Almost everyone is focused on growing into emerging markets and are often neglecting their current customer base. I'm a sucker for brook trout and flies. I honestly don't care the brand, if you slap a trout or a fly on it, I'll buy it. Coffee, belts, whisky, etc.

Orvis has almost always been THE brand with flies and trout on their gear. That said, their adverts of late have been HEAVILY focused on women and minorities. Don't get me wrong, I've been trying my hardest to get my wife into fly fishing for years. There's just one problem she's just not that interested. Neither are the wives of any of my fly fishing friends.

Same thing with minorities. I would love to help out and teach fly fishing to individuals not currently exposed. That said when events are held for those target groups, turnout is poor. When most entry fly rods are $250 and flies are $5 a pop, there's a large barrier to entry.

The vast majority of fly fishermen are 30-80 year old white men with a conservationist mindset. It's just how it is. When you pump out catalogs that have little to no gear targeted at that demographic, you're likely missing the mark. Maybe they think their brand power is enough to keep their base market happy. Their gear is fantastic and I'll continue to buy, but if they jump off that cliff I may find a new brand.

[Post edited by hokiehunter07 at 01/04/2022 10:06AM]