It’s a bummer, but Orvis is closing half of its stores, including their Wellesley location.
I’ve always relished the opportunity to meet the store teams, as they know a ton about fly fishing and are always gracious. Plus, it’s always fun for me to hang out with like-minded people, who are attracted to the difficulties and rewards of throwing fur and feathers at fish.
I suppose the silver lining is that a bunch of gear and clothing is on sale. A friend’s wife went and found some great deals.
Last, a personal thank you to the Orvis Wellesley crew. I often stopped by there, and I really enjoyed your Saltwater 301 class. I wish you guys the best!
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They’re closing the Buffalo store on the same day and they closed the Rochester store on Christmas eve last year. They say the ‘current tariff landscape’ is to blame, but this was in motion well before that. Very disappointing. I am a devout fly angler now and it’s because of the local Orvis store (that is now closed) and the staff (that are now unemployed). I walked past a sign offering the ‘101’ class and the local Orvis store about 8 years ago and the staff led the way. That in-store staff is the reason I’m into it so much that I started http://www.flyenthusiast.com I bought three Helios setups from that store and tons of other gear. I would stop in there weekly to grab fly tying materials and other supplies, and I’ve got a ton of clothing, bags, etc, all Orvis. I no longer have loyalty to the brand. I just bought some Simms boots on line, my next rod purchase will likely be a TFO and my next pair of waders will be Patagonia. With no local footprints to attract new anglers and to keep loyal Orvis devotees like me from shopping elsewhere, Orvis will no doubt feel the sales pinch. They lost at least $2,000 in sales from me this year and I hope to fish for another 35 – 40 years. I hope it’s not the case, but if Orvis goes into the crapper, this retail retraction move will be reviewed by business schools for years to come.
Thank you for sharing such thoughtful observations
Yes its too bad they are closing a lot of stores for whatever reason. I find it kind of funny that they are ditching a lot of the clothing lines especially woman’s as my late BIL worked as a commercial photographer for them and told me the majority of their profits were woman’s clothing.
Lots of competition for the fly fishing/bird hunting dollar and frankly a lot of their products have been misses. I do have a lot of their Bird Hunting gear but found better (not necessarily cheaper) fly fishing gear from other mfg. Their recent Helios lineup is a winner though.
I do love the H4 rods. Interesting G2 on where they make their profits. I hope the company overall will make it.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time working weekends at Orvis in Wellesley. Great chewing the fat with others, running fly fishing 101 with the fishing manager and selling Barbour jackets (free story about the Royal family with every purchase!). The tariffs will have hit hard as far as I know only the Helios rods and top reels were made in the USA.