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A long time ago I read a book In Search of LL Bean that talked about the old A&F. Apparently their Manhattan (I think) store had a gunsmith on premises and carried fly fishing lures that were apparently as specific as this type of fish, in this river, during this month.

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This is apparently the lifecycle of outdoor fishing brands. Orvis (100+ yr old fly fishing company) places more emphasis on clothes than fly rods, flies and waders-- the margins and addressable market are probably both larger. Field and Stream is Dick's spinoff to target outdoors customers, and they typically dedicate 70% of floorspace to clothes, too.

Pretty much.

Not a fisherman but Orvis is better than most. But they're also still family-owned.

REI is also probably better than most but they're a co-op.

But even in those cases they're pretty mass-market oriented which is pretty inevitable unless you're mostly niche mail order. REI doesn't stay in business and support a broad retail network selling climbing ropes and carabiners.

My father managed an Eddie Bauer flagship in the 70s, and they sold shotguns and climbing gear, as well as camping and fishing equipment. He considered A&F their primary competitor, which is how I learned that history.

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