Reeling in the sales: Angling Direct posts surging revenue on back of international growth

The UK’s largest fishing equipment retailer said this morning that it was forecasting a spike in full-year revenue, as the group ramped up its online operations and enjoyed a bump in sales from anglers in Germany, Russia and France.

Angling Direct is expecting to post revenues of £42m for the 12 months to the end of January in its upcoming trading update, rising 38.9 per cent when compared with the same period in the previous year.

With a high percentage of its stock being imported from the Far East, the group’s board also shrugged off concerns over Britain's imminent departure of the EU, saying that “the business does not foresee any disruption to supply throughout the next few months, regardless of any Brexit outcome”.

International sales have largely driven the revenue rise, with a 98 per cent surge in foreign revenue boosting the firm’s performance in the last 12 months.

Growing investment in online platforms has also fuelled growth, according to Angling Direct, which said it saw a record black Friday week performance as sales rose 56 per cent compared with the year before.

Last year the group, which is listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market (Aim), posted a 55 per cent rise in revenue in the first six months of the year, on the back of a 60 per cent increase in both online and stores sales.

Read more: Angling Direct hooks in revenues as physical stores prove to be a big catch

“Results are very good but they could have been better if it hadn’t been for the extended winter. That said, we’re bucking the general retail trend. Both online and store sites can work well if you market both of them off of each other,” chairman Martyn Page told City A.M.

However, Page also added: “The average age of an angler is typically 47, and that’s an age we’d like to see come down. From the recruitment point of view it is fairly flat – there are not enough new anglers coming into the sport.”