Much more than just a ‘fly company’

What started as a dream by a Danish fly angler and fly tyer to offer Scandinavians more modern materials has turned into a fast-growing European distribution business. Today, The Fly Company supplies much more than simply flies and materials.

In the mid 1990s, visionary Danish fly fisher and tyer Morten Valeur, frustrated at the limited supply of rather old-school fly tying materials in Scandinavia stores, set about trying to change that and usher in a more modern era.

Together with his brother Henrik, he inspired many new fly tyers by founding The Fly Company back in 1995, and Morten quickly became a well-known face in Danish tackle shops.

The little company grew quickly thanks to the two brothers’ knowhow and tenacity, and they expanded their business to the rest of Scandinavia.

Morten quickly became a very well-respected salesman, as his van, stuffed to the brim with fly tying materials, visited almost every single tackle shop across Scandinavia.

The company added quality brands of fly fishing tackle and clothing to its portfolio and the foundation was laid for what, today, is one of the most successful wholesale stores in the European fly fishing industry.

The next step moved the Fly Company forward some more, when, in 2019 it was bought by Fluebinding Aps, headed by CEO Hanna Bossow Vestergaard and head of sales John Petermann, keeping it under Danish ownership.

Indeed, John was one of Morten’s first costumers from back in the mid-1990s. Furthermore, original co-founder Henrik Valeur continues to work for the company to this day.

 

Keeping Europe supplied

Today The Fly Company distributes its quality fly tying materials and flyfishing gear to tackle shops across Europe but the Scandinavian countries of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, continue to be its primary markets of sale.

The original company principles created by founder Morten Valeur still carries on to this day. The importance of keeping a very close connection and relationship, with both suppliers and customers is still a core value in the company.

New CEO Hanna Bossow Vestergaard and head of sales John Petermann are both very skilled fly fishers and well-known, respected names on the Danish fly fishing scene.

Furthermore, they have many years of experience between them working in the Danish flyfishing industry, from both working and owning a tackle shop to being brand ambassadors and so on. The deep knowledge of their key products is also a crucial value for Hanna and John.

Hanna explained: “Being experienced fly tyers means knowing what you sell. Knowing what you sell means better products for our customers coupled with a very high level of service. The fly tying world is also about the creativity happening behind the vice, the new ideas and trends created by fly tyers all over the world. This company needs to be on the forefront of all that. “What new materials are trending, which classic materials found new uses? What do the discerning fly tyers need in the world of tomorrow? That is The Fly Company business and, of course, making sure we have a very wide selection of fly tying/fly fishing products for the European retail stores, not to mention all the passionate fly fishing men and women out there.”

CEO Hanna Bossow Vestergaard and head of sales John Petermann .

 

Growing quickly

Selling fly tying materials was the core focus for the company back in the day but, as the business expanded, fly fishing hardware has become increasingly important.

To this day it is a very important value for The Fly Company to distribute a diverse array of fly fishing articles, all the way from the tiniest dry fly feathers to the biggest and meanest saltwater reels.

In the fly tying department, The Fly Company is distributing quality items from both Tiemco Fly Fishing and Ahrex hooks, along with the amazing products from Whiting Farms and Ewing Feather Birds.

These worldwide brands are, of course, among its bestselling items but, in a company having more than 10,000 different SKUs in stock, the number of popular, quality fly tying products is rather large.

Great brands such as Wapsi, Hedron, Spawn Flyfish, Rainy´s, RaidZap and Deer Creek are also among the bestsellers.

On the hardware front, The Fly Company now has Renzetti´s marvellous fly tying tools and vises. Furthermore, it is the European distributor of Miami-based Nautilus Fly Reels, one of the world’s best quality fly reels. In addition, it is also selling tackle from both Temple Fork Outfitters and Scandinavian brand Arctic Silver Innovation.

 

Moving forward

The last few years have been a very exciting journey for the new owners of The Fly Company.

A very open minded and positive attitude from business partners towards the new ownership has been a blessing and has been received with much gratitude from Hanna and John. They are looking very much forward to continue their good business relations and learning new aspects of the fly fishing industry.

As for the global pandemic, it has naturally increased the interest in homebound activities and therefore more general interest in fly tying. However strange it may sound, Covid-19 has led to increased sales.

This, together with the visions of the new leadership, have created a very exciting base for further development. Looking forward, new ideas and brands are definitely in the pipeline and the future of The Fly Company is shining bright.

https://flyco.dk/

X