NEWS
Continued from p3
Retail trades feeling positive about 2020
“
It’s been quite remarkable how the trade has turned around,” says Alan Phelps, former owner of Armex and now the owner of Enfi eld Sports. “We opened up Enfi eld Sports in August and business has slowly built. As a new retail venture it’s hard to get started. I would like to thank all of my trade partners but especially SMK, Sportsman, Highland Outdoors, Thatchreed, Express and Eley and Eley Hawk – you’ve helped me create this real success. “There’s a huge amount of consumer confi dence now. You can see it. You can hear it. There’s a lot of positivity out there. It’s like someone opened the fl oodgates. “We’re open seven days a week, late night on a Thursday. If you’re customer focused, they will come to you and spend. “It’s made me realise that there are
some real opportunities out there in retail. People are shooting in numbers and there’s good business to be had. I know we’ve had Christmas, but it has carried on after that – it’s now mid-January and there’s no slow down. Since the election our retail trade has at least tripled.”
Our footfall
through 2019 was as high as it’s been since 2010. It’s massively up on the past few years. And I do mean massively,” says Kevin Peet. “Mail order is up too. We had a record year...
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David Florent, owner of the Oxford Gun Company
In fi shing, too, people are feeling the vibes. At The Tackle Box, Dartford, the shop is reporting a large increase in customer numbers. “Our footfall through 2019 was as high as it’s been since 2010. It’s massively up on the past few years. And I do mean massively,” says Kevin
6 | Tackle & Guns | January 2020
www.tandgmagazine.com 1
Peet. “Mail order is up too. We had a record year and I think it will continue so long as the weather is OK. Now the election is out of the way, people are a lot more relaxed. You can see it.” According to one member of the shooting trade, hands on is the real answer – and he insists we all need to be a bit more proactive. David Florent, owner of the Oxford Gun Company, told us: “I think it will be a good year. Last year was a hard year but actually a good year for us – and I feel quite positive about the future. I think it will be a hard year for the gun trade but that’s because it needs to look at itself and start to come into the big wide world. They need to start thinking what they’re there for. “We’ve found that people want to buy from someone that has experience – and because we market ourselves that way via our YouTube channel, we gain those customers. “In my opinion, the shooting world needs to change. Business is there
but you have to reach out for it. “I honestly believe that the shooting schools out there are the most powerful people in the gun trade is because they reach out to the new shooter. They have the facilities, the grounds to practice on, and deliver real experience. They are the future for our sport.” But is it all positivity out there? "No," says T&G editor, Nick Marlow. "Of course there are retailers that have struggled through 2019 and will continue to fi nd things tough going in 2020 - for a number of reasons. Some of them are local issues and they are quite diffi cult to deal with. "But the fact remains that there does appear to be some positives emerging. Whether that be Brexit related, election related or because the data shows that people are spending more on leisure activities, which include shooting and fi shing. It's time to embrace these positives and run with them. If consumers are more confi dent than they were a few months ago, make hay!"
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