Following on their collaborative Gear Guide published after the International Fly Tackle Dealer show, MidCurrent and Angling Trade are expanding efforts in 2012 to cover new product in the fly fishing industry for both consumer and specialty dealer audiences.
The goal is to create a real-time and evolving showcase of new products as they are introduced throughout the year. MidCurrent will support the effort by distributing a twice-monthly gear-focused newsletter, as well as hosting gear reviews and releases on its website. Manufacturers are encouraged to submit Continue reading →
When it comes to issues that impact fly fishing retailers, are you a part of the discussion? As of this month, over 500 members from around the world have joined the LinkedIn forum offered by Angling Trade, and if you’re not part of this yet, we invite you to take part. Click here to join.
There’s also a subgroup for retailers, by retailers, where all topics and concerns are fair game. For example, one of the latest threads, “Let’s Talk Turkey About the Trade Show” has garnered 30 insightful comments thus far. Whether you want to bounce an idea, get a point of view from a kindred spirit, or plant the seeds for a deeper initiative, this is where it’s happening.
Infinite Possibility: Creating Customer Value on the Digital Frontier
By B. Joseph Pine and Kim C. Korn
We all know the Internet is key to the business mix. But in some business sectors—particularly those that heavily involve a “real world experience” like fly fishing—striking the balance between virtual and being there is a major challenge.
Infinite Possibility is the best brass tacks discussion of how to meet that challenge that I’ve read. Early in the book, Joe Pine states that what we desperately need in business today is experience innovation.
“Why? Because we are now in an Experience Economy, where experiences—memorable events that engage people in inherently personal ways—have become the predominant economic offering. It eclipsed the Service Economy that flowered in the latter half of the twentieth century, which in turn superseded the Industrial Economy, which itself supplanted the Agrarian Economy.”
At face value, that’s good news for the fly tackle dealer. After all, they are in the experience business, aren’t they? But alas, turning that platform into a profit reality is far more complex than making friends with the Internet, and on the other hand, Continue reading →
International fishing power Shimano (parent company of G.Loomis) is launching a new line of raingear for 2012 called Dryfender 3T. I got a hold of some of the first samples (jacket and bibs), and took them straight to the car wash. They proved to be tough as promised, and at MSRPs of $249.99 for the jacket and $219.99 for the bibs, will no doubt make their own waves in the outdoor apparel niche—in fly, conventional, salt and more—in the coming months.
The jacket is made of three-layer Dryfender material, and is fully seam sealed. Cuffs are sturdy and snug, though you don’t feel like you’re wearing tight surgical tubing around your wrists (a plus). The pocket layout is simple: two cargo pockets at the hips, and a zipper pocket on the chest. I stuffed each with Kleenex before the dousing, and all stayed dry. What I like best is the stowable hood design. The hood is easy to deploy, yet when tucked away, it forms a stand-up collar that’s a beefy rain shield in and of itself, which I can see coming in handy when the rain (or snow) isn’t quite dumping, and you want to stick with a billed cap.
The Fly Fishing Film Tour is set to begin its nationwide trek, starting January 26 in Ventura, California. The tour will ultimately make stops in 115 locations, including 29 in Canada, through late April. The tour will hit major markets like Denver and San Francisco, as well as smaller hometowns of angling aficionados.
Many of you are already involved on the grassroots level with the tour as it swings through your area, but you might be interested to check out some of the trailers posted on the FlyTalk blog at fieldandstream.com.
This year’s lineup is stellar, with gritty, insightful films like Continue reading →
Following on their collaborative Gear Guide published after the International Fly Tackle Dealer show, MidCurrent and Angling Trade are expanding efforts in 2012 to cover new product in the fly fishing industry for both consumer and specialty dealer audiences.
