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A fly fishing shop that expects to be so popular it will classify as a tourist attraction will open this spring in Manchester, Vermont.
Described as a “destination retail showplace,” Orvis predicts the facility will generate a 40% increase in business over the existing store, which had become a landmark. The new store is expected to attract more than 250,000 visitors to Vermont per year. “With estimated sales tax revenues in excess of $300,000, the Orvis Flagship Store will have a significant impact on the tax base of the community and state,” said George Haskins, Orvis Director of Retail. Although Orvis is perhaps best known for its fly fishing equipment, the company has a wide range of products that will be offered in the new $7 million US facility. “Sales departments include fly fishing equipment and apparel, hunting equipment and apparel, men’s & women’s travel and leisure clothing, home furnishings and gifts, shoes and pet products,” states the company.
In addition to all the stuff to buy, Orvis will keep its customers entertained with a number of activities, including indoor and outdoor fish ponds, where people will be able to feed huge trout and learn about their habitat. “The facility will also feature fiberglass fish displays that will educate visitors about various species. There will be on-going fly-tying on weekends, and “how-to” seminars, as well as self-guided tours of the Rod Factory where families will be able to see the workmanship that goes into high tech graphite rods, some selling for as much as $500,” stated the company. “The experience of the new store and its outdoor products appeal to many people, whether existing customers, hard core sporting enthusiasts, or those who just appreciate the outdoor lifestyle, which is what Orvis and Vermont are all about,” said David Perkins, Orvis Executive Vice President. And if all that’s not enough to draw fly fishermen to the new Flagship Store in Vermont, there’s always the American Museum of Fly Fishing, which will move to a property next door in 2002.
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Only The Orvis Company could pull something like this off.
The Orvis Flagship Store will also have a private gun room selling high quality shotguns with gun fittings by expert gunsmiths. A 14-ft. fish sculpture, created by a local artist, will be visible day and night from within the store. A unique ‘country campus’ setting is planned, overlooking two trout ponds and the Orvis Rod Shop,” stated the company in a release.
