Never been/never bought from Leslies, just an observation (and I'm interested to hear if anyone who works in the trade can concur): has the personal touch in retail lessened at all because more anglers are buying their rods/reels/poles i.e. their expensive tackle online? If the majority of those visiting shops are going in for bait/terminal tackle etc does this reduce the incentive to engage in conversation? It must annoying to see prospective buyers trying out all the gear before walking off and logging on to their keyboards and saving a few pounds by doing so.
Anthony, the very same happened with Jessops the camera retailer. People just used their high street shops to handle a prospective purchase and then order online at a cheaper price. This practice ultimately doomed their shops which was rather ironic as it was often Jessops own online site that customers brought from!
I'm not in the tackle trade, but back in the early 80,s we were going to take the plunge, sell up and "invest" in a tackle shop. We looked at two in Bournemouth and another in the New Forrest.
What soon became clear was that to take over a thriving business was beyond our financial clout. Back then a double fronted shop in Bournemouth needed 50 grand for the leasehold and a further 50 grand for stock and 'goodwill ' ( a bank would not loan you funding for the latter two at the time). Our house was valued at 30k at that time.
After examining the books of the other two shops neither looked a go'er, ( partly due to short leases) although one of them was highlighting that they were Jack Hargreaves local tackle shop . After watching him catch Stour chub on a freshly cut willow wand with a few yards of line tied to the tip (Out of town ), I figured all he was likely to be buying was a pack of hooks to nylon!
Ultimately we bottled it, but it gave me an insight into some of what was involved.
Small shops are at the mercy of some suppliers who won't let them sell their product unless a substantial amount are ordered, and are also put at the bottom of the list when the slow boat from China has failed to turn up.
Televisions and phones often have priority over fishing gear when container space is limited.
My local shop is run by a lovely fella but is predominantly stocked with cheap gear. He tells me that this is because the locals won't fork out for the 'quality' stuff. My argument with that is why would anglers who have a few extra quid to spend walk through the door knowing that what they're interested in buying will not be available. Those guys will go elsewhere or buy online, regardless of any offer to order one from the owner.
Regarding trying out rods and reels, .. yes that must be frustrating for the owner but there is probably more annual profit in bait and sundries, ( how often do we stroll out of a tackle shop with what I call ' the little £50 bag'?) nevertheless it's bound to impact the figures.
The more successful shops are often well situated, have good cash flow ( despite crippling business rates),.. which will reflect in a shop full of gear.... run by genuinely friendly owners who know what they're talking about, and are also willing to open all hours. Good bait is another obvious requirement. Not as easy as it sounds I imagine!
