Hez Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 Just read in @JayKumar's bass blaster that Lews sold! That really surprises me. Wonder if the quality of their product will change. Thoughts anyone? Quote
thebillsman Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 Saw that yesterday, too. Quote News 1. Lew's sold. That's a surprise: > An affiliate of Peak Rock Capital, a leading middle market private equity firm, announced today that it has acquired Do Outdoors Inc., doing business as Lew's Fishing.... > "We believe Lew's is an excellent platform for expansion through continued investment in new-product development and strategic add-on acquisitions." I was a BIG Lew's guy up until the Curado 70. I hope they can continue to produce a decent product. I would love to see them bring some manufacturing back to America and start drifting away from Doyo. That would be a huge factor for American buyers. I've never heard of Peak Rock Capital so I hope they have good intentions and a good business plan. Fingers crossed! 2 Quote
Super User J Francho Posted November 2, 2016 Super User Posted November 2, 2016 They have an interesting portfolio..... http://peakrockcapital.com/portfolio/ 2 Quote
Super User fishnkamp Posted November 2, 2016 Super User Posted November 2, 2016 Judging from the other companies in their portfolio, it sounds like they are looking to grow a company and stay with them as opposed to buying them to reduce competition. That is sorta refreshing. I hope both sides are rewarded as that will be a benefit to us the consumers for a change. 1 Quote
j bab Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 1 hour ago, thebillsman said: I was a BIG Lew's guy up until the Curado 70. So Shimano stole you away with that one? 1 Quote
thebillsman Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 1 hour ago, j bab said: So Shimano stole you away with that one? Well, I won't say stole me away because I have bought a TP since. Im just no longer exclusively Lews. The only reason I wasn't a huge shimano guy is because Lews did low-profile so much better. But now, with this 70 size available it's game on. The only thing I miss is the clicking spool tension. Both fantastic reels. I wouldn't hesitate getting reels from either manufacturer in the future. 2 Quote
Super User Goose52 Posted November 2, 2016 Super User Posted November 2, 2016 I think it's worth noting that this "iteration" of the Lew's brand only began shipping product in October 2010 - just six years ago. So, it's not like we're concerned about the future of one of the mainstream brands that have been around for a while. Lynn Reeves, the founder of the current Lew's, was able to leverage his purchasing experience at BPS, and his off-shore contacts, to resurrect a Lew's branded product from Korean OEM(s). He brought some good products to market, at good prices, but at the end of the day, they're still OEM-sourced and another enterprise could do essentially the same thing. The one BIG thing that I think Reeves and the current Lew's brought to the market was "agility" - the ability to react to market trends (or to competitor new introductions) and respond quickly with products the anglers are looking for. Compare this to his old outfit, BPS, that is NOT agile and is still relying on reels like the Pro Qualifier for volume and is not very responsive to the market. The down-side to the Lew's "agility" and quick product introductions is the almost bewildering number of models that they have introduced in the past six years. Again, great for the angler but I'm not sure it's good for the product support/spares part of the business. Anyway, here's hoping that the new owners will be equally as agile and responsive as the old owners were - to the benefit of us anglers... Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted November 2, 2016 Super User Posted November 2, 2016 Surprising... What did they design? The company doesn't make reels, they are just knock-offs of Abbadabadoo coming out of a different door from the same Chinese facility. "because Lews did low profile so much better"...I don't think so. 3 Quote
thebillsman Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 9 minutes ago, roadwarrior said: Surprising... What did they design? The company doesn't make reels, they are just knock-offs of Abbadabadoo coming out of a different door from the same Chinese facility. "because Lews did low profile so much better"...I don't think so. What pre-Curado 70 Shimano reel would you compare to the LFS platform in terms of size? The 50e? Yeah, no thanks. I thought I mentioned the part about Doyo doing the manufacturing end of Lews? Not to mention its Korea, not China. Pretty close to where the new Curado 70s are manufactured, Malaysia.. Surprising post from a "moderator" 2 Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted November 2, 2016 Super User Posted November 2, 2016 So is the factory proprietary or do they manufacture a variety of house brands? Quote
thebillsman Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 2 minutes ago, roadwarrior said: So is the factory proprietary or do they manufacture a variety of house brands? Doyo is Pure Fishing's manufacturer, so Abu and Pflueger? Along with Bass Pro Shops.. and of course Lews. However, I'm fairly sure they may interchange different bearings for each brand. Quote
Molay1292 Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 Dawon actually does a majority of the Bass Pro reels. Quote
j bab Posted November 2, 2016 Posted November 2, 2016 1 hour ago, thebillsman said: Surprising post from a "moderator" Mods are people too Just because someone is a moderator on a forum doesn't mean they know everything! That being said, I am definitely a Lews guy too. I have 4 and 3 on the way But I also have Daiwa & Shimano stuff. I think they each have great reels. Quote
Super User webertime Posted November 2, 2016 Super User Posted November 2, 2016 http://www.doyofishing.co.kr/main/index Lews, BPS, and Pure Fishing open doyo's catalog and pick a reel to have their name applied to. You want a Liger? You can get it at Doyo. You want a Lew's that looks like a 10 year old Quantum, they got those too. Thing is it's not necessary a bad thing, tons of recreation companies do this. Some like to built a chair to sit in. Some like to build a chair because they enjoy building the chair... If you are the type that values the time on the water that's where the doyo stuff is good (sit in the chair). I personally have never seen an OEM/catalog item last as long as a product that is made by a company with their own factories. Quote
Molay1292 Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 Lew's seem to be a fine product, lots of people using their product. I purchased 5 of the original Tournament Pro reels shortly after Lews made their initial offerings, I enjoyed fishing those reels but ultimately found something that suited me a little better. I find their current line-up of reels to be very jumbled and somewhat confusing. In my opinion a cleaner more defined line of products would be more appealing. Quote
j bab Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 16 minutes ago, Molay1292 said: Lew's seem to be a fine product, lots of people using their product. I purchased 5 of the original Tournament Pro reels shortly after Lews made their initial offerings, I enjoyed fishing those reels but ultimately found something that suited me a little better. I find their current line-up of reels to be very jumbled and somewhat confusing. In my opinion a cleaner more defined line of products would be more appealing. I agree with this. Their product line is very confusing, and I think they overdo the "speed" thing. I get that they want to remember the old original "speed spool" but dang near every item is "speed" something. Speed spools speed socks speed covers speed line speed beam speed shield... Why? Once again all that being said I love Lew's and I hope the buyout helps them. 1 Quote
Super User ChrisD46 Posted November 3, 2016 Super User Posted November 3, 2016 As long as new owners keep the Super Duty , BB1 and Tournament Pro series I will be happy ! 1 Quote
Super User rippin-lips Posted November 3, 2016 Super User Posted November 3, 2016 It's not Daiwa so no worries from me. 4 Quote
Super User kickerfish1 Posted November 3, 2016 Super User Posted November 3, 2016 1 minute ago, rippin-lips said: It's not Daiwa so no worries from me. Same here. I sold the last of my non Daiwa and Shimano reels about a year ago and haven't looked back since. No longer in the "Lewser's" club 1 Quote
cottny27 Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 1 hour ago, kickerfish1 said: Same here. I sold the last of my non Daiwa and Shimano reels about a year ago and haven't looked back since. No longer in the "Lewser's" club Bunch o' Shishamo snobs Quote
17meyem Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 I hope lews changes I've never had luck with them especially the spinning reels Quote
Super User Columbia Craw Posted November 3, 2016 Super User Posted November 3, 2016 Two great observations by Goose and JFranco. The investment group is north American based and already has an interest in sporting goods with relationships in " mass merchandisers." Lews is a well branded name and the company has become established in a very short period of time. Their marketing model seems to be effective. So many variants does seem overwhelming. This acquisition doesn't surprise me. The market share growth rate was impressive. I contributed to that growth. What did surprise me was BPS adding Lews products to their inventory after Reeves parted ways. It makes for interesting conversation. 1 Quote
Super User J Francho Posted November 3, 2016 Super User Posted November 3, 2016 8 minutes ago, Columbia Craw said: What did surprise me was BPS adding Lews products to their inventory after Reeves parted ways. It makes for interesting conversation. Probably driven by market forces. Profits override petty politics. Quote
thebillsman Posted November 3, 2016 Posted November 3, 2016 8 minutes ago, Columbia Craw said: Two great observations by Goose and JFranco. The investment group is north American based and already has an interest in sporting goods with relationships in " mass merchandisers." Lews is a well branded name and the company has become established in a very short period of time. Their marketing model seems to be effective. So many variants does seem overwhelming. This acquisition doesn't surprise me. The market share growth rate was impressive. I contributed to that growth. What did surprise me was BPS adding Lews products to their inventory after Reeves parted ways. It makes for interesting conversation. People keep saying this but Daiwa has probably double the available models that Lews does. Works for them.. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted November 3, 2016 Super User Posted November 3, 2016 9 minutes ago, thebillsman said: People keep saying this but Daiwa has probably double the available models that Lews does. Works for them.. Not quite. Take away the JDM and "power handle" jigging reels, and they both offer about the same number of models. Quote
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