Fast-growing e-commerce retailer celebrates anniversary and predicts record turnover

One of Europe’s fastest-growing fishing tackle retailers is celebrating a decade in business this year with an expected record turnover and planned expansion into several new territories.

Netherlands-based Visdeal, which operates what it describes as a unique business model where anglers can take advantage of limited-time discounts and daily deals on tackle, is predicting turnover of more than €21 million this year – a 54% increase compared to 2020.

It says that 400,000 anglers across Europe are subscribed to its daily deal newsletters which has domains set up in the Netherlands, UK, France, Germany, Poland, Denmark, Belgium and Italy. It is set to launch Promopesca.es for the Spanish market early next month and has plans to introduce more for countries in Northern Europe later this year.

“Each country has its own specific website in their mother tongue so that anglers can chose tackle that suits where they live,” explained Willem Bontrup, one of the co-founders of the business. We were experiencing steady growth before the pandemic, but since it struck fishing has really taken off. People want to go fishing and they want to order their products online.”

Based in Vianen, near Utrecht, Visdeal was set up by Willem and his twin brother, Tuen, who, recognising the success of group buying initiatives websites like Groupon and Groupdeal, set up a service specifically for anglers. Now the business has more than 75 employees – all of them anglers – and a 5,000sqm warehouse that has been recently updated with some of the latest automated packaging technology to make it even more efficient.

Willem added: “It is a good time to be in the fishing business, especially as a forward-thinking and innovative company when it comes to e-commerce. We are confident that the future holds more growth for us.”