ANGLING TRADES ASSOCIATION Is this the new
Andrew Race, chairman of the Angling Trades Association, shares his experiences of both Stoneleigh and Farnborough and reflects on the future. Are we entering a new period of normality?
W
hether you are studying your year end figures or comparing
ATA chairman, Andrew Race.
these first three months with last year, 2022 has definitely produced a contrasting start to challenge us all. Despite the turbulent backdrop of the outside world, attending both Farnborough and Stoneleigh shows, helped me restore some semblance of normality. Spurred on by regular cups of tea and buns from the cake stand next door, the routine of a) wondering why I’m still setting up my own stand after thirty plus years in the business combined with b) discussions around the merits of digital versus analogue scales was resumed. With the benefit of increased staffing, I was able to talk to
businesses about their current situation and outlook for the coming months. Apparently, this is known as “disappearing off the stand” by some, but I prefer to call it “training on the job” for those remaining on the stand who hadn’t read the product catalogue before the show. Walking round Stoneleigh, the one thing that struck me was the sheer variety of circumstances that traders were coping with. China still remains a critical factor of course and our continued reliance upon it is a subject for another day. As the world continues to adjust, material costs are still heading skywards, shipping is still vastly more expensive than it was, and, depending on your circumstances, available stock, lead times and supply chains remain out of step and or unpredictable. Brands are still making decisions to show based on Covid exposure, and with sales slow, cost savings cannot be ignored either. Availability had definitely affected the amount of tackle on show. The number of new products on show and show-only offers, both of which draw anglers to any event, was affected and no doubt fuel costs also played a part. These factors have frustrated show organisers and I take my hat off to the team at Bauer for sticking to the task in hand despite the potential impact on
72 | Tackle & Guns | April 2022
attendances of both trade and public. On a more positive note, the first stage of the new look National Fishing Month (NFM) web site www.
nationalfishingmonth.com went live on 1st April with a more extensive programme than ever before. Subsequent sections will go live over the next few weeks including registration of events, but contact details are there for brands, retailers, and fisheries to find out more about events and business opportunities. NFM will run from 1st to 31st of August with an extended programme throughout July. Alongside NFM, to make access even easier, a Take A Friend Fishing (TAFF) window will run between the same dates allowing licence holders to take someone fishing. Aimed at all abilities and backgrounds, and with hundreds of events planned, the new NFM remit offers the chance for anyone to engage with angling. I can also reveal exclusively that a further TAFF window is being negotiated to celebrate angling over the coming Jubilee week. ATA will keep you posted but if you want to know more, please drop me a line.
ATA T 07778 907384 E
chair@anglingtradesassociation.com W
www.anglingtradesassociation.com
www.tandgmagazine.com
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