A cold crisp morning marked the start of what was to be a brilliant grand opening for Angling Direct Sheffield, filled with a “who’s who” of the angling world across coarse, carp, specialist and predator, as well as a whole host of customers throughout the day.
It has to be said, the store has been trading for a year or so after taking the reins from Climax Tackle; however the store was due a showcase opening and boy, it didn’t disappoint.
Despite an early start there were queues of people waiting to get into the store at 8am, and not just for warmth. With the ribbon cut, store manager Nick Pinder officially welcomed customers into the store.
A massive well done to Nick and his team of staff, who ensured that the shop was immaculate. All customers and guests were well taken care of all day, with food put on in the car park, and regular cups of tea and coffee for all.
On to the day, and in attendance was Lee Kerry from Preston Innovations, Nick Speed from Shimano, and Andy Kinder from Maver, forming the coarse section at the front of the store. They helped customers out with tackle, rigs, baits, and everything else throughout the whole day.
In the carp section at the back of the store we had Jerry Bridger, Adam Reed and Gaz Hood from Trakker, Julian Cundiff from Nash, Dave Fuidge from Shimano, Kev Hewitt from Angling Direct Swindon/Hinders. In the bait room were Ryan Heaton, Greg Myles, and Mark Backhorse from RG baits. There were various activities, such as Q & A sessions, solid bag demonstrations (Kev Hewitt) , bait tips , product advice, rigs (Julian Cundiff)as well as just general good old fishing chat.
That’s not all; in the predator/specialist room there were representatives from Fox Rage, Jason Stokes and Mark Bullivant, from Daiwa, Brian Skoyles, and Bob Roberts, and from Shimano, Andy Mytton, talking through lure ranges, casting tackle and techniques, and generally helping with all things predator and specialist.
As you can see by that list it really was a mini Northern Angling Show and a huge thanks to everyone for coming along.
Throughout the course of the day there were competition winners, including Mark Wright, who won some exclusive RidgeMonkey hooks, and our 100th customer of the day, Jarrod, who won a £100 AD voucher.
There were also carp, coarse, and predator goody bags for the first 200 customers, which were very well received, a huge thanks to Mainline, RG baits, Nash Tackle, Preston Innovations, Fox Rage, Daiwa Prorex and Advanta for contributing products for these.
Overall the day was a huge success and the store had a great buzz and feel about it. The store is massively impressive, comprehensively stocked and caters for anglers of all disciplines. Even if you missed the grand opening, head down to our Angling Direct Sheffield store and have a look for yourself.
