Orvis lays off 112 employees and announces store closures

Orvis – the oldest mail-order tackle retailer in the US – has announced plans to lay off 112 employees, close a number of stores and discontinue its catalogue.

SGB Media reports that the Vermont-based company is to shed 8% of its workforce to enable a smaller and more agile business. In the US the company operates 70 retail stores and ten outlets, with 18 in the UK. It has not disclosed what stores will be affected by any closures.

In a statement obtained by VTDigger, Orvis President Simon Perkins, said: “Orvis is in a period of business evolution that requires us to think differently. Over the course of our 170-year history, the company has experienced similar cycles, but today’s challenges are new and they require us to be bold in order to continue sharing stories, experiences and products that inspire our customers well into the future.”

In his statement regarding those facing redundancy, Perkins said they will receive two months of full pay and benefits, additional severance pay and assistance with health insurance and job transition services. “The people we are saying goodbye to have made indelible impacts on the brand, their colleagues and the lives of our customers. We are investing the time, care and resources needed to honour and support them through this process,” added Perkins.

Orvis has been producing mail order catalogues since the late 1800s. The lay-offs come as the business, founded in 1856, announced in January that it is moving it headquarters in Sunderland, VT, to smaller offices in Manchester, VT, to support ‘an evolution of a hybrid work environment’.