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fully formalized- and broadened its corporate vision. Whilst Orvis has thrived and revenue has more than tripled under the second generation of
Perkins leadership, a long-simmering corporate identity crisis had to be addressed: the company's growth had strained Orvis's sense of direction - e.g. between 1982 and 2000, Orvis purchased six other firms, most of whose own identities did not mesh well with Orvis and thus put the clarity of the brand at risk. As a result beginning in 2000 a rebranding effort began to focus Orvis as a name synonymous with a distinctive, outdoor style of living.
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loan. At the time the company had 20 employees and $ 500,000 in annual sales. In 1966 Perkins established the Orvis fly-fishing school in
Manchester, Vermont, which is thought to have been the first of its kind in the United States. His idea was to both to democratize the world of fly casting and at the same time to expand his customer base. Eventually the company was to establish a total of seven such fishing schools.
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Orvis's conservation activism began with
Charles Orvis's work in fisheries conservation and management in the late 19th century and has continued since. Leigh Perkins continued with conservationism as a company value, donating to wildlife organizations before such practices were widespread. In 1994
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In 1965 after nine months of negotiations with
Corkran, Leigh H. Perkins (27 November 1927 - 7 May 2021) bought Orvis for $ 400,000, equal to $ 1,933,685 today. Perkins had since his youth held an admiration for the company which he purchased using $ 200,000 in savings and the rest in the form of a
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Perkins recognized the opportunity to make Orvis synonymous not only with fly fishing but with an entire way of life, and greatly enlarged the product line in the 1980s into gifts and clothing. Described by contemporaries as a genius at mail order, Perkins pioneered the trading of customer mailing
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By the time that
Perkins retired in 1992 and turned Orvis over to his sons the company had grown to have annual sales of $ 90 million and more than 700 employees. Under the leadership of Perkins' sons, then-CEO Leigh ("Perk") Perkins, Jr., and Executive Vice Chairman Dave Perkins, Orvis has more
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claimed the fishing rod market, Orvis competed with bamboo rod builders, such as Payne, Gillum, and
Garrison, while its fiberglass and graphite rods competed with Shakespeare, Fenwick, and other emerging post-bamboo-era firms. The firm produces high quality flies and fly-tying tools, employing
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Prior to the Civil War Orvis was sending out catalogs, which predated more famous ones from Sears, Roebuck by more than 20 years. Charles's daughter, Mary Orvis
Marbury, took charge of the Orvis fly department in the 1870s. In 1892, she published an encyclopedic reference book on fly patterns
315:, named the Orvis fly rod one of the five best products made in the United States in the 1980s. Historian Kenneth Cameron has written that Perkins' accomplishment was to "define the look of contemporary fly fishing and the entire social universe in which it fits, no small achievement."
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Orvis operates 70 retail stores and 10 outlet/warehouse locations in the US and 18 retail stores and one outlet store in the UK. Owned by the
Perkins family since 1965, the company has changed hands twice and has had five CEOs in its history.
303:. Inspired by Perkin’s respect for working dogs, the company introduced the Orvis Dog Nest bed in 1977, which not only launched an entirely new category for the company, but which was the first of its kind sold in the United States.
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Under
Perkins and Jordan's successor as chief rod builder, Howard Steere, Orvis became one of the most innovative manufacturers of high-quality fly rods and reels, especially in the development of graphite fly rods. In 1989,
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4,500 (equal to $ 98,569 today), and quickly revitalized the business. Corkran hired master bamboo rodbuilder Wes Jordan, who by the late 1940s had developed a
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Simon
Perkins, the son of Leigh “Perk” Perkins (former Orvis CEO), and grandson of Leigh H. Perkins took over the company as president in 2020
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Following Charles's death in 1915, sons Albert and Robert managed the company until the 1930s, when it essentially collapsed during the
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Since the 1970s, Orvis has annually donated five percent of its pretax profits to conservation projects in cooperation with the
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was described by reel historian Jim Brown as the "benchmark of American reel design," the first fully modern fly reel.
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Marcel, Joyce, "Leigh H. 'Perk' Perkins, Jr. and the Orvis Company." Vermont Business Magazine, January, 2005, 1-14.
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impregnation process that made Orvis bamboo rods uniquely impervious to weather, rot, and other perennial perils.
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A Treasury of Reels: The Fishing Reel Collection of The American Museum of Fly Fishing
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347:'s Chevron Conservation Award for lifetime achievements in conservation.
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658:"Orvis: Conscious Capitalism and the Evolution of a 165-year-old-brand"
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Clothing, gift/home, fly fishing, dogs, luggage and outdoor equipment
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A Sportsman's Life: How I Built Orvis by Mixing Business and Sport.
484:"Leigh Perkins, Who Built Orvis Into a Lifestyle Brand, Dies at 93"
399:"Leigh Perkins, Who Built Orvis into a Lifestyle Brand, dies at 93"
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businessman-sportsman Dudley Corkran, purchased Orvis in 1939 for
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USA Today. "The 80's, What Made The List." November 28, 1989, 6A
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The Orvis Story: 150 Years of an American Sporting Tradition
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Perkins was recognized for his efforts when he received the
681:"Orvis: How To Reinvent A 160 Year Old Fly Fishing Company"
420:. Manchester, Vermont: The American Museum of Fly Fishing.
454:(Paperback). Manchester, Vermont: The Orvis Company, Inc.
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Grand Junction, Colorado: Centennial Publications, 1992.
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643:"Simon Perkins Becomes Third Generation to lead Orvis"
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182:business specializing in fly fishing, hunting and
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744:Sporting goods retailers of the United States
552:"Video: How to tie an A.K. Best Spent Caddis"
291:lists among his chief competitors, including
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764:Family-owned companies of the United States
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221:Charles F. Orvis opened a tackle shop in
571:Perkins, Leigh, with Geoffrey Norman.
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178:is an American family-owned retail and
16:American retail and mail-order business
719:American companies established in 1856
587:"Memorial Contributions - Museum News"
190:, in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis to sell
754:Online retailers of the United States
623:Waterlog, August–September, 2001, 25.
575:Boston, Atlantic Monthly Press, 1999.
360:National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
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729:Clothing brands of the United States
724:Retail companies established in 1856
525:Wes Jordan: Profile of a Rodmaker.
514:New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1892.
510:Favorite Flies and Their Histories
362:, the Ruffled Grouse Society, and
236:Favorite Flies and Their Histories
98:88 retail stores, 11 outlet stores
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540:New York: The Lyons Press, 1987.
538:American Fly Fishing: A History.
523:Spurr, Dick, and Gloria Jordan.
482:Gallagher, Brian (May 15, 2021).
278:to create new versions for sale.
397:Gallagher, Brian (15 May 2021).
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679:Potter, Everett (May 9, 2017).
759:1856 establishments in Vermont
282:Purchase by the Perkins family
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550:Monahan, Phil (31 May 2023).
585:Betts, John (Winter 1998).
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739:Companies based in Vermont
656:Vagle, Ben (25 May 2022).
352:Atlantic Salmon Federation
57: (168 years ago)
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450:Schullery, Paul (2006).
270:professional tyers like
108:President: Simon Perkins
734:Outdoor clothing brands
594:The American Fly Fisher
384:"Orvis Leadership Bios"
313:In Search of Excellence
507:Marbury, Mary Orvis.
356:The Nature Conservancy
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338:Conservation programs
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246:. Investors, led by
225:, in 1856. His 1874
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749:Mail-order retailers
662:Dartmouth University
619:Cameron, Kenneth.
416:Brown, Jim (1990).
345:Chevron Corporation
223:Manchester, Vermont
216:Alpharetta, Georgia
188:Manchester, Vermont
148:Number of employees
94:Number of locations
87:Sunderland, Vermont
68:Manchester, Vermont
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536:Schullery, Paul.
403:The New York Times
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709:Fishing equipment
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20:The Orvis Company
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328:Green Highlander
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130:US$ 316 million
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78:Charles F. Orvis
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673:Further reading
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645:. 26 May 2020.
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488:New York Times
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461:978-0979009709
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427:978-0962511103
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366:among others.
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276:Tom Rosenbauer
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192:fishing tackle
184:sporting goods
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688:. Retrieved
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263:World War II
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248:Philadelphia
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210:An Orvis in
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83:Headquarters
34:Company type
714:Fly fishing
330:salmon fly.
297:Eddie Bauer
703:Categories
556:Orvis News
370:References
309:Tom Peters
267:fiberglass
244:Depression
180:mail-order
104:Key people
621:Begetter.
326:An Orvis
293:L.L. Bean
272:A.K. Best
256:Bakelite
227:fly reel
113:Products
42:Industry
690:May 23,
493:May 16,
202:History
160:Website
121:Revenue
75:Founder
60: (
52:Founded
37:Private
685:Forbes
458:
424:
261:After
212:Avalon
154:(2021)
152:1,500
132:(2021)
46:Retail
590:(PDF)
265:, as
176:Orvis
165:orvis
139:Owner
692:2021
600:(1).
495:2021
456:ISBN
422:ISBN
299:and
274:and
252:US$
167:.com
70:, US
62:1856
55:1856
66:in
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
