TV craze boosts Fishing Republic

The Rotherham-based firm said expansion beyond its Northern heartlands is going well and it is well placed for further growth following the opening of five new stores last year.

The firm’s chief executive Steve Gross said: “We are opening stores in the South and they are going very well. All our stores are trading very well. We started with six stores and we’re now at 12 stores.

“There are now four fishing programmes on TV. The Big Fish off on ITV2 has just finished.

“Carp fishing is the big trend. It’s nice to take a picture of a big fish, put it on social media and then put it back.

“Carp are treated almost like royalty. If you see a damaged scale, fishermen will put (medicinal) liquid on the scale before putting it back.”

Fishing Republic reported a year of “strong progress” in 2016 and said the main fishing season has started well, helped by the recent warm weather.

The group’s revenue jumped 41 per cent to £5.8m in the year to December 31 and pre-tax profit before exceptionals rose 32 per cent to £400,000.

Like-for-like sales rose an impressive 16 per cent.

“There’s more to come with like-for-like sales,” said Mr Gross.

“It takes up to seven years for stores to come to maturity.”

The group has taken on another 10 staff at its head office in Rotherham, bringing the headcount to around 40 people.

Fishing Republic is keen to buy more stores. The market is large but very fragmented with over 2,000 businesses, most of which are stores operated by their owners.

It has already opened three stores in the first quarter of 2017 in Milton Keynes, Ipswich and Reading and will open another three over the coming months. It plans to open another two or three towards the back end of the year.

The group said it sees significant potential to develop its online sales.

Until now, online revenues have been driven from third party websites.

In the second half of 2016, the group accelerated investment in its digital strategy in order to move sales to its own websites, where margins are higher and where it can develop a direct relationship with the customer.

“We are pleased with the results so far and the continuing development of our online platform and digital strategy will remain a major focus in the year to come,” said Mr Gross.

Sales from the group’s own websites over the year increased by 132 per cent to £662,000. As anticipated, overall online sales decreased to £1.66m, down from £1.84m as it moved from third party platforms.

“As we further develop our online presence and with the continuing expansion of our store network, we expect to see online sales accelerate,” said Mr Gross.

“The website has got bells and whistles and is mobile friendly. You can take a picture of your credit card and the website can recognise the digits.”

He said this was helpful for customers who use their mobiles while spending a weekend camping and carp fishing.