Tackle shops...

[Alan Whitty]

I took a run out to a tackle shop which Hugh recommended, a much further run than I imagined, Rib Valley Angling, on the grounds of the fishery, a well laid out shop and fishery, but I went there hoping to pick up some Dave Harrell floats, sticks and bolo floats and as is the case in many shops, they didn't have the full range so I couldn't get exactly what I needed, then I was quite shocked to find very few float rods on show, not that I was looking for one, but I like to see what is available these days, it's a shame that they either can't afford to hold stock, or can't get hold of it, because that is what forces customers online more often than not....

 

[steve2]

Like most shops they stock what they can sell. These days it is all types of carp based fishing.

 

[Mark Wintle]

I don't think thay sell many float/match rods at all nowadays. Purbeck Angling in Wareham shut a year ago and I recall they had the odd Acolyte rod that sold occasionally and an ABU Suveran match rod that must have gathered dust for 15 years or more.

 

[Alan Whitty]

I didn't know that shop had closed Mark, i take it that is the shop just up from the Quay?

 

[Mark Wintle]

I didn't know that shop had closed Mark, i take it that is the shop just up from the Quay?

That's the one. Davis Tackle is closing in a couple of months due to retirement.

 

[Alan Whitty]

Yes I'd heard that and wished them well, his wife had health issues I believe...

 

[RMNDIL]

Just a question of demand. Pellet or Carp waggler rods outsell 'traditional' float rods umpteen to one

 

[nottskev]

Just a question of demand. Pellet or Carp waggler rods outsell 'traditional' float rods umpteen to one

Indeed. The market gives some people what they want. The rest of us scour ebay, marketplace etc for proper float rods

 

[Alan Whitty]

I understand that Richard, but the tackle shops are missing a sale, they don't sell a hundred rods a week, you can't fish a 9ft deep peg very well with a 10-11ft rod, hey-ho, I've got mine, so they won't get my dosh...

 

[steve2]

I understand that Richard, but the tackle shops are missing a sale, they don't sell a hundred rods a week, you can't fish a 9ft deep peg very well with a 10-11ft rod, hey-ho, I've got mine, so they won't get my dosh...

But the fact is that now many anglers fish 3ft deep ponds that are 2ft deep in carp. Many now never put even put a float on the line.

 

[nottskev]

Yes, there's more demand for eg commercial-style gear, But there's more than that involved. In our times, we've all been in shops that stocked a lot of what people bought a lot of, but also stocked some of what sold relatively few. In today's market, it seem that only what sells a lot is stocked, and you find big supermarket-type ts's that haven't a single proper float rod in stock. The concentration of sales in ever-fewer shops with less and less variety on offer (aside from umpteen versions of the feeder rod, pellet waggler, carp rod etc) is telling us something about the market apart from who likes carp and commies. But what it is, I don't know and I can't be bothered to read up on it. It's not called the dismal science for nothing.

 

[RMNDIL]

I understand that Richard, but the tackle shops are missing a sale, they don't sell a hundred rods a week, you can't fish a 9ft deep peg very well with a 10-11ft rod, hey-ho, I've got mine, so they won't get my dosh...

And to get that sale how many 'extra' or 'other' rods would they have needed to stock, for how long and at what investment ? When they could stock the popular (to them) 10ft/11ft rods, suitable for shallower venues and 'easier' closer fishing, and sell and turn over that stock much more quickly.

I totally get why actual shops stock & offer what their customer base buys and how it's influenced by waters nearby.

Online 'shops' could be anywhere selling anything.

And, having said all of this, 15ft Acolytes in both guises (in fact every Acolyte 13ft - 15th rod) were VERY popular - and they're not going to commercial anglers. Likely because they had captured a very large chunk of that market.

 

[Alan Whitty]

I understand when shops can't afford to hold the dearer float rods because of lack of demand, but then why do shops like Johnson Ross hold Free Spirit float rods with high retail value, when they don't hold and mid-range of similar lengths, must be a lot of millionaire's in Hertfordshire, is that you Hugh???

 

[Alan Whitty]

I've looked online at float rods and it seems that Cadence have worked out that if they only sell online, they will have a monopoly selling entire ranges, where very few other manufacturers rods are in stock across the country, apart from Acolytes which seem to be produced in massive quantities as all tackle shops have them...

 

[nottskev]

Does the selling direct model help cut out out middleman costs? It may, but a float rod's not the kind of thing I'd want to buy without seeing it and waving it around. I remember when I first thought of trying a compact Octbox, just a couple of drawers and a footplate, not the full monty, another item sold directly, they arranged for me to call on a local customer who helpfully set his up in the garden for me to have a good look at. Is that possible with Cadence?

 

[RMNDIL]

I've looked online at float rods and it seems that Cadence have worked out that if they only sell online, they will have a monopoly selling entire ranges, where very few other manufacturers rods are in stock across the country, apart from Acolytes which seem to be produced in massive quantities as all tackle shops have them...

20 years ago Cliff Fox was telling me how he wanted to have several regional Fox shops which would have the entire Fox range for people to see because independents didn't stock anything like that variety but Cherry picked

 

[dalesman]

When I have visited dealers with ref to river/float tackle and you get the response nobody wants to fish rivers. So don’t stock tackle

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

One of the biggest issues for shops (independent ones especially) is that they have to pay upfront when they order from suppliers or distributors. And the suppliers dictate their margins. They simply can't afford to stock everything... they can barely afford to stock what little they do. And if they carry stock for too long, they find that AD are selling it for less than they paid trade.

It's going to be very difficult in future to buy maggots from Amazon, so if the carpers keep the retailers going, I'll take the view that carp fishermen* have their uses after all.


* I might be joining them when the rivers are closed.
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[RMNDIL]

Shops don't HAVE to pay up front. The bigger brands allow credit terms and sometimes for many months even for a hew hundred quid. The only time (rare) I can think of when a shop had to pay proforma was because they were a credit risk which is then totally understandable.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

Shops don't HAVE to pay up front. The bigger brands allow credit terms and sometimes for many months even for a hew hundred quid. The only time (rare) I can think of when a shop had to pay proforma was because they were a credit risk which is then totally understandable.

That's NOT what my local tackle shop says - which is why I posted... ie. I didn't just make it up. The industry has changed - most of their suppliers now insist on a minimum order, so they have to take stock that they can't necessarily shift quickly. The shop is long-established and I doubt it would be considered a credit risk.

AD might have the buying power to insist on favourable terms, but the smaller guys are at the mercy of the bigger brands and the distributors.
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