There's Something in the Air
Posted by Jason Sealock on Mon, Aug 16, 2010 @ 04:17 PM
Coming off the industry trade show ICAST, the vibe was probably the most positive it has been over past 10 years. Retailers were taking on bigger orders, and many manufacturers were having big upswings in sales. Good news since the marine industry was beat up pretty hard over the credit crisis. That vibe has apparently recently influenced the tournament side of things immensely.
BASS Sale
The top level tournament circuits needed a boost, an injection of passion and leadership. BASS should certainly get both with the sale to McKinnis, Logan and Copeland. We look for a new energy and significant changes over the next couple of years. The forums lit up with comments like “I am renewing my subscription," and “I’m putting the BASS sticker back on my truck and boat.” They still have a big mountain to climb but it helps when it's driven by folks passionate about fishing.
FLW changes
T. Boone Pickens getting involved and having Walmart back is a hugely positive thing for our sport as well as for the anglers. FLW Outdoors looks to be in a very strong place financially with the National Guard and Walmart heading up the sponsor/partner list and rumblings of a big new lineup of sponsors in the wings through the Walmart connection. In true Irwin fashion, we would guess that more good news is on the horizon with bigger payouts and more sponsors coming on board.
The top level tournaments are alive and well, and they look to have a strong future for all the young, aspiring anglers that someday hope to walk across the stage as a participant in the Bassmasters Classic or the Forrest Wood Cup.
Casualties of Change
With all these positive changes, there’s bound to be some casualties. Whether the reasoning is a change in leadership, duplication of positions, or a new direction is required, some very good people are faced with moving on. That’s just part of the game, a product of business. We've already seen some, and we’re bound to see more of it. Charlie Evans stepping down from the top spot at FLW Outdoors is a big change for all of us. For a man of his size he left some awfully big shoes to fill, but I’m sure he’s confident in the leadership team he helped build.
Boat Manufacturing
The fact is bass boat manufacturing was down as much as 80 percent for some manufacturers with the credit crisis that drove the whole country into a recession. But we're turning the corner there. Yet we can't quite wrap our minds around the Triton, Stratos, Champion, Ranger consolidation and synergies yet. Maybe because they are so unique and different and the whole thing is so new.
That will take us all time. Our hope would be that the qualities that make one boat unique stay unique to each brand, but that overhead and processing is reduced and savings are passed to the consumers. A lot of good can come out of learning better ways to do certain processes. But hopefully the boats stay independent and don't become a blended version of each other.
One thing is for sure, some fish will bite, but some won't. We'll land some of the fish, and we'll lose some of them. We'll always want a little more tackle than we currently have, and we'll love our toys so much that we'll play with them even when we aren't on the water.
We take the "glass-is-half-full" approach to most everything at Wired2Fish.com. But at this point we feel like the pitcher is within reach and the glass will be full soon.