this, a lot of former specialty dealers are selling online, using freight forwarding, and even selling (flooding the market with) their own private label. My request is this, amp up the wrist slapping. Keep people in check and keep pricing and incentives as consistent as possible across the spectrum and everyone’s lives will be easier. We’re all guilty of playing the price games and often are forced to match incentives, but it’s never with the box stores.

In the mean time one of my favorite specialty mountaineering stores, The 5^th Season, puts it like this; “We will honor suggested retail and will not discount unless it’s year-end or a one of a kind item. We will not sell product that is grey market or does not have a warranty. Our prices are very fair, and allow us to exist, offer exceptional service and be here year after year to help you in the future.” I think that’s a pretty good philosophy for the specialty shop to adopt and embrace.

So Heather and I had the crazy Idea to go some place off the wall for her spring break. Both of us being closet science nerds, we opted for Death Valley on a whim. It was a bit of a bucket list type place for me that I never really thought I’d get to in my life, but a little push in the right direction and off we went. We drove down 395 which is worth it alone for the breathtaking views of the Sierra. The further South you get the younger the mountains and the less time erosion has had to wear on the granite, ergo a plethora of 13 and 14k peaks.

Death Valley itself is quite breathtaking; a massive low point with everything from vast salt flats, to sand dunes akin to the Sahara, to an 11k peak all crammed relatively close together. There are no shortage of slot canyons to explore and some absolutely sick mountain bike trails. Some people are desert people and they’ll appreciate frolicking in the dirt and seeing some truly unique geology. Even if you’re not there’s plenty to see from the car. One of the coolest things about DV is the dirtbagging potential. We slept in the back of the car to minimize costs and were able to poach the swimming pool and showers at will.

Over all it’s a crazy vast, desolate, harsh place that one must see to believe. It’s a crazy geological wonder less than 100 miles from Mt. Whitney. Highly recommended (not in summer…)

I have a good number of days this season on Redington’s new RediLayer wool base layers. I wasn’t real stoked on the concept of a blend of wool and nylon at first and played it off as just another cheap imported material. I was wrong.

I have quite a few expensive wool base layers that I love; the material is uber soft and it repels “the funk”. Unfortunate pure merino has 2 issues, durability and price. After 5 years of use and washing my wool has quite a few chunks missing, normally not a huge issue but for the price……

So I’ve been using the Redington RediLayer blend with good success this year. On warm days it’s the only layer I need under a breathable shell or waders. On colder days it goes well under a heavier synthetic like R1. It’s held up well after multiple washes so far and I’m really stoked with it, because like a lot of Redington product, it’s a really good value for the money compared to some other products. Just this week we did a day of skiing. Any time you’re skiing under a Rainbow you know it’s going to be a soggy affair. RediLayer Wool kept me warm, dry, and funky fresh enough to grab dinner after without changing. Good stuff!

How many of these posts am I going to have to do this year? I just got excited at the prospects of a big storm train next week, and now I feel sick. Steve Romeo was killed in a slide in JH. Steve ran the tetonat.com blog and was a huge inspiration and help. He was always super stoked to answer emails from me about gear, techniques, and the latest Pearl Jam/Eddie Vedder show. His work will be missed. Endless pow and PJ shows from here on out Steve.