are looking for a deal. Our consumers are hungry for deals right now.” --In Apopka, Florida, retailer Paul Faircloth is another event proponent. But in addition to finding rabid consumers lusting for deals, at this point he’s just generally hungry for customers—period. Faircloth cites the downturn and competing Internet sales for sparking a consumer pushback, hampering profitability. “We make a living selling recreational products that no one has to have. The single largest impact of the downturn has been a decrease in footsteps through the door,” Faircloth says. “Other impact issues include a fundamental shift in how customers buy and make the decision to buy. This has required a shift in inventory, selection, and merchandising.” Faircloth’s Mosquito Creek Outdoors shop has a fly fishing department with approximately 2,000 square feet of hard goods. But it concentrates on soft goods and promoting outdoor lifestyle. “In many ways we are similar to a traditional fly shop; in many we’re different,” he says. “We are not on the water. We have to cater to travelers going to western states, to Alaska, the Carolinas, international destinations, as well as our local fresh- and saltwater fisheries.”
“People want to be entertained, have fun, and to be engaged. A key component to our success with the events has been the urban nature of our demographic,” Faircloth says. “The light came on during our first Hook Kids on Fishing program. Talking to parents after the program we realized most want to get their kids off the couch… they just don’t know how. Within our mobile society, the outdoor skill-sets that were normally passed down from generation to generation are seeing a disconnect.” --While Faircloth works multiple event angles to weather the downturn and reconnect the disconnect, The Fishermen’s Spot, located in Van Nuys, California, has survived more than 40 years of ups and downs—and it’s done so, no coincidence, as a leader in the events realm. The Fishermen’s Spot started as a fullservice tackle shop in the ’70s. In 2001 it deep-sixed its conventional-tackle inventory and went fly fishing full-time. Ken Lindsay was one of the shop’s original customers and partnered with shop coowner Steve Ellis seven years ago. From the get-go, their marketing effort has been event-centric. Like Colorado’s Angler’s Covey, The Fishermen’s Spot has hosted an annual fair replete with parking lot spillover, guest speakers, vendors, reps, and manufacturers. But ultimately it became too cost prohibitive. “The fair generated decent sales, but not enough to justify the expenditure, as well as the time and effort associated,” Lindsay says. “It was just too much
going out and not enough value. By the time you paid for people to fly out and speak, the cost of set-up, feeding everyone, and putting them up, it was just too costly.” So the shop began digging for new creative avenues to create value for its customers. The fair was kyboshed; alternatives were weighed. Lindsay joined heads with Abel rep Dale Hightower, and a rep-based scheme was conceived to usher customers in-store for productin-hand experiences. In addition, Southern California guides and fly tiers were invited to lead mini-seminars, and an event was massaged out of the mayhem. Guides discussed techniques and the areas they fished, while customers soaked it in… then went fishing. “We had a really good turnout and it was cost-effective—but more than that, we weren’t trying to push a big sale, we were pushing education,” Lindsay says. Today, The Fishermen’s Spot hosts seven annual events, targeting winter and the leaner fishing months. Events are free and vary in focus from SoCal fly fishing to saltwater, steelhead, salmon, and more. But they all have an educational component in common, and place fun over blockbuster sales and drilling customers to “Buy, buy, buy.” “Our feeling is that the more people learn, the more they will go fishing,” Lindsay says. “The whole idea is to get more people fishing. Accomplish that and sales will follow.” In order to sell fly fishing product, it’s essential to sell flyfishing first. And fly shop events can be prime conduits for tapping into that consumer energy. Faircloth agrees, and perhaps sums it up best: “Fly fishing is a being and experience all its own and is different for every customer. We as shop owners and managers have to realize we are in the entertainment business first, service industry second, and then a retailer. We have to be adept at blending the three to survive and be profitable.” at 29
AnglingTrade.com / June 2012
Like Leinweber, Faircloth uses an event platform to source new customers and promote the sport. Mosquito Creek Outdoors offers a free series of introductory Discover Fly Fishing days. These monthly events draw an average of 18 to 30 participants. Of those attendees, most have become regular shop patrons. It’s been a smart move considering Faircloth’s shop has a Dick’s, Bass Pro, and Gander Mountain stacked within 20 minutes of its location, as well as a specialty saltwater fly shop within 30 minutes, and a similar shop in Winter Haven. Apopka is outdoors inundated. Competing with the big boxes on price is virtually impossible. So the shop turned to providing value. Faircloth tries to reach specific market groups with events that are entertaining, educational, and engaging.
The shop’s current focus is on Conservation Days, Hook Kids on Fishing programs, ladies only fishing programs, basic and advanced conventional fishing seminars, and its Discover Fly Fishing mainstay. Faircloth says all have worked in a broad sense, but few actually pay for themselves or generate a profit the day of the event. Event funding stems from the shop’s advertising budget. Timing is critical, and things that have not worked have been lectures and formal classes.