Angling Direct ‘on track’ to be Europe’s top choice omni-channel retailer

Angling Direct – one of Europe’s fastest-growing tackle retailers – saw its profit before tax leap 279% in its last financial year.

And, according to its CEO, Andy Torrance, the group is on track to achieve its ambition to become Europe’s top choice omni-channel fishing tackle retailer.

The group made a profit before tax of £2.6m compared to a £1.5m loss in the previous year. Group revenue also increased 27.1% to £67.6m (2020: £53.2m). Online sales increased 39.9% to £35.3m (£25.2m) with international sales accounting for 12.4%. During the period, Angling Direct opened four new stores – Warrington, Bristol, Northampton and Leicester – to give it 38 at the end of its financial year. It reports that it has made a strong start to the first quarter of 2022 with sales up 54% compared to the previous comparable quarter. Online business is also showing healthy growth – up 42%.

Torrance added: “In a year characterised by the unique challenges of the pandemic, I am extremely proud of the way our people responded to help deliver such a strong group performance. We made great strides with our strategic and operational objectives, growing revenues both in the UK and key European territories, driving operational excellence across the business and delivering sustainable margin-accretive, profitable growth as part of our laser-focus on pricing and inventory management.

“As the health and wellbeing benefits of angling become more widely recognised and its popularity grows across the world, we are ideally placed to fulfil our ambition of becoming Europe’s first choice omni-channel fishing tackle destination for all anglers, regardless of their experience or ability.

“Having reopened our stores on April 11th and with the UK emerging from the pandemic, I am cautiously optimistic when I look to the future. The strong foundations we have put in place through 2020 will ensure the group is able to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that will arise through the remainder of 2021 and beyond.”