International Angler Fly shop Update

[Acristickid]

International Angler is Closing it's Aspinwall location in January 2010. It is moving into the Robinson location.

Stopped in the Aspinwall location today. Got a deal on a stripping basket.

http://www.internationalangler.com/information.php?info_id=6

 

[tomgamber]

cool about the stripping basket

Bummer though. My wife works in RIDC and its nice to be able to stop in there when I have to meet her at her work for something. Have they started the sales or are they just taking stuff to the other store? She woks with another board members wife and they did a tandem Christmas shopping trip there the other year. I appreciated the thought but...

 

[Acristickid]

TG- I did not ask that question but overheard another customer ask that question. The fellow remarked they were probably just going to move everything. Bought the Orvis basket- they gave me a good deal.

RT. 28 traffic blows by the way.

 

[tomgamber]

acristickid wrote:
RT. 28 traffic blows by the way.

yes it does...and Freeport rd is worse. She used to be in UParc and they moved 3 miles up Freeport rd. Now it takes 15-20 minutes longer to get to work.


Thanks for the info...

 

[dryflyguy]

I'm surprised to hear that news.
That store has been there a long time.
I bought my first fly rod off of Tom Ference when he owned it about 25 years ago. Just a little hole in the wall then.

 

[Acristickid]

Something about the lease expiring or similar. Think they own the building in Robinson.

 

[delkins]

Bummer for those of us in the city. Aspinwall is such a nifty shopping district also. That's 2 bad.
-Dave

 

[PAFLYBOY]

That is a shame. Fortunately, I live closer to the Robinson location and do a lot of business there. You will not find a shop with better service(and I've been to a lot of shops). I wish them all the success for the future. It is hard for any fly shop to compete with the "big box" stores, never mind the internet. Here's to supporting your local fly shop(wherever that might be)...

 

[David]

Sad to see them go, but should help out Jim @ Hoey's fly shop who is a great guy. I think he's the only one left north of Pittsburgh with IA and Sportsman's Warehouse both closing.

 

[dryflyguy]

Yeah, kinda odd that 2 giant fly shops in the area have recently, or are about to, close. And Jim's still hanging in there. Good for him.
He's the little fly shop that could, I guess

 

[boss_steb]

Sportsman's warehouse has been gone since May...where is Hoey's fly shop...I don't know that I have ever heard of that...

Jerry

 

[dryflyguy]

Hoey's is on route 19 in Perrysville. Around 4-5 miles north of the pittsburgh border

 

[Ramcatt]

its funny...
people feel bad about a shop closing, but have no problem shopping somewhere else... the 20 flies for $10 from orivs.com.... the threads posting links to Sierra trading post and redtruck... buying fly stuff at cabelas, gander mtn, or (when it was open) sportsmans wharehouse

OR

the guys who will wait to drop any money at shop until the liquidation tent is in the parking lot and say how its such a shame they are closing

 

[afishinado]

Ramcatt wrote:
its funny...
people feel bad about a shop closing, but have no problem shopping somewhere else... the 20 flies for $10 from orivs.com.... the threads posting links to Sierra trading post and redtruck... buying fly stuff at cabelas, gander mtn, or (when it was open) sportsmans wharehouse

OR

the guys who will wait to drop any money at shop until the liquidation tent is in the parking lot and say how its such a shame they are closing

All true. I'm as guilty as the next guy when it comes to buying from the "big box" stores or "virtual" fly shops. Although I try to balance the dollars I spend. For example, why buy say a Sage or Winston rod or Simms waders, boots, etc. from a BB store or on the internet when they sell at the same retail price no matter where you buy them. Why not take a trip to your favorite fly shop to cast the rod or try on the waders and buy it there. Also I am very fussy when it comes to many tying materials such a DF necks or saddles, dubbing mixes, etc. and buy them from a local shop. All things being equal or even close in price, I will spend my dollars at the local fly shop. Every factory-built rod I own was purchased at a local fly shop.

The BB stores, such as Cabelas, have the advantage over the smaller shops having a large selection of "name" brands in stock and also their own store brands. They also have a huge selection of outdoor clothing in all sizes and shapes, and often run sales on discontinued gear, so I may buy from them in that case.

The smarter shop owners try to have some "point of difference" from the BB or Internet shops by carrying hard-to-find or unique items, local patterns of flies tied in-house, custom-built or rod brands not available at the BBers, etc. Most importantly, they always offer excellent customer service. The shops that do this will survive both the bad economy and the competition from the big boxes and virtual guys.

 

[PennKev]

I'm going to play the devil's advocate here:

The two shops are only 17 miles apart. They share the same customer base, Pittsburgh. Why spend the money stocking, staffing, and maintaining two stores in the same market? Granted, Pitt is one of the state's largest cities, but I don't think you will have to wait in line after they close the Aspinwall store. I would be willing to bet that their loyal customers already patronize both locations to some degree. They will not lose those customers. They might lose the once-in-a-while shopper, but the decrease in operating expenses may easily make this a tolerable loss. On the flip side, they probably split a good sized chunk of their customer base between the two shops when they opened at a second location, rather than attracting mostly new customers.

In my opinion having the two stores never made much sense. IF they want to branch out, put the second shop in a popular destination.

Kev

P.s. I do visti their shop(s) from time to time...