Trout opener in Ontario is always an exciting time and it was of course especially so for us this year because our new fly shop on the banks of the Grand River in Fergus is now open! We also started our seasonal store hours in our Fergus shop on the same day so the doors were open at 6am on the first day of the season and we were delighted that we had our first customer within 20 minutes of turning on the lights. We were not sure how the day would go because we have not yet done a huge amount of advertising and we ended up holding our breath after that first customer came and went because customer #2 did not show up for another 2 hours – but thankfully he started the flood. By the end of the day we all had smiles on our faces because there were well over 50 people through the doors and sales were excellent thanks in no small part to our friend Gary who purchased 2 Winston rods(!). I spent much of the day being a ‘WalMart Greeter’ chatting people up and buying coffee while Rob and Mike handled sales and while I did not get onto the river because we were so busy it was a great day by any measure. After we closed the doors we had a quick meeting to discuss how the day went and I realized that the opener for me hinged on one moment in particular…

Towards the end of the day I took a break with my friend Gary and we headed around the corner to the Brew House for a late lunch. When we came back to the store we walked in and saw a handful of guys decked out in Simms waders who were buying flies and one of them was wearing a WILSON’S cap. I did a double-take when I saw him standing at the counter because for some reason it struck me that he had not purchased his WILSON’S cap in Fergus because they have not yet arrived (they will this week). Looking back on the moment I have to laugh because the thought that went through my mind was, “Where the heck did he get that cap?”, and then it suddenly dawned on me that he had purchased his cap in our other store in downtown Toronto.

Stupid as it sounds, at that moment I realized we were no longer planning to have a second store in Fergus but it was in fact a reality. It came down to a cap…

NOTE: The following recently appeared on the Angling Trade website and we at WILSON’S Fly Shop thought it worth passing along to our readers.

However, before you read further we are very proud to announce that WILSON’S has been selected by Simms to be their ONLY preferred online dealer in Canada! What this means to you is that if you are looking for anything from Simms we are the place in Canada to buy it. This initiative will go live in the coming weeks and you will see our logo on the Simms website listed under online dealers with a small Canadian flag beside it. Needless to say we are absolutely thrilled by this development and we look forward to serving Simms customers in Canada. On that note, please be aware that the following announcement applies to US customers only. We have been told that Simms will NOT be shipping to Canada until at least mid-2013.

From Angling Trade Magazine:
“Simms Fishing Products dealers were informed (last) week about the company’s decision to make substantial changes to its distribution plans. Most notably, starting in August, consumers will be able to purchase Simms gear through www.simmsfishing.com. The company also says it will forbid dealers to sell current products on or through Amazon and eBay.

The decision by Simms to sell direct comes as a surprise to few. Still, Angling Trade has received feedback from the retailer community ranging from anger to total ambivalence. In most cases, the reaction has been a desire to get more facts.

With that in mind, Angling Trade editor Kirk Deeter interviewed Simms president and CEO K.C. Walsh. Here are the first of K.C.’s candid answers. You can see the full interview in Angling Trade’s E-newsletter, to be distributed next Tuesday, February 21.

AT: How will Simms selling direct possibly benefit the specialty shop? Do you recognize that there are consumers out there who buy waders at fly shops now, who will not do that in the future?

K.C.: We see four basic consumer groups in fly fishing: 1) Traditional fly shop consumers (like myself) who like the experience of being in a shop. They want to try things on, and they’re looking for expertise. I think they’ll continue to shop that way. 2) There are “efficiency” shoppers, who work in a tower, and don’t have time to shop in stores. They shop online, and are not super sensitive to price, sales tax, and those things. 3) The “close-out” guy is shopping at consumer shows and looking for deals on close-out websites. 4) Then there is the “brand fan” that connects with Simms specifically. These are the guys who will skip a day of fishing to visit our factory. We know they exist, because the call all the time to complain that we won’t sell to them. That’s who we’re catering to by selling direct. (Note: While Simms is moving to a newer, larger facility with a showroom, the company affirmed it will not sell retail from the new location).

No fly shop in the U.S. carries 100% of our product line. But we’re only selling full MSRP, with taxes, and we’re charging a shipping and handling fee. Consumers will have to pay a premium to buy direct from Simms. And when they shop online, they will have three options: Buy direct, but from the nearest fly shop, or buy through one of our 12 affiliate shops*.

I don’t see this as a move to compete with fly shops, rather a way to fill in a void that is not being filled. We’re also investing significant dollars in the website and web support, in a way that ultimately strengthens the brand, and I believe will ultimately benefit our dealers.

AT: Orvis, Patagonia, and others have long had their own direct sales platforms, but Simms is often considered a different animal in that context, because it was born of the specialty fly shop. Is this a change in philosophy?

K.C.: Our number one core value is that “Specialty Matters Most.” We depend on the health and vibrancy of the specialty dealer, and we intend to grow the brand through the specialty dealer. I firmly believe that moving to clean up our distribution (shutting down retailer sales through Amazon and eBay) will grow the specialty shopping. I don’t expect all dealers to believe that now. But if we see that direct sales are having a negative impact on specialty dealers, we will stop doing it.”

I am in Bozeman, Montana at the invitation of Simms to attend a meeting with 11 other owners of some of the best fly shops in North America. LeLands, FishWest, Blue Quill, TCO, Kingfisher, Chicago Fly Fishing Outfitters & River’s Edge amongst others are here and I consider this invitation quite an honour because I am sitting amongst some of the brightest retailers in the industry. To be honest, I am focused on listening and taking notes because I don’t want to embarrass myself too much…

KC Walsh, the owner of Simms, invited us to Bozeman for the inaugural “Simms Fly Fishing Retailer Summit” and we kicked off the meeting yesterday with a tour of their wader factory. Let me correct that. To call the Simms facility a “factory” is doing the brand a disservice because the word factory implies mass production and, perhaps more importantly, a lack of attention to detail in the drive for the almighty dollar. At least at Simms, nothing could be further from the truth.

If you are not aware, Simms waders are made in Bozeman, Montana and, having now toured their facility, I know that the men and women who work here are artisans focused on producing the best fly fishing waders in the industry. Our group was taken through the production process from where the roles of Gore fabric are received by the friendly guys in the receiving department to the final inspection and shipping area where each wader is re-checked before being sent out. Between these points there are literally dozens of people who are involved in producing each pair of waders. We looked on with interest as roles of Gore were cut by hand based on a computer design to ensure as little of the fabric was wasted and followed the fabric as it was stitched by expert employees who sew each part of the wader together. Some of us tried our hand at the taping station that reinforces the seams and laughed as we realized how much skill it takes to do what appeared to us to be a simple job. Like any professionals, the people at Simms are so good at what they do they make it look easy. The production line ultimately weaves its way around an incredibly organized and clean room to the final testing area where each wader is checked for leaks. Think about that for a moment. Each wader is checked for leaks before being shipped. The craftsmanship and dedication to quality at this facility blew me away.

One thing in particular that caught my eye during our tour was a spot near the lunch room where production mistakes are hung for all to see. While we were there we saw a pair of waders on display that had been sent back by a customer because two left feet had been sewn onto them. The occasional mistake like this will happen at any company but what struck me was that these waders are not displayed with an intent to embarrass the person responsible but rather to remind everyone to pay attention to detail and take pride in what they do. As we heard from more than one employee on the floor during our tour, “Every wader we make is important because we don’t want to lose even one customer.”

The sense of pride we encountered from the employees was for me perhaps the most surprising thing I encountered during our tour. The culture at Simms truly is a credit to the management team and what I saw on the production floor gave me a better understanding not only of the products but but also of the company and its people. Simms charges what many consider to be a premium for their waders and having now seen the process and met the people who make them I have a better understanding of the craftsmanship involved and I know they are worth every penny. It was great to see a company where the people working on the floor not only believe in the importance of the quality of their work but they also take pride in learning from their mistakes.

And that is why we at WILSON’S are proud to be a Simms dealer.

This being the last day of October it is a safe bet that there are not any anglers left on the river who are die hard, wet waders. That said there are a LOT of anglers still hitting the river who are wondering how they can stay comfortable (read “warm”) as the temperature dips. One word:

If you have not checked out the recent developments in wader and cold weather gear from Simms we encourage you to go to the Simms store on our website. In addition to the waders, boots and wading jackets anglers have come to expect from these guys, you should also look at their selection of cold weather gloves, hats, and fleeces. Simply put, they remain the benchmark in the industry.

Check out their gear at store.canadasflyfishingoutfitter.com

WILSON’S first opened its doors in April 1998 and we quickly made almost every mistake you can make as a start up business and as a specialty retailer. Not surprisingly, we lost money in the first year of business and we doubled our loss in the 2nd year… Unfortunately we doubled that loss again in year 3. You do the math – it wasn’t pretty. The store was in the wrong location, we had the wrong product mix on the shelves and we were burning through money faster than I thought possible. Then things changed. First, I made the decision that I wanted the store to succeed and went from thinking everything would sort itself out to actively making sure it did. I also cashed in the rest of my life savings (literally) and invested all of that money in the store (yes, it hurt). Secondly, although we could not afford the expense, we could not afford to stay put so we changed locations. Lastly, we followed some advice…

Our regulars know that unlike many fly shops we actively solicit feedback from our customers every day because we want to be the fly shop of choice in Canada. We ask people what we are doing right but, more importantly, what we are doing wrong – and we listen. Back then we were told by customers to bring in products made by a company based in Bozeman, Montana by the name of Simms. Following this advice proved to be one of the most important decisions we have ever made at our store and the only thing I am more thankful of than receiving that advice is that we followed it.

Becoming a Simms dealer was for us a ‘game changer’ and we are thankful for the opporunity to be part of the Simms family for a number of reasons. From an initial business perspective our sales went up immediately. But from a long range perspective we started to be exposed to new opportunities we had not anticipated. We hoped new customers would be attracted to our store – and we were right – but what we did not realize was the effect being a Simms dealer had on the rest of our business. We got inquiries from suppliers we had been chasing for years asking if we might be interested in becoming a dealer. In addition, that hardcore angling demographic we had been trying to attract started to come into the store. In hindsight we unwittingly changed from being a start up business to becoming a legitimate fly shop – and the decision to become a Simms dealer was a big reason why. So if you were one of those customers who suggested we go down this path – thank you for your advice.

I spent yesterday in Bozeman meeting with the team at Simms to discuss some new plans we have with them. Although still in the works we will soon be announcing some very exciting news… stay tuned!