Hardy and Greys Up For Sale

[Editor]

New article posted on theflyfishingforum.com: Hardy and Greys Up For Sale

The iconic British brand is looking for a new owner.......

 

[morayflyfisher]

Wish I had the money Paul.

A great company with superb products and it shows a sign of the times we are in.I hope someone does take it on and shakes it up and back to what it could be again.

come on the lottery tonight.

 

[mcnerney]

Paul: Interesting turn of events, I sure hope it goes to someone that can help Hardy regain it's status in the industry.

Larry

 

[s fontinalis]

we should do a syndicate - i'm in for $10

 

[sweetandsalt]

Actually, with Hardy's award winning line of very modern SINTRIX rods, "performance" reels like Ultralite DD and Fortuna X and re-issued classics like Perfect now machined and anodized, Hardy is on a roll. I can't think of a fly fishing company that has invigorated its reputation here in America as quickly and effectively as has Hardy. Someone with the proper credentials, sense of tradition and requisite deep pockets could accelerate Hardy to an elite position in the fly fishing industry.

 

[fredaevans]

I hope your right SAS, I hope your right. Another article on this (MidCurrent) has a statement by the American President which expanded on the topic. That aside apparently they sold 80,000 rods last year and took a 447,000 pound cash hit (roughly 3/4 million USD).

Sell that many rods and still in the red? They must have a very interesting Business Plan .......:shades:

 

[sweetandsalt]

Fred, I am going with Jim Murphy's (of Hardy-Grays North America) word on the subject bolstered by my very positive experience with the new products. I see Hardy tackle at fly shops that never sold it before (or at least not since a Lightweight series reel was must-have decades ago) and am fishing two Zenith and one Proaxis rod myself. I imagine some "Romney-esque" corporate raider could come in, buy it under pretense of preserving UK jobs and sell it to the Chinese but I hope the existing board will vet the proposed buyer(s) fly fishing historical credentials with an eye toward preserving history not merely capitol.

 

[mojo]

Lets just hope it's not a stockbroker or millionaire yuppie trying to make more money for themselves.

 

[sbreech]

Aren't they already making a lot of their products in eastern Asia anyway? I'd like to see them get back to their roots of having their products made in England. Is it House of Hardy or House of Mao? It really does amaze me when some of these companies are still selling their products at high-end prices while still having manufacturing done in China, Taiwan, etc etc.... Not that the products are necessarily bad, just that they are trying to push for such a high profit margin on a product that so many are banking on British tradition.

 

[mojo]

Aren't they already making a lot of their products in eastern Asia anyway? I'd like to see them get back to their roots of having their products made in England. Is it House of Hardy or House of Mao? It really does amaze me when some of these companies are still selling their products at high-end prices while still having manufacturing done in China, Taiwan, etc etc.... Not that the products are necessarily bad, just that they are trying to push for such a high profit margin on a product that so many are banking on British tradition.

Hardy's reels, minus a few are manufactured in Korea, not China. The reels I've seen have tighter tolerances than the UK built ones. I think the St. George and the Perfects are still made in England. Burk will know and maybe tell the complete story.

 

[Pocono]

I have a couple of Featherweights; clearly that Hardy line is manufactured in Korea and, given the prices of Hardy reels manufactured in the UK plus the technology and the performance of this product in my hands, I think that these Korean reels are priced reasonably. And I really do like the Korean-built Featherweights; they're my favorite reel for most 3 wt. rod applications; lightweight, smooth drag and classic look.

My favorite reel is still their UK-manufactured Perfect, which, for me, is just that.

Pocono

 

[sweetandsalt]

If I understand correctly, the Hardy rods (SINTRIX) and reels (Ultralite DD and Fortuna,et al) that are made in Korea are produced in state-of-the-art shops with thorough input and oversight from UK and US Hardy personnel. Some reel parts that involve steel are made in the UK and shipped to Korea where the quality aluminum machining and assembly are completed. There are SINTRIX rods made in the UK as well for over a grand each which I have never personally seen. Hardy is striving to survive in an internationally competitive world without sacrificing quality. I too love it when a venerable company in our fly fishing or any other industry devises a way to continue to produce the finest quality products here in the US or, in this case, Britain, preserving a tradition of craftsmanship and pride in workmanship. But in an ever increasingly international economic environment, partnerships must be formed and, when they are formed with nations that ally themselves with America, I have learned to accept this modern reality.

 

[brucerducer]

I wonder what kind of money it would take to purchase that Name etc?

 

[db cooper]

Odd...they finally tap into the U.S with one of the best rods in years (Zenith) and now they decide to sell...I sure hope they continue to grow in the right direction.