If you spend more than ten minutes around someone who owns a fishing company, eventually you'll hear it.
"You need to get into retailers." Usually followed by… "You need distribution." Then… "You need Bass Pro."
Apparently that's the business plan. Step 1: Make lure. Step 2: Call Bass Pro. Step 3: Become millionaire.
I don't know who started that fantasy, but I'd like to have a conversation with them. Because wholesale isn't the promised land. It's just a different zip code with different problems.
Retailers Don't Owe You Shelf Space
This is probably the biggest misunderstanding in our industry.
I hear companies say, "My product is better." Maybe it is. But let me ask you something. If you owned a tackle shop… would you remove something that sells every week… to replace it with a product you've never heard of… from a company nobody's asking for?
Probably not. Neither would I.
Retailers aren't in the business of believing in your dream. They're in the business of paying rent. Every peg on that wall has a job. Your product isn't competing against empty space. It's competing against products that already earn their keep. That's a much tougher fight.
"I'll Give You Great Margins"
Another sentence manufacturers love saying. Retailers hear it every day.
Margins matter. But here's what matters more. Sell-through.
A retailer would rather make a little less on something that sells every week…than make huge margins on something that collects dust until clearance season. Dead inventory has a funny way of making even the best margins look terrible.
The Part Nobody Mentions
Let's say…congratulations. You landed a retailer. Feels great.
Now what? Now you have to get customers to walk into that store…past a thousand other products…and convince them to buy yours.
If they don't…guess what happens? The retailer doesn't reorder. It wasn't because they hated your product. It just didn't move. That's a hard pill to swallow.
Sometimes your biggest competitor isn't another lure. It's customer habits.
Distribution Doesn't Create Demand
This one might ruffle a few feathers. People think distributors create business.
Good distributors don't create demand. They supply demand. There's a difference.
Imagine opening the world's biggest grocery store. You can stock every condiment imaginable. Doesn't mean anyone suddenly wants mayonnaise-flavored ketchup.
Availability doesn't equal demand. A distributor can put your product in front of thousands of dealers. They can't make consumers ask for it. That's still your job.
The Dangerous Math
Let's pretend you sell a pack of jigheads for ten bucks online. Life is good.
Now wholesale wants it. Suddenly…the retailer needs margin. The distributor needs margin. Shipping isn't free. Returns happen. Packaging costs money. Credit card fees don't disappear.
Everybody gets a slice of the pie. By the time the pie comes back to you…you're wondering if somebody forgot to leave you a piece.
Volume can absolutely make up for lower margins. But only if the volume actually comes. That's the catch.
My Favorite Advice
"You just need more dealers." Maybe. Or maybe…I need more customers walking into dealers asking for my products.
Those are two very different problems. One gets solved with sales calls. The other gets solved with marketing. Guess which one is harder.
Consumers Have More Power Than They Realize
Here's something customers probably don't know. When enough people walk into tackle shops asking for a specific product…retailers notice. Fast.
Nothing gets a buyer's attention faster than hearing, "Do you carry this?" Three or four times a week.
Consumers create shelf space. Manufacturers don't.
That's why every fishing company today has become part marketing company. We're all trying to create enough demand that retailers start calling us instead of the other way around.
Here's the Part That Keeps Me Going
I don't blame retailers. I really don't. If I owned a tackle shop…I'd be skeptical too. I'd ask hard questions. I'd want proof. I'd protect my cash.
Because inventory isn't just inventory. It's money sitting on a peg. I respect that.
The challenge for manufacturers isn't convincing retailers they're innovative. The challenge is proving customers care. Those aren't always the same thing.
One Last Cast…
Everybody dreams about landing wholesale accounts. Very few people ask the harder question. "What happens after they say yes?"
Because getting on the shelf…isn't the finish line. It's the starting line.
Now your product has to earn the right to stay there. Every single day. Just like the rest of us.
Until next cast...
- Dave Erdly
Founder, Ebb N Flow Outdoors