Fishing Republic casts a line out as it expands into the Midlands
FISHING tackle retailer Fishing Republic is expanding into Birmingham as it looks to cast its line further into the market.
The South Yorkshire retailer has said that “trading continued to be encouraging” after a major investment in marketing, with sales for the four months to 31 October 2015 reportedly increasing 43% on the same period last year.
On the back of that success the company is moving into the West Midlands, having signed for space in South Birmingham at the close of the main fishing season.
The group wanted to expand its geographical reach, and will now move into a 5,300 sq ft unit set to open in March 2016, when the fishing season resumes.
Fishing Republic has also signed up for bigger premises in Hull, replacing its current outlet in the city.
The new site in Hull comprises approximately 9,000 sq. ft. in total, with the store scheduled for opening in January 2016.
The retailer, which was launched 30 years ago by chief executive Steve Gross, floated on the Alternative Investment Market , in June this year.
In September it reported a 38% increase in pre-tax profits to £149,000 as sales edged up 2% to £1.87m in its maiden half-year results, for the six months to June 30.
Mr Gross of Fishing Republic, said: “We are very pleased to see that sales in the four months to the end of October, the close of the main fishing season, show a significant uplift on same period last year. It reflects the benefit of additional sales and marketing expenditure following our IPO.
“We are also delighted to be establishing Fishing Republic’s presence in Birmingham. The city has one of the largest angling clubs in the UK and has traditionally been served predominantly by smaller fishing tackle retailers.
“We are confident that our large store format, carrying a wide range of product for all fishing disciplines, will attract anglers from a wide area across the Midlands.”
