This morning’s Globe and Mail has a feature story on Sail Outdoors which is the newest entrant to Ontario’s retail sporting goods landscape. A big box retailer based out of Quebec, Sail is the latest juggernaut small retailers like us have to respond to – and we are certain it will not be the last. The last big box retailer that came to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) was Bass Pro in 2003 and at the time it scared the heck out of us. We were just entering our fifth year in business and finally getting our feet under us for the first time when Bass Pro announced they were opening. After an initial panic attack I scraped the money together to attend the Fly Fishing Retailer’s Trade Show held in Denver that year with the intent of getting as much advice as possible from fellow fly shop owners in attendance. I ended hijacking one of the breakfast sessions when I stood to ask a question, as I said at the time, “Not so much for the members of the speaker’s panel but rather for the 200+ other people in the room.” I went on to explain where I was from, that Bass Pro had announced they were coming to the GTA and asked two questions. First, had any other fly shop owner been in a similar position and secondly, if so, what they had done in response. I recall clearly the comments I heard that morning and what it came down to was this: the entrance of Big Box retailers to a market does not cause the demise of small fly shops but it hastens the demise of poorly run businesses. The other thing I heard loud and clear is that Big Box retailers cannot provide the customer service you find in a good small retailer. They do not do customer returns or special orders – but we do.

Our current circumstances are similar to what we faced in 2003. We are just now getting our feet back under us after the crash of September 2008 and Sail is the new Goliath with whom we have to do battle. I went to Ottawa a few months ago to visit their store there before they opened in Vaughan and what I saw made me feel a bit more comfortable. Sail has a nice loking fly fishing section in their stores but they do not have the scope or depth of inventory we carry. For example, they carry Simms waders, wading jackets and boots but only in the basic size run of small, medium, large and extra large. If a customer needs a medium king they can’t buy it at Sail. If a customer has a warranty problem with a purchase at a Big Box retailer they also have to deal with the manufacturer directly. If a customer has a question they need answered the people behind the counter often do not have the knowledge or expertise to answer it. That is not the case if you are shopping at WILSON’S.

So with Sail planning to open a third store in the GTA this spring at Sherway Gardens in Etobicoke and a fourth in Burlington, under the circumstances you might be asking yourself why we are even considering opening another store? Sail has millions of dollars to invest overnight in stock they can sell at a discount but our store’s inventory has been slowly built up over the years through the efforts of our team in the store and our owner whose income is earned solely through his ‘day job’ in commercial real estate. The odds are not exactly stacked in our favour but every member of our team believes in our shared vision to make WILSON’S the best independent fly fishing outfitter in Canada. To reach this goal we have to continue to build the business and our customer base and the best way to do this is to focus on expanding our guiding and school program. The quickest way to do that is to open a second WILSON’S Fly Shop on the banks of the Grand River and the recent closing of Grand River Troutfitters in Fergus has unexpectedly presented us that opportunity.

The last three years in particular have been incredibly stressful and, as we mentioned in a previous blog entry, we can’t afford to do this – but we can’t afford to pass up the opportunity. You can call it crazy, stupid, foolhardy… or perhaps brave. We just know that in order to survive in this business a good defense is a good offense.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/courting-the-granola-and-gun-crowds/article2338622/

This photo appeared in today’s Globe and Mail and it may surprise many readers that there is fly fishing available within steps of a subway stop in the heart of downtown Toronto!

Find out where to go on the Humber and other good places to fly fish in Southern Ontario by checking out the fly fishing access maps in the member’s area of our website.

“World economy in ‘dangerous phase’ IMF warns” – Toronto Star

“EU crisis raises bank risk…” – Globe and Mail

“Volatility is the new norm” – New York Times

“IMF warns of new threat to banks” – BBC

I don’t know about you but the more I read newspapers the more I want to go fishing…

Most fly tiers purchase capes and saddles that have enough body to tie hundreds of flies in order to tie only a handful of patterns and then often leave the rest of their purchase in a box hidden behind the basement door. If you have ever wondered what you might be able to do with that box we would like you to bring it in to us… Feather hair extensions are all the rage at the moment and our fly shop like most is having difficulty getting any inventory to sell – to hair salons. Yup. Hair salons. As the Globe and Mail explains this morning in an article entitled, “A fowl fad sends prices soaring”, capes and saddles are in such high demand that shops are having difficulty getting any inventory. We get inquiries on a daily basis from hair salons across North America and have little left to sell at the moment to meet the demand so if you have a cape or saddle that you would like to turn back into cash bring it in and we’ll make you an offer.

Earlier this week the Globe and Mail reported that Canada’s recovery is picking up steam after a dismal second quarter and our economy will grow more quickly than expected through the first three months of next year. That said, the report went on to say that global risks have intensified and Mark Carney of the Bank of Canada projects that the Canadian dollar will trade at an average level of $1.03 (U.S.) from now through 2013.

Okay. Some of you just read the above and thought, “Yesterday… blah, blah, blah… Economic… blah, blah, blah. Global risks… yeah, whatever.” Why should fly anglers care? Simply because of this: the Canadian dollar is so strong that more of us are looking at purchasing gear online and it is important to make sure we don’t get hit with hidden costs like freight and duties when ordering. Better yet – order from a fly shop in Canada that has great service and a pricing policy you trust.

WOW! What a great segue into telling you that we hope to have our new ecommerce live before the August long weekend.

Sometimes we’re just too clever for our own good…