Simms has announced starting this August customers will have the ability to buy merchandise directly from it's web site. Check out the details below, courtesy of Anglers Trade.
Simms to Sell Direct, Yet Reaffirms “Specialty Matters Most” Commitment… CEO K.C. Walsh Answers The Tough Questions
Simms Fishing Products dealers were informed this 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.
Look for the rest of the interview in the next
Angling Trade E-Newsletter.
