orvis fly tying

[Steeldrifter 0]

Anyone else's local orvis shop downsizing their fly tying materials?

I have a local fly shop that i try to buy all my stuff from(flymart in RO) because its a mile from my house and i started going there when they first opened and have become friends with the owner so i like to support them when i need something.

 

But when they are out of something that i need i get everything i can there and then go to the local orvis shop to get what FM was out of,well yesterday when i went to orvis to get something that i couldnt find i was shocked to see the tying section seems to be alot smaller than it use to be

 

They had maybe 6' of wall space for the tying materials and that was it....i know they use to have more of a selection than that now the rest is all clothes and a wall of rods.

 

Has anyone else's local orvis shop down sized their tying materials or is it just mine? like i said i do 99% of all my purchases at my local shop but i really hated to see orvis downsizing their materials.

 

SD

[Troutman 0]

The Orvis shop that was in my area closed down about a year ago. I had felt that he was understocked on tying materials from the beginning. There was more clothes on display then fly fishing items and it finally got to the point where he seemed to be out of everything I was looking for . Wheather it be a bobbin or a certain color of thread. I was dissapointed to see this happen because it was the closest fly shop to me (only a 25 minute drive). Any way I had noticed the same complaint you have and I feel it had a lot to do with why the store didn't make it.

 

 

Jim

[Dble Haul 0]

My local shop is an Orvis dealer, and they seem to be expanding their tying section. This shop is right on my way home from work and I pop in at least once a week to pick up materials or drop off flies that I've done for them, and I haven't noticed anything but growth in all areas of the store.

 

Perhaps it does have to do with the performance of each store.

[Guest]

Several years ago I talked to a fellow who owned a fly shop here in MD. His shop was a full service Orvis shop, and he told me that Orvis required him to stock minimum quantities of various items in order to maintain the "Full Service Orvis Shop" status. I don't know if that is the case with the shops mentioned, but if it is, the problem may be with how much money these shops have to spend, and return on their stock. The high dollar items net more per item, but also cost them more and if they have to keep a minimum amount in stock, then smaller items, like some tying materials & tools, sometimes just don't fit within the shops budget. It's not an unusual situation for many small businesses, like fly shops to be under financed, and franchise obligations sometimes interfere with good sense.

 

This fellow that I talked to eventually closed also. I've heard that he had a big argument with Orvis & the last year or two that he operated he did it without Orvis.

 

He didn't maintain much of a tying selection either, and another shop opened not far away that had a great selection, and I'm sure that was why he didn't make it.

 

In my area, it's very expensive to operate any type of shop, and businesses everywhere have to cover expenses, and make a profit to not only survive, but also expand. Fly shops are not high profit businesses, despite the fact that some items are very high end, that's why you see so many other items in Orvis stores. Items like clothing appeal to a wider customer base, and generate more profits than tying materials ever will.

 

Just my 2 cents!

 

[Guest]

Being close to a guy that has owned an Orvis Shop, I can tell you that it's a tough way to make a living. I had looked into either taking one over or opening one. With an inquiry, I received a package. It had several scenerios with a make-believe P&L statement. (Profit and Loss). I don't remember the exact numbers, but it came to around 40 grand's worth of profit, based on 350,000 on sales. This included rent, employees and utilities. Not much considering my mark-up is 100% in the retail portion of my business. Orvis gives 40. That's a bunch of Trident rods and Vortex reels. Orvis clothing, luggage, shoes, waders all must be stocked in order to fullfill the requirement. None of these are cheap inventory and if it doesn't move, you're f'd.

Add to this, they almost dictate the markets they want to tap. A while back, Orvis added something in their monthly newsletter about such potential markets. They were strategically placed probably based on catalog sales. It sounds like a good deal, but here in the Detroit area one store in particular fell prey to the Company stores. Orvis has opened 2 of them and one is real close to a privately owned one. There is no way for him to compete with the selection of a company store. Not to mention, I'm sure there are some type restrictions as far as carrying gear, gadgets and rods from competitors.

 

Don't get me wrong, I like Orvis. Their customer service in unsurpassed and they take good care of me. Never have I left one of their stores and feeling like I was taken advantage of. If it fails to meet my standards, they'll take it back without questions asked. An independant would be hard-pressed to do the same without going belly up in the first year.

 

Any tackle business, including bait shops are a tough bunch. Long hours, weekends, a marginal mark up, theft from employees and fierce competion from the catalog houses make it a very hard way to make a living. I'm sure the internet hasn't helped that. Sitting at ones desk and ordering hooks, lines, rods, ect and having UPS bring them without leaving the house make it real convenient at the cost of the local retailer.

 

I'm guilty as well.

 

[SDHflyfisher 0]

it has to do with the performance of the store

 

there are two orvis store that i go to in the summer the one in greatbarrington mass and the one in cornwallbrdge CT

(spend my summersthere)

 

the one in mass is more clothes

the one in CT is more fishing

[Guest]

Steve,

 

The Orvis retailer in Lexington has a lot more of the "specialty" items than the local shop, but the local shop has more selection when it comes to quality necks and saddles....local shop is much more likely to treat you as a friend first, then a customer...don't find that to be true at larger national retailers, not just Orvis stores. In any case, both are locally owned and I try to float my business between the two just for the local economy's sake....

[Peddler 0]

The Orvis store in Cornelius NC got rid of their tying stuff. Must be a lot more money in clothes! I'm not so sure I would write-off a bunch of my target customers by not attending to their needs. There may not be much cold, hard cash coming directly out of the tying department, but I'm willing to bet it that having that department gets a lot more feet in the door.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Thats very true peddler and a good point....i know there have been a few times that i have went to orvis just to get a couple things the other shop was out of and ended up buying a hat or a nice orvis shirt that wasnt cheap just becuase i saw it when i was lookin at the tying stuff.

 

SD

[Guest]

What Jim and Show said... plus, I spoke with a local Orvis dealer at the end of this summer and he said the big chain shops are really putting the squeeze on the Orvis shops. Gander Mountain and the like are putting the bite into them. They are all looking for new ways to survive and thrive.

[SDHflyfisher 0]

the gander stores by me don't have the selection of the orvis store so if i had a choice i'd be going to orvis but of course there aren't any within a driving distance that is sensible so i go to a different fly shop or gander or if possible i go to bass pro and the white river fly shop

 

[Steeldrifter 0]

Was just back up at the orvis shop yesterday and spoke to one of the guys that works there(nice fella) i asked him if they were downsizing the tying materials and he asured me that they were not getting rid of any tying stuff but becuase they now are carrying more clothing and related items that they are haveing to "condense" the tying stuff.

 

So it looks like they have less becuase they are haveing to put some stuff on the same hook instead of haveing each color of each material on separate hooks so it just looks like they have less.

 

Dont like to see the tying department get the short end of the stick but seeing as how its probaly one of the less profitable sections of all the stote compared to the prices of their other items i can understand why it would be the first to get "condensed".

 

glad to know they are still carring the same amount of stuff though!

 

SD

[Guest]

Hey there steeldrifter I was just in Flymart last night and John was busy putting lots of new goodies up on the walls. I know the store in R.O. Orvis is a company store and they sell a lot more 60.00 sweaters than they do 3.00 dubbing, Usually if John does not have what I want I'll 1) order it from him 2) Bass Pro 3) Take the long and boring drive to Cabelas which I hate doing because I can't walk out of that store without 200.00 worth of materials. Have Fun, Eric

[force feeder 0]

almost every orvis shop iv been in put way to mutchmoney in there building so thats were all there money gos a fly shop should not be a mall with some snob helping you that dont own his own waders

[Onshore 0]

I've only been patronizing them for a year or two now; but Fly Fishing the Cape in Harwich seems to have added to their FT department. I was there this afternoon.