Over the last few years we’ve seen tackle shops close, retailers struggle, and manufacturers push prices ever higher as the cost of simply staying in business continues to rise.
The usual reasons get mentioned…
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Cost of living.
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The end of the COVID boom.
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Rising business costs.
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Too many brands.
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The second-hand market.
But are we missing one of the biggest reasons?
Temu.
Before anyone says “it’s all rubbish”, have a proper look at what’s happening.
I was browsing Temu earlier and found listings like these:
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Fluorocarbon line – 91,000+ sold
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Carp hooks – 84,000+ sold
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PVA Mesh – 75,000+ sold
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Bait needles – 73,000+ sold
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Hook removers – 71,000+ sold
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Pop-ups – 67,000+ sold
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Monofilament – 66,000+ sold
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Another hook listing – 66,000+ sold
That’s from just a handful of products.
We’re talking well over half a million individual sales from a tiny snapshot of one marketplace.
So who’s losing those sales?
Twenty years ago the supply chain looked something like this…
Factory → UK importer → Distributor → Tackle shop → Angler
Today it’s becoming…
Factory → Temu → Angler
The importer disappears.
The distributor disappears.
The tackle shop misses out.
Even the tackle brand can disappear if it’s simply selling a rebranded version of the same product.
Are anglers simply getting smarter?
I actually think they are.
Years ago we’d happily spend £6 or £7 on a packet of hooks because that’s what they cost.
Now people ask…
“Can I get the same thing somewhere else?”
Take hooks as an example.
You can buy 50 Hirisi PTFE-coated hooks for around £3 delivered.
Compare that with paying £6-£8 for a packet of ten premium branded hooks. Then standard UK delivery is around £3-£5 on most websites. So over £10…
For anglers who change hooks regularly, that’s a huge difference.
It’s the same story with:
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Baiting needles
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PVA systems
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Rig tools
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Bait screws
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Hook beads
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EVA luggage
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Tackle boxes
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Braid
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Fluorocarbon
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Pop-ups
None of these are difficult for factories to manufacture.
Is the quality the same?
Not always.
I’m not saying every product on Temu is identical to what you’ll buy in your local tackle shop.
Premium brands still invest in:
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Product development
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Testing
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Better materials
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Quality control
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Warranties
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Customer support
There are definitely products where I’d still buy from established tackle brands without hesitation.
But let’s be honest…
There are also plenty of accessories where many anglers probably couldn’t tell the difference.
Has social media changed everything?
Years ago brands controlled the conversation.
Magazine adverts.
DVDs.
Sponsored anglers.
Today?
Someone buys a £3 packet of hooks, catches twenty carp on them, uploads it to Facebook or YouTube and suddenly thousands of anglers have seen them.
Word spreads incredibly quickly now.
Is this why the industry feels different?
I don’t think Temu is the only reason.
The industry is also dealing with:
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An ageing customer base.
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The end of the COVID tackle spending boom.
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A massive second-hand tackle market.
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Rising operating costs.
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More competition than ever.
But I genuinely think direct-from-China marketplaces are one of the biggest changes nobody seems willing to talk about.
If hundreds of thousands of anglers are buying end tackle directly from overseas factories, that’s potentially millions of pounds that aren’t going through UK retailers, distributors or brands.
Maybe brands need to evolve?
Perhaps the days of simply buying generic products, putting a logo on them and charging ten times the factory price are coming to an end.
The brands that will continue to thrive are probably those offering something Temu can’t easily copy:
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Genuine innovation.
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Proven reliability.
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Outstanding customer service.
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Specialist bait.
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High-end electronics.
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Products with years of development behind them.
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A strong community that anglers actually want to support.
Because today’s angler is asking a much harder question than they were 15 years ago…
“Why should I pay ten times more?”
If a brand can genuinely answer that question, people will still buy it.
If they can’t, anglers are increasingly prepared to look elsewhere.
What do you think?
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Have you bought carp tackle from Temu, AliExpress or similar?
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Was it surprisingly good, or complete rubbish?
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Where do you still insist on buying premium brands?
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Are UK tackle companies facing their biggest challenge yet?
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Or is this just healthy competition that’s forcing the industry to offer better value?
Interested to hear everyone’s thoughts on this one. I think it’s one of the biggest changes the carp fishing industry has seen in years, yet hardly anyone is talking about it.