Lew’s parent company buys Strike King 2024
moguy1973 reply :
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/peak-rock-capital-portfolio-company-lews-acquires-strike-king-300549819.html
The whole fishing industry is going to be one big company someday.
J Francho reply :
You realize that's pretty much true for EVERYTHING, right? This is not unique to outdoor/sporting goods brands.
moguy1973 reply :
On 11/6/2017 at 10:51 PM, J Francho said:You realize that's pretty much true for EVERYTHING, right? This is not unique to outdoor/sporting goods brands.
Very true. It's all about the money. If someone offers enough money to buy something they will sell it off. No one business is immune to that.
J Francho reply :
On 11/6/2017 at 10:55 PM, moguy1973 said:It's all about the money.
It isn't ALL about money, but profit is a result of many things. Not everything is driven by greed. You can't profit selling crap.
fishballer06 reply :
That's interesting to hear. Strike King is a very large bait company (possibly the largest out there?). I haven't seen this reported on any other major fishing websites, so I'm leery if it's true or not.
If this is true, I wonder if "pre-Lews" Strike King baits will become highly sought after like other lures have become?
Edit. https://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/strike-king-acquired-11617.html
has now reported it too. Seems to be true.
BassWhole! reply :
On 11/6/2017 at 11:04 PM, J Francho said:It isn't ALL about money, but profit is a result of many things. Not everything is driven by greed. You can't profit selling crap.
Google guano wars..
J Francho reply :
Touche
hoosierbass07 reply :
On 11/6/2017 at 11:04 PM, J Francho said:It isn't ALL about money, but profit is a result of many things. Not everything is driven by greed.
lol. What world are you living in? Not the world I see every day.
Senko lover reply :
Not surprised, not happy about it. Strike King is my favorite fishing brand, so I hope they don't go downhill in any way. Otherwise those dang rage craws will be 20 bucks a bag now haha.
Gundog reply :
I didn't know Lew's had that deep pockets. I know they have been around for awhile. Read on their website that they licensed their name to Browning. Not really sure what to make of this move.
Columbia Craw reply :
There were subtle signs of this acquisition taking place over the last year or so. A number of long time Strike King Pro's had begun relationships with Lew's. Strike King product manager, Doug Minor was fishing Lew's products on a Strike King TV show and one of the co-sponsors for the show was Lew's. When Bass Pro Shops added Lew's to their reel line up I was curious as to what prompted Johnny Morris to support Lynn Reeves. The brands do compliment each other. I'm happy to see Strike King's leadership is intact. Thanks for sharing.
Kevinator1 reply :
On 11/7/2017 at 1:32 AM, hoosierbass07 said:
lol. What world are you living in? Not the world I see every day.
I'm with you on this one....been on this earth for over 53 years and have never seen the greed that is currently going on in this country.....I'm sure it is all about the money....
J Francho reply :
Phht, it's always been that way. If you choose to dwell in it, then that's your choice. I worry about myself, not others.
Montanaro reply :
Lets get real
SK is probably owned by some other conglomerate and Lews conglomerate saw an opportunity to expand into the lure market.
If I was a CEO of an outdoor sports conglomerate you bet your ass Id be licking my lips at the prospect of signing strike king onto my team!
J Francho reply :
Lew's reels is a smaller part of Lew's Holdings (fishing and hunting gear), which is a smaller part of Peak Rock Capital. MidCap Financial financed the transaction. It's all in the article, folks! Many, many of brands we buy are part of very large firms.
They also announced a change in leadership, which often happens. The parent company is able to provide C-level support, and guide the company through the transition, and moving forward. It all depends on the situation. Sometimes they're hands off, and sometimes they step in.
bowhunter63 reply :
I use Lews and SK alot.I Hope it's for the better and we don't loose quality.
Bankbeater reply :
I hope SK quality doesn’t go down, but you know Lews finance people are going to go through SK with a fine tooth comb.
BassWhole! reply :
On 11/7/2017 at 5:14 AM, Montanaro said:Lets get real
SK is probably owned by some other conglomerate and Lews conglomerate saw an opportunity to expand into the lure market.
If I was a CEO of an outdoor sports conglomerate you bet your ass Id be licking my lips at the prospect of signing strike king onto my team!
SK was until acquired a private company. It rode the wave of bass fishing popularity to become a prominent player. It's difficult if not impossible to get good numbers on private companies, but it seems to have been a $20-50 million, 50-100 employee company. Lew's parent company is a private equity firm, so $ they can get. Like someone else mentioned, I don't see the obvious play here, but it all ends the same with those guys, so leverage it out, and sell it to one of the big sector players I guess.
burrows reply :
Freaking sellouts! Lol
J Francho reply :
On 11/7/2017 at 7:46 AM, Bankbeater said:I hope SK quality doesn’t go down, but you know Lews finance people are going to go through SK with a fine tooth comb.
That due diligence would have happened long before the deal went down.
I see no reason quality would go down. Lew's didn't suffer quality issue when acquired, so they obviously know what they're doing.
Choporoz reply :
It's a reasonable concern....quality and price.
It's not as though the acquisition was by an outdoor enthusiast with a passion for sportsman and our pursuits. Peak Rock Capital and MidCap Financial aren't likely to be operations that care deeply about fishing products, fisherman, or anything other than making money. And that's ok, as long as their objectives support ours, we're all good. Hopefully, the need to stay competitive and please shareholders will be accomplished by continuing to create quality with price reasonableness. But, I don't think for a second that they will hesitate to eventually cut corners or raise prices if it means greater profits. I have to believe that profits are greater, at least in the short/medium run, when big companies cater to consumers more interested in price than other qualities that some of us might value more (quality, workmanship, durability, effectiveness, etc.)
I will remain hopeful....for the time being
J Francho reply :
Wow, that's a pretty negative outlook. Have you personally seen that with any Lew's products? Because I haven't.
Choporoz reply :
On 11/7/2017 at 11:12 PM, J Francho said:Have you personally seen that with any Lew's products?
Nope.
But considering the Peak Rock/Lews acquisition was all of one year ago, it might be a little bit early to find such evidence, even if it exists.
12poundbass reply :
I'll start by saying I'm not a business person and don't pretend to know anything about it, but here's my experience.
I used to work for a very large (employee wise) nation wide company that was/is worth over 200 million. Every few years you'd get a group of investors buy the company or a majority of it, ride the wave for a few years sell it and walk away with millions in profits. Nothing really changed except for growth. The same standards were still there. On our end you'd never know. You see it all the time, this doesn't appear to be any different.
You have a group of smart suits who see great potential and a good return on investment. I think it's better that they aren't anglers, less likely they'd try and put their 2 cents in. The one investor I told you about had their money in Bannana Replic, some watch company, and other carp and bought my company which was a infrastructure company, talk about polar opposites.
This is no different than flipping houses. Invest a little make money back. Why not do it?
Again I'm no expert and it's only my opinion and we know what those are like. ????
J Francho reply :
On 11/7/2017 at 11:21 PM, Choporoz said:Nope.
But considering the Peak Rock/Lews acquisition was all of one year ago, it might be a little bit early to find such evidence, even if it exists.
There's plenty of evidence in their portfolio. Cutting corners and reduced quality doesn't look to be their hallmark. In fact, their entire portfolio is more of a high end type product list.
http://peakrockcapital.com/portfolio/
BassWhole! reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 12:11 AM, J Francho said:There's plenty of evidence in their portfolio. Cutting corners and reduced quality doesn't look to be their hallmark. In fact, their entire portfolio is more of a high end type product list.
http://peakrockcapital.com/portfolio/
Queso dip AND gun barrels?, I'm surprised ya'll haven't erected a monument yet....
WRB reply :
Off topic, Just read some of this thread and seems to be taken over by anti business folks.
If a retail business isn't profitable it ceases to exit, profit and growth are the goals.
If you own a business there is only so much growth a single product line can achieve and starting up a new product line is an option, however acquiring a product line that you feel can add to your growth and profit is very common and always has been.
Profit and growth isn't always greed, competition and the market place has a way to reel that in.
I think this acquisition adding another fishing product shows a, interest is this business sector and looking to expand products.
Tom
Columbia Craw reply :
This relationship will benefit both brands in the long run.
moguy1973 reply :
So I'm wondering what the impact this will have on the SK pro staff. Especially KVD who is strictly a Quantum user. Wonder how Lew's will have an effect on that sponsorship.
Chance_Taker4 reply :
On 11/7/2017 at 4:29 AM, Columbia Craw said:There were subtle signs of this acquisition taking place over the last year or so. A number of long time Strike King Pro's had begun relationships with Lew's. Strike King product manager, Doug Minor was fishing Lew's products on a Strike King TV show and one of the co-sponsors for the show was Lew's. When Bass Pro Shops added Lew's to their reel line up I was curious as to what prompted Johnny Morris to support Lynn Reeves. The brands do compliment each other. I'm happy to see Strike King's leadership is intact. Thanks for sharing.
I posted a topic on BR a few months back that I say Quantum had dropped all KVD signature products and had a feeling that KVd would be popping up with a different rod and reel sponsor. This would only add fuel to my fire even though only slightly.
moguy1973 reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 1:32 AM, Chance_Taker4 said:I posted a topic on BR a few months back that I say Quantum had dropped all KVD signature products and had a feeling that KVd would be popping up with a different rod and reel sponsor. This would only add fuel to my fire even though only slightly.
Heh, I just asked the same thing just before you posted.
Chance_Taker4 reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 1:33 AM, moguy1973 said:Heh, I just asked the same thing just before you posted.
Between dropping the KVD Sig line and KVD not in the Quantum booth at iCast and how hard Quantum has been pushing Swindle lately I feel it is only a matter of time before you see KVD with a Lews patch on his jersey.
12poundbass reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 1:31 AM, moguy1973 said:So I'm wondering what the impact this will have on the SK pro staff. Especially KVD who is strictly a Quantum user. Wonder how Lew's will have an effect on that sponsorship.
What TM does KVD use? What brand electronics does he use/sponsored by?
Zona just went to Diawa, he's sponsored by SK. I'm guessing KVD has enough pull that he can do what he wants. If any sponsor gave him an ultimatum he could just walk away and get picked up by whoever he wanted. KVD is a loyal guy. He's been with Nitro, MG, Quantum, Bass pro, and I'm sure many more forever. You can't tell me another company hasn't offered him way more money to plug this or that.
J Francho reply :
What KVD uses is of very little concern to me. What ever he uses, he’ll be well compensated for it.
12poundbass reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 1:37 AM, 12poundbass said:What TM does KVD use? What brand electronics does he use/sponsored by?
On 11/8/2017 at 2:05 AM, J Francho said:What KVD uses is of very little concern to me. What ever he uses, he’ll be well compensated for it.
Mine was a rhetorical question. Trying to make a point with it. You probably figured that out. ????
Chance_Taker4 reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 1:37 AM, 12poundbass said:What TM does KVD use? What brand electronics does he use/sponsored by?
Zona just went to Diawa, he's sponsored by SK. I'm guessing KVD has enough pull that he can do what he wants. If any sponsor gave him an ultimatum he could just walk away and get picked up by whoever he wanted. KVD is a loyal guy. He's been with Nitro, MG, Quantum, Bass pro, and I'm sure many more forever. You can't tell me another company hasn't offered him way more money to plug this or that.
You are correct but BPS (Nitro) has partnered with Lews. SK was just bought by Lews I'm pretty sure if Lews wanted him they would contact Johnny Morris and get Kevin on board.
12poundbass reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 3:09 AM, Chance_Taker4 said:You are correct but BPS (Nitro) has partnered with Lews. SK was just bought by Lews I'm pretty sure if Lews wanted him they would contact Johnny Morris and get Kevin on board.
Not a chance (my assumption only). If that were the case he wouldn't be with Quantum, Oakley, HUK, and I'm guessing many others that would be a conflict of interest for Mr. Morris.
J Francho reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 3:09 AM, Chance_Taker4 said:You are correct but BPS (Nitro) has partnered with Lews.
What do you mean partnered? I know of no partnership between them. All I've seen is that they are reselling Lew's.
Chance_Taker4 reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 3:17 AM, 12poundbass said:Not a chance (my assumption only). If that were the case he wouldn't be with Quantum, Oakley, HUK, and I'm guessing many others that would be a conflict of interest for Mr. Morris.
I know it hold no grain of evidence but its interesting. A few guys I know that fish the Coasta series and sponsored by Lews is saying Lews is trying everything in their power to bring Kevin on board. they also told Bill Dance to move to Lews or be dropped by Strike King earlier before the merge was announced. That is the reason Dance is now with Berkley Rapala. Again I do not know and it was a rumor going around the lower Lews Staffers.
On 11/8/2017 at 3:18 AM, J Francho said:What do you mean partnered? I know of no partnership between them. All I've seen is that they are reselling Lew's.
In the contract between Lews and BPS there is a clause that BPS agrees to push Lews as their main brand under their house brand. My cousin is the head of the fishing department at BPS in my town and don't like it because he pushes Shimano to everyone even over BPS reels. But BPs came in and told employees that if a customer doesn't specify brands then show him BPS and Lews brand reels first. Although a forced partnership it is still a partnership.
J Francho reply :
Thanks, Gotcha!
12poundbass reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 3:20 AM, Chance_Taker4 said:I know it hold no grain of evidence but its interesting. A few guys I know that fish the Coasta series and sponsored by Lews is saying Lews is trying everything in their power to bring Kevin on board. they also told Bill Dance to move to Lews or be dropped by Strike King earlier before the merge was announced. That is the reason Dance is now with Berkley Rapala. Again I do not know and it was a rumor going around the lower Lews Staffers.
In the contract between Lews and BPS there is a clause that BPS agrees to push Lews as their main brand under their house brand. My cousin is the head of the fishing department at BPS in my town and don't like it because he pushes Shimano to everyone even over BPS reels. But BPs came in and told employees that if a customer doesn't specify brands then show him BPS and Lews brand reels first. Although a forced partnership it is still a partnership.
Very interesting stuff. I think Bill Dance and KVD are apples and oranges.
While I respect Bill Dance and enjoy some of his shows, take his advise, and respect his accomplishments his stock isn't what it used to be.
KVD probably has the highest stock out of any angler on this planet. Maybe your rumors have some merrit. My opinion, I'll bet Lews is chomping at the bit to get KVD (who wouldn't). Like the old saying goes you can want in one hand and ???? in the other and see which fills first.
DINK WHISPERER reply :
These kind of things happen all the time guys. If the quality of either does eventually drop, just buy something else. That's the beauty of being free, we can choose to buy from whatever manufacturer we want.
Hollywood Fisherman reply :
Could be about market share. Assuming SK and Lew's are profitable. Lew's as a stand alone private company might not be able to simply decide to launch a lure/bait/tackle brand and grow it into a market force, at least not in a timely way, but now they are owned by a venture capital firm.
The venture capital firm may have said to the Lew's management..."what can we do about market share to get into more aspects of the fishing market?" And compared to launching a "Lew's Baits" division, went out and bought themselves a bait/lure/tackle brand and with it, they are suddenly occupying a greater share of the market. The relationship will certainly bring professionals and "big names" into the Lew's fold, quickly. The portfolio now has greater share...and faster. Like when a Japanese golf ball brand bought a big American golf club brand rather than trying to create demand for a new lineup of their own irons and whatnot.
Dtrombly reply :
On 11/8/2017 at 1:37 AM, 12poundbass said:What TM does KVD use? What brand electronics does he use/sponsored by?
Zona just went to Diawa, he's sponsored by SK. I'm guessing KVD has enough pull that he can do what he wants. If any sponsor gave him an ultimatum he could just walk away and get picked up by whoever he wanted. KVD is a loyal guy. He's been with Nitro, MG, Quantum, Bass pro, and I'm sure many more forever. You can't tell me another company hasn't offered him way more money to plug this or that.
He's on record saying this, other companies have offered him more money than his current sponsors but he refuses to drop them because they have been with him from the start.
dodgeguy reply :
If Lew's products are any indication then sk lovers have nothing to worry about price or quality wise.
WRB reply :
Why give any thought to whom a pro angler is sponsored by? The pro's are paid to promote whatever sponsors they may have and are fully capable of negotiating contracts without conflict of interest.
I hope you don't make tackle buying decisions based on promotional advertising.
Tom
Chance_Taker4 reply :
On 11/12/2017 at 1:45 AM, WRB said:Why give any thought to whom a pro angler is sponsored by? The pro's are paid to promote whatever sponsors they may have and are fully capable of negotiating contracts without conflict of interest.
I hope you don't make tackle buying decisions based on promotional advertising.
Tom
Watch what pro goes to which company has nothing to do with my buying choice. I watch it and keep track like most people watch and keep track of player movement in other sports. You can ask my wife during the NFL and NHL offseason my life revolves around player movement and transactions. I see sponsorship changes in the same light.
burrows reply :
I only buy it if kvd says buy it.
J Francho reply :
On 11/15/2017 at 9:52 PM, Burro said:I only buy it if kvd says buy it.
Fish can't resist it's erratic action!
Steveo-1969 reply :
On 11/15/2017 at 9:58 PM, J Francho said:Fish can't resist it's erratic action!
Exactly! The fish "just can't handle it!!"
While I understand you shouldn't take what a sponsored pro recommends at face value, if professional sports figures/celebrity spokespeople didn't help companies sell more of their product they wouldn't use them.
burrows reply :
On 11/15/2017 at 9:58 PM, J Francho said:Fish can't resist it's erratic action!
It's that side to side hunting action that sets sets this bait apart, from any other bait!
BassWhole! reply :
On 11/16/2017 at 12:57 AM, Burro said:It's that side to side hunting action that sets sets this bait apart, from any other bait!
Don't forget to hold your hand out with fingers together, thumb up and wiggle it back and forth as you extent your arm out, KVD and Hank Parker have it down...
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