Penn pimping, why did the company never upgrade the old school reels?

Started by CapeFish, June 27, 2018, 11:34:50 AM

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MarkT

Quote from: swill88 on June 30, 2018, 05:11:33 PM
Isn't that the whole idea behind tariffs? 

Manufacturing jobs here.

Steve

Yes but it won't work. Europe is retaliating with tariffs of their own leading to Harley and Indian having to build plants in Europe to have any hope of being competitive.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

bill19803

Bring  jobs  back  to  US?  With  Penn up   for   sale  again,  the massive  cash infusions  needed  to  bring  it back   from overseas  aint   gonna  happen.  And  tariffs increase  the  cost  of  machine  tools (steel)    needed   to   make  parts.  Penn    may very well  go the   way  of  MITCHELL,  SHAKESPEAR AND  OTHERS
OWNED  BY  SAME   CONGLOMERATE

Swami805

The tariffs are on the raw material which makes it cheaper to manufacture at the point of sale on some things. Tariffs on things manufactured overseas just makes it more expensive  to the consumer.
Do what you can with that you have where you are

swill88

I guess if you are really into making big money then you want the middle class in China and India affluent enough to buy everything that can be made.  Makes sense to have the good paying jobs in Asia.  That's what is happening.

Steve

oc1

The only way to compete with Asian countries in manufacturing is to accept their standard of living.  Some day we may meet them in the middle.
-steve

Brewcrafter

Steve has a good point.  By my way of thinking, any time you try and tinker with a true free market economy (which we do not have) you are basically tap dancing on quicksand.  But as far as reels: Mark had a good point about Newell, and while I don't know the numbers, there is certainly the possibility that what was a thriving busine$$ for Newell in terms of Gro$$ and Net might have been such a small blip on the radar for Penn to where it really wasn't worth it to them to chase it.  And from what I understand Accurate pretty much started out the same way - making hot-rodded Penns. 
If you look at another industry, (automotive) that is pretty much how the aftermarket works.  Chevrolet, Ford and Mopar make gazillions of units.  For the most part, while companies like Edelbrock (et Al) may be banging out what seems like a lot of (intake manifolds, heads, exhausts, etc you pick) that are "better" than what comes from the majors the truth is it's not worth the factories time to produce what they see as limited runs.  And in many cases they will go ahead and purchase from the aftermarket if it fills a need since it is literally cheaper for them to just buy it.
To get back to the fishing reels that we all love, I heard a good one last week on "Let's Talk Hookup" (SoCal weekly fishing radio show, Sat/Sun from 7-9 Pacific, deals pretty much with SoCal ocean fishing.  Fun show, great guys, great guests, good info.  Webcast on "Mighty 1090 Sports Radio" for those of you in other parts of  the world that might be interested in listening.  Anyhow, I digress...)  Last week they has a rep from Shimano on as a guest (okay, Shimano also sponsors their show in the interest of transparency) and one of the callers asked a great question that basically asked when they would come out with a smaller format Baitrunner Reel for some freshwater applications.  He indicated that they had looked at it, and done some market research, but until they feel that there is enough demand; just because they can make it doesn't mean they can make it with an acceptable ROI in time or money. The rep also illustrated how one of the reels that they make (I think it was a Tranx?  Honestly I am not that "up" on Shimano reels) is pretty much the "go to" for a particular style of SoCal fishing (albacore) that hasn't happened in years.  And his point (okay, he's a sales guy I get it) was that IF we got a season this year, that the limited supply of these reels would immediately disappear of local shelves and because of tooling and manufacturing considerations, the lead time could very well be 6 months or more before more showed up.
For any of these major tackle manufacturers, designing a great product, figuring out how to make it affordably and how many they need to sell (that old "cost versus demand" curve we all learned in school) has literally got to be a nightmare...

MarkT

I think Accurate started in the fishing business as a sub-contractor for Tiburon then went into the business for themselves.
When I was your age Pluto was a planet!

Swami805

A good example would be the Penn magpowers. They took all the beefy parts from other reels,made bars, other upgrades,cast control really a lot of great features at the time. I don't think it sold very well and I'm sure it cost Penn a bundle at the time for the tooling ect to make it. It's a big gamble for a company to take.
Newell was a little different, the man like to fish and wanted better reels so he used his expertise to make them. I'm sure the company made money but he had income from other sources so he could afford to stick his neck out a little.
Penn is controlled by share holders so you live and die by profit margin if you work for Penn. If moving the manufacturing back here would increase their profit margin I'm sure they'd do it.
Seems like these days the world economy is like a game of wack-a-mole, be interesting to see how this tariff thing works out.
Do what you can with that you have where you are

mikeysm

Randy sure has Tiburon kicking out reel kits lately. Sell what people want is hard because they don't know themselves

Mike

ez2cdave

Of course, after Penn went to Chinese manufacture, what difference does it make, anymore ?

Tight Lines !

kmstorm64

I have been a proponent of the concept of an "equalizing tariff/restriction system" on goods and services form countries that have made it hard for the US to sell in those countries. Essentially if a nation places any tariff or restriction on what can be brought into their country, we automatically apply the same restrictions on their goods.  This will have a direct impact on those nations who manipulate the system.

Why is it that country A can sell a bizzillion cars in the United States but we get a restriction of 50,000 cars per year in their country. I say BS, slap equalization on them, you only get 50K.  Fair is fair.
Bad day of fishing still beats a good day at work!

Benni3

There's a company in China that makes alot of reels,,,,there little girls,,,,yes they got to eat too,,,,,I like to buy American,,,, ;) but my torque 5 was a little disappointing,,,,step up the game,,,,,, ;D

Tunanorth

Quote from: MarkT on June 30, 2018, 05:12:58 PM
Newell was making aluminum spools, bars and bases for Penn Squidders and Jigmasters before making complete reels of their own. Penn had plenty of opportunity to incorporate improvements rather than becoming obsolete. People here are still looking for faster gears and better drags for their Squidders when they've been available for decades as the Newell 220/229/235. Just refer to them as upgraded Squidders and you're good. No difference with upgrading your Jigmaster with the spools, frames, bridges, gears, drags, etc, available here until the only thing left from Penn is the name.



It should be noted that Carl Newell was in the fishing business strictly as a hobby. In all the years that the Newell Fishing Division existed, they never once made a profit, and since Carl passed in 2008, not a single Newell reel has been produced. Although a couple of hopefuls have purchased various rights to Newell Reels, they have all come to the same unfortunate conclusion; Without the subsidy of a multi-millionaire like Carl, they would have to either; A- move production to China, or; B- double the price. Neither of which seems a viable option.

Alto Mare

Quote from: MarkT on June 30, 2018, 05:12:58 PM
the only thing left from Penn is the name.



And its foundation so others could build on! :)

Sal
Forget about all the reasons why something may not work. You only need to find one good reason why it will.

alantani

send me an email at alantani@yahoo.com for questions!