The Year That Was: Comments from CSIA/CNSF Members
Dave Johnson, The Fishin’ Hole
I would have to say after being in this business for 38 years I had thought we have experienced pretty well the full range of challenges and surprises that we would face in the retail tackle business. That thought disappeared with the appearance of covid 19. We prepared for the worst at the end of March as we closed our stores, laid off staff and ensured we had resources lined up to weather the storm. In reality, after re-opening in April, our biggest challenge was dealing with a surge in business from both seasoned anglers and the significant increase in newbies to the sport. This, along with the supply shortages that were created by the demand for tackle were very challenging. At year end we were very pleased with the results and expect the heightened demand to continue at least well into the coming year. We do, however, expect supply to be an issue and very likely limit our ability to fully exploit potential sales. We definitely consider ourselves very fortunate to be in the tackle industry at this time.