Routed Tackle is a mobile tackle shop housed in a large trailer that can be set up at fishing tournaments to give anglers fast access to essential tackle. Routed Tackle will sell all major brands of lures with the potential to expand to fishing line, rods, and reels. The number of tournaments held every year and the dedication of anglers to their sport creates a unique market for selling fishing lures. The overhead will be low as there will be no shop to maintain and no land to pay for. The fishing industry, especially tournament fishing, has exploded in the past five years and is continuing to grow which provides a unique opportunity for business.

Which Lure Will Work?

Since an angler can’t be sure of exactly what a fish will bite at a specific time on a specific lake, anglers often don’t have the tackle that they need to be competitive. During fishing tournaments, anglers are willing to spend large sums of money to buy the exact tackle that they deem necessary to win. Routed Tackle will be open several days prior to an event and the morning of the event, providing immediate access to the perfect tackle for that specific area.

Customers will predominantly be anglers fishing tournaments, as the location of the shop will be directly related to where a large tournament is being held; however, the trailer can be opened in select cities when there is not a tournament being held there.

Marketing

Marketing for Routed Tackle will primarily be the location of the trailer and images on the trailer, however social media will also be used heavily. Eventually, we will partner with tournament directors who can advertise to anglers about us. A large part of our marketing will be the location of our trailer and the bright, eye-catching trailer. The trailer will be wrapped with the name and website of the company as well as social media links. The trailer will be white with very large fish on it that will make it clear what purpose the trailer is being used for. The name of the company and logo will be displayed across all sides.

The trailer will be large and expandable having several slide-outs allowing it to have a huge selection of tackle. Most major brands will be sold and anglers will shop, making their selection before paying at the register on their way out.

Competition

The competition for Routed Tackle will be local tackle shops at the tournament location. The problem with local tackle shops is that they are often either not open the morning of the tournament or are not close enough to the launch to be accessible to anglers. Further, many tournament locations do not have tackle shops. The location of the trailer will be the competitive advantage of Routed Tackle.

The Team

The team of employees for Routed Tackle will include people close to the fishing industry. The owner, Daniel Jones, has several years of tournament fishing experience and is a member of the UT Martin Bass Fishing Team. Other employees will include fishermen who have knowledge of the fishing industry and can recommend lures to customers. Local employees who know the lake the tournament is on can provide information to customers and can be another competitive advantage to Routed Tackle.

Easily Scalable

The Routed Tackle business is an easily scalable business as fishing tournaments are held across the country. There are also many different tournament trails for fishermen, so the number of markets is large. Relatively speaking, the cost to open a new trailer is low and the size and selection of lures in a specific location can change depending on the size of the tournament trail. Fishermen also require specific rods, reels, and line that eventually routed tackle can sell as well. Fishing tournaments are also held across the world in countries like Africa and Australia so eventually, trailers could be opened internationally.

Profitability

There are more than 10,000 different fishing lures and accessories available to anglers today. Fishing products are also marked up anywhere from 50% to 75% aiding in a high profitability. Assuming half the anglers buy at least one fishing lure at an event averaging $8 with a markup of only 50%, the gross margin is $4,800 with the ability to travel to 10-12 events per season per trailer. With only a small staff of one or two employees, the profit margin for Routed Tackle is relatively high.  

Capital Investment is minimal!

Capital needs include the initial cost of the tackle, the trailer and wrap, and a truck to pull the trailer. A trailer will cost roughly $40,000 after the trailer has been bought, modified, and wrapped. The initial tackle purchase will be large, however future purchases will be much less. I estimate roughly $5,000 will be necessary to have a large selection of tackle. A truck will be leased to save capital. I am asking for $5,000 dollars to pay for the truck for the first year and to pay for getting the truck wrapped. I am asking for a total of $50,000 to get this business started. Assuming approximately $4,800 gross margin per tournament, it will take approximately 11 tournaments to pay back the initial investment. After paying employees, providing hotel rooms, and paying for fuel and other essentials, the investment can easily be made back in two years.

Key to Success

The key to success for Routed Tackle will be availability at a specific location. Prices will be higher than large tackle shops or department stores such as Walmart and Academy Sports, however they will be comparable to local tackle shops. The competitive advantage of Routed Tackle will be the location of the shop and the accessibility of the lures to the anglers.