If Argos Did Angling...

How mixing things up - combining a web store with a local collection point - is enabling us to offer the best of both worlds; helping us cut our prices, speed-up delivery and even take the odd day off to go fishing…

After many years’ running an Arkwright’s style ‘open all hours’ tackle shop, we’ve finally bitten the bullet, taking the decision to fully embrace online. With a twist: selling via our own online store, whilst offering free local collection - initially, from a unit on the local business park and shortly (lawyers permitting) our very own ‘tackle trade counter’.

This tectonic (not say, principle-shattering) shift - driven in equal measure by consumer demand and the harsh realities of modern retail - combines anytime-anywhere access to our carefully curated range of carp, predator and general specimen angling tackle, bait, clothing, and accessories with the convenience of out of hours pick-up. 

Meaning less of your time wasted screaming into the ether at remorseless chat bots; engaged in wars of attrition with couriers’ Customer Disservice Departments; or lambasting the local postie.

The High Street Struggle

As anyone who’s tried to navigate today’s High Street knows: spiralling rents, business rates, insurance and utility costs - not to mention theft and a lack of free (and often any) parking - are just a few of the issues plaguing retailers; who inevitably have to pass the resulting costs onto … you.

And shoppers, increasingly, are voting with their feet, favouring out-of-town retail parks with their plethora of ‘experiences’ such as restaurants, cinemas, play areas and social spaces—abandoning the High Street to barbers (how many can one town really sustain?!), bookies, charity shops, coffee chains, nail bars, pound stores and… Wetherspoons. 

So, are ‘destination’ mega stores the future of angling retail? Well; not if the recent experience of Outlaw Pro is anything to go by. Rather, research concludes, upwards of 50% of UK anglers now favour online shopping over traditional stores.

As a tackle store owner, this is problematic. While certain brands cling desperately to a (perfectly commendable, if outmoded) belief in physical retail, a handful of well-funded retailers are now leveraging their (backers’) not inconsiderable buying power to bulk buy and discount their way to market domination. Principally via the web.

Indeed, given their surprisingly limited shop stock, one could almost suggest - heaven forfend - that some firms’ bricks-and-mortar premises exist merely to attract the leading brands required for their web stores.

Factor in a longer term, utterly undeniable, reality - that many brands themselves either are, or are gearing up to, selling direct - and the future for many retailers is uncertain at best.

But necessity is the Mother of Invention…

With our shift online, we have willingly acknowledged that we cannot carry every brand—in particular those firms’ who remain wedded to a declining dealer channel. Given this, we have resolved to go back to our roots: to focus on tried and tested - generally more affordable, if less fashionable - kit that anglers ‘in the know’ have relied on for years: established manufacturers quietly delivering reliable tackle and bait, helping to catch more and better fish, season after season.

I give you, by way of example, Gardner Tackle (inc the ATT bite alarm and Target specimen ranges), Rod Hutchinson, Catfish Pro, Cult Tackle, Kamasan, MAP, Maver, Maxima, Mistral Baits, Navitas, Reuben Heaton, Richworth, Sensas, Wychwood … and many more besides.

All of which are available now on the Fenland Tackle Store.

But that’s not to say we’re eliminating ‘the personal touch’ altogether; in addition to our forthcoming collection point (aka, the ‘tackle trade counter’) we are contactable - during civilised business hours - via phone, email, and social media. 

And let’s be honest: many anglers nowadays choose to shop in splendid isolation, from the comfort of their bivvies or couches - beer in hand, half on eye on their Facebook feed, half on Match of the Day.

Which is where we come in.

Convenience is Key

Fact is, times for many are tough right now. Yet, when it comes to online shopping (and especially for ‘the essentials’ like… cough… tackle and bait), convenience often outweighs cost. 

Yes, you can easily find the best prices online; but ease of purchase, availability of products and dependability of timely delivery are central to the buying decision.

And as we’ve learned from decades’ running the gauntlet of ebay and Amazon, many consumers are now “store agnostic”—caring more about the assurance of instant gratification than developing long term relationships with ‘my local tackle shop’. Sad but true.

So, here’s our stand: if a product is on our website, it’s in stock and ready to go. The problems of inventory management created by trading across multiple platforms frequently lead to inventory SNAFUs; with customers being left disappointed when an item showing as available is actually out of stock. 

Which is not good for them. And long term, not good for us.

Our guiding principle has always been, and remains: to underpromise and overdeliver. If we quote a three-day dispatch or collection time, we’re usually way faster. And where delivery is concerned, we choose to pay a little extra for trusted shipping providers like Royal Mail and Parcelforce. 

You see, we believe that the experience a customer has with us—rooted in trustworthy advice, reliable service, fair pricing and after sales support—will keep them coming back, despite wider competitive trends.

Apropos, and sad to relate, traditional tackle shops are disappearing fast; a loss to the angling community, of course; but also a sign of the times. 

That said, whilst conversation and genuine camaraderie may be harder to come by in this social media dominated age - with rabid, ill-informed opinion frequently crowding out useful advice and information sharing - the sense of community hasn’t entirely gone away. It’s just… changed schools. (Witness the success of Des Taylor’s Facebook channel, to name but one.) 

And this is the space we’d like to occupy: git free!

Of course, like most anglers of a certain vintage, I have fond memories of old-school tackle shops: the heady aroma of maggots, coffee and Old Holborn; where conversations flitted from tackle and techniques, to fish lost, fish landed, and match weights, winners and losers. 

But. alas, those days are fading. The limited options available back then - East Anglian Rod Company and Ryobi being the ‘staples’; Hardy and Mitchell, if funds allowed - have been replaced with a cornucopia of on-trend brands, scatter-gunning angers’ news feeds via TikTok, YouTube, Insta et al.

And many of the remaining, smaller independent, tackle shops are struggling to keep up - continuing to work long hours, often seven days a week, while facing decreasing returns; and trading ‘from their wallets’ - the previous month’s sales dictating how (and if) they restock their shelves, trapping them in a cycle that’s hard to escape. 

So, our decision to transition to this ‘hybrid’ online / local collection approach may seem ‘out there’, but for us, it just makes sense. Not least, because we’re lazy old ******s, and our Arkwrights days are done.

And besides; though we may not offer quite the same tactile experience as our old shops (wherein, on occasion, tactile took on an altogether different meaning) we remain committed to delivering the same level of care and expertise that we always have. 

And our online platform allows us to offer our customers thoughtful selections curated by experienced anglers - our friends, customers and trusted associates  - who understand the difference between ‘cheap’ and ‘inexpensive’.

All backed, of course, by a no quibble returns policy.

Further, this new model allows us to streamline our operations, manage our inventory more effectively (there’s a first!), and maintain a level of control that we often lacked in our physical stores. 

Meaning a whole lot less stress, to boot,

So, as we stare into the future of fishing retail, we recognise that the landscape will continue to evolve. The remaining stores must therefore adapt or die; tastes are shifting constantly; and new technologies are continually reshaping how consumers interact with brands. 

But, by focussing on dependable kit at affordable rates - as opposed to flavour-of-the-month products that are withdrawn and rebranded every few weeks, at the behest of ever more rapacious marketing departments - we will remain true to our strapline; offering:

Dependable tackle and bait, for experienced anglers with more sense than money. 

Of course it’s sad to bid farewell to the tackle shop experience. But the essence of the stores of our youth—shared ideas, info and edges (plus a liberal scattering of self aggrandising nonsense, gossip and hyperbole)—can still flourish in a digital environment. 

We may not be a hop and a skip down the street. But in reality we’re only a “Hey Google” away; and the hope, longer term, is to develop a community of a sort.

Through our blog, for example - in which we encourage anglers to share their successes and  the go-to tricks and techniques that keep them catching, across different venues, target species, and seasons. 

Through our socials, naturally.

And through our Photo Competition - with monthly Tackle Vouchers up for grabs, for the most eye-catching images, backed by the most engaging stories.

In other words, we’re trying - in some small way - to keep that ‘fenland fishing’ community spirit alive; whilst combining ecommerce with a local hub to offer a reliable, and honest fishing tackle range and service that meets (and hopefully exceeds) our customers’ expectations.

And guess what: we don’t work seven days a week any more. Rather, we’re taking time to smell the roses. 

If not the secondhand ciggie smoke.