Tom Chandler published a short piece on the struggles of some of our older, venerable rod companies, how the downturn in the economy was forcing layoffs and depressing sales.
Tom asked for comments.
Dear Rod Company Executive,
Recently I’ve learned of the downturn in the economy and the Hard Times that will surely follow. It’s my understanding that as part of the Darwinian process – where the strong companies responsive to their customers have a small chance at survival, and those that didn’t have none …. many of you won’t be around much longer.
That’s Good.
As the sole author of a pissant little angling blog, my readers have been subjected to much spit and vitriol on this sacred subject; the state of the fly rod industry, and its absurd pricing.
It’s my steadfast belief that a fly rod made of paper-backed silica or carbon scrim, containing 12 rings of Portuguese cork, 8 stainless or chromed guides, a lathe-turned aluminum reel seat, and 50 yards of nylon thread has no business approaching $1000 dollars in price.
… this from your industries’ Dream Customer, the guy that owns more rods than fingers, loves new technology, and is itching for an excuse to own more.
Sorry, I’m not interested in your tackle. Your canny Madison Avenue marketing geniuses mistook the Wall Street banking crowd as your constituency, and you’ve been making rods for them – not us fishermen.
You’ve set your cap on an unsustainable economic model, and assumed this tiny niche could endure any form of price indignity. We’d swallow “NiTQ” as something really rare – rather than a silica garage floor coating, we’d perceive a lighter rod as worth an additional $250, insist that a carbon reel seat was sex compared to rare wood – it’s lighter and cheaper for you to make, certainly – sex it’s not.
Real fishermen know sex, we know it’s sweaty, wet, dirty, and some fellow on the far bank is yelling “Woo Hoo, Yeaah!.” We’re not the effete little poseurs you bet your entire company on.
Those guys – the back-biting little pricks shown in recent advertisements, aren’t answering your phone call, they’re on the street wondering whether Obama means jail time – or whether they can sell their New York condo before they’re foreclosed on …
Good Goddamn riddance – to them and you.
It’s the perfect storm, Mr Rod Company Executive; a severe recession looming, financial markets in disarray, and none of those institutions are going to loan you a dime. You make luxury items, really expensive luxury items, and with a decade of belt tightening looming – that Chinese blank is looking mighty sweet to me and my pocketbook.
You’ve had your heyday, relying on “buy American” to lure us back from what we could afford – to the outlandish priced crap you’ve insisted are pre-requisites of excellence and keeps the “club” exclusive. Most of us are still making payments on that rod courtesy of extended credit and misguided loyalty.
You blew the excess inventory out in warehouse sales, which hit eBay only days after you did so, and now we’re left wondering why that sonofabitch local vendor sold us a rod for $800 that can be bought on eBay for half that. Your current models should’ve been shredded – or donated to clubs for charity fundraiser’s – instead I can get a new Helios for less than $400, which really confuses me – as we’ve been so loyal to you.
… and the whole fly fishing thing is evaporating in front of us; angling on the decline, quality water in freefall, the government either outmanned, outgunned, or wants to mine what pristine watersheds are left, we’re besieged on every front with invasive species, water rights, water diversion, power generation, stream access, and global warming, and I’ve got to ask – where are you?
Shouldn’t some of you have been pounding fist at a congressional hearing on one or more of these pervasive issues? Now that everyone is taking a turn at the Public Trough – suddenly you want to be “hat in hand” in front of a congressional panel with your fleece outers and tweed uppers?
Them senators – ill-informed and misguided though they may be – are hoping they can keep bread on someone’s table, preserving industries and jobs for folks that can’t afford your tackle already.
Cars are a luxury too … but they’re not the “obscene” kind of luxury befitting a thousand dollar item used only 9 times per year.
No sir, you haven’t paid much attention to us. We recognize that most of you aren’t fishermen – having freely imported plenty of Wharton’s finest – and losing your soul in the process.
Great rod companies, with great product and enough cash on hand to withstand a 50% drop in sales for the next decade – will survive. But I’m not going to help you, not one bit.
I’m legally bound not to reveal my “media” discount, but it confirms what I’ve written about your tackle – your base costs are unchanged, and less than one hundred dollars per rod. Each small iteration in “rod tech” is trumpeted by your colorful advertisements and cocksure staff, obsolescing what I’ve bought with a robust price increase – and little else.
We’ve always loved your product, but we love our kids and homes more.
I’ll buy your rods later from the receiver – after they’ve shuttered your doors and you’re left in the parking lot with a cardboard box and your precious red stapler.