Omnia Fishing, the online tackle retailer that offers lake-specific tackle and technique recommendations, announced that it has successfully moved its operations into a new facility with nearly triple the warehouse and office space. We reached out to Seth Feider and Matt Johnson to see how the move went and what this means for the company.
Omnia’s CEO Matt Johnson commented, “We continued to tear down walls to add to our old warehouse but ran out of adjoining spaces. We began looking for a new space with hopes to move in October when the fishing industry is a bit slower.” Omnia has been able to increase its consumer base across the United States this year, so they mentioned that they saw a smaller slowdown than when they were exclusive to the upper Midwest.
“Luckily, our warehouse team knocked it out of the park, and our operations and shipping service was only down for about 4 days while we moved the entire business about a mile up the road,” commented Matt. “This new space will allow us to expand into new species, products that are relevant and preferred in new regions of expansion, and offer some 3PL services to a couple of top brands in the industry.”
The initial expansion across the country required a rapid increase in products and brands carried in their warehouse. The expansion effort also required increased staff to manage relationships with tournament directors and brand ambassadors that can provide expert fishing reports on tens of thousands of lakes. This increase in product selection and staff is what pushed Omnia to find a much bigger facility this off-season.
Starting a tackle shop as pro angler
Seth Feider shared a vision with co-founders Matt Johnson, Chris Morgal, and Dan Wick to make it easier for anglers to discover new tackle and make sure it’s relevant to their location, preferences, lake conditions, and time of year. The foursome started Omnia in early 2019 and have multiplied the business’ sales by more than 3 times every year since then. When asked about why start an online tackle retailer, Seth mentioned, “we saw the opportunity to do it differently online and replace the in-store big box experience where anglers sometimes seek information for an upcoming trip to a specific lake. Advanced anglers, who might know what they’re looking for, can still get ideas on new products that are working or see how colors and sizes are mentioned in fishing reports on the product and lake pages. Advanced anglers can also file their own fishing reports and get rewarded with free Omnia tackle credits when they help someone select the right tackle. Our goal was always to have a massive selection but make sure we had information like videos and fishing reports about each item in inventory. It’s a great way to connect experts or brand ambassadors with customers.”
Influencing tackle and gear sales
Seth also commented, “The industry has always been trying to figure out the voices and experts that have an influence over tackle recommendations that result in anglers getting the right stuff that catches them. The industry didn’t keep up with innovation, and the result was that YouTube helped increase the voice of social media influencers who could use their celebrity to sell products that weren’t necessarily the most effective on the water. We’ve always wanted to make sure the Omnia platform was a place for real anglers, not just pro anglers or influencers, to talk about real brands at all price points that can send someone to the water more prepared.” That’s a tall order for a technology-based retailer like Omnia, but the response has been awesome.
“If you can help anglers learn about new products and buy the right ones, we have the chance to help anglers stay in the sport longer and expand their knowledge base for better success on the water. This grows the sport over time and allows the best brands to connect with customers for long-term success and continued product innovation,” mentioned Feider.
Omnia’s future looks bright, and as they expand with their larger warehouse and Omnia Fishing Mobile App we expect them to play a bigger role in getting anglers the right gear and making them successful on the water. We look forward to working with them to organize media and other innovations that benefit the angler community and industry as a whole.
You can create an Omnia Account at OmniaFishing.com.
This month, you can enter to win Seth’s favorite reels from Daiwa here.
