Rumors are circulating Lew's is closing the Strike King company and moving to Lew's SpringField center?

Tom

Haven't heard that but it wouldn't surprise me at all.

That really would be something, Strike King Lures is hanging in many retail stores and definitely a very recognized brand. 

that sucks for those long time workers at SK.

Sure hope not, don't think a red eye shad with those obnoxious winn grips will have that same shimmy on the fall.

Found this article.  

 

https://dailymemphian.com/article/8029/Strike-King-Lure-Co-in-Collierville-files-notice-of-layoffs

I dont think the strike king brand is going under - probably just moving their facility somewhere cheaper to produce.  

Hate it for the long time employees. From the consumer side of it I doubt we will notice a difference. 

3 hours ago, WRB said:

Rumors are circulating Lew's is closing the Strike King company and moving to Lew's SpringField center?

Tom

You're saying two different things here, "closing" and "moving". They might be moving the headquarters and/or production facility but I can promise you they aren't closing the company. SK is probably the most profitable bait company in the country and Lew's didn't buy it to shut it down.

I live a mile from there I shop there often I will go check it out to see what’s up.

30 minutes ago, JediAmoeba said:

Found this article.  

 

https://dailymemphian.com/article/8029/Strike-King-Lure-Co-in-Collierville-files-notice-of-layoffs

I dont think the strike king brand is going under - probably just moving their facility somewhere cheaper to produce.  

 

I would be surprised if they went under too.  Over half the crankbaits on the shelves at my local Cabelas are Stirke King and the other half are BPS/Cableas brand.  I miss the days when there was an endless selection of baits. It seems most places stopped stocking a lot of the name brands I like.  It has just forced me to buy online.

Haven't bought a strike king lure for years - try to use small company lures.

We do have a new Lew’s distribution center in a ginormous building just north of Republic in our industrial complex.  I talked to a guy at Lew’s Sportsmans Factory Outlet last week.  His indication was it would only be distribution and not manufacturing.

Just in time for the holidays.  Sucks for those 18 people.

I'm sure Strike King will continue to be one of the top fishing lure brands.  It's always sad to me when a once great company is reduced to being just another brand within another company.  Strike King has a great history in Tennessee. Bill Dance wouldn't be where he is today without Strike King.  

Acquisition is all about profit, streamlining by eliminating duplicated personnel and facility cost is always the 1st step.

You could say Strike King isn't where it's at without Bill Dance....

Sad day for those hard working local folks who helped make Srike King the company it is.

Tom

Who are they laying off? SK lures are made in Costa Rico.

 

Allen

Read the article linked above.  18 people that work Collierville, TN.

2 hours ago, Tennessee Boy said:

I'm sure Strike King will continue to be one of the top fishing lure brands.  It's always sad to me when a once great company is reduced to being just another brand within another company.  Strike King has a great history in Tennessee. Bill Dance wouldn't be where he is today without Strike King.  

Hardly. Stren, Quantum, Excalibur, Heddon...seems to me he did just fine. Strike King is a new kid on the block for him. 

16 hours ago, WRB said:

Rumors are circulating Lew's is closing the Strike King company and moving to Lew's SpringField center?

Tom

It is not a rumor

 

https://dailymemphian.com/article/8029/Strike-King-Lure-Co-in-Collierville-files-notice-of-layoffs

18 hours ago, J Francho said:

Read the article linked above.  18 people that work Collierville, TN.

My buddys mom is one of them. Ill text him and see if i can get anymore details. 

 

Update: she took early retirement upon hearing about the move 

3 hours ago, Drew03cmc said:

Hardly. Stren, Quantum, Excalibur, Heddon...seems to me he did just fine. Strike King is a new kid on the block for him. 

@WRB is correct in suggesting that Bill Dance did more for Strike King than it did for him.  Ray Scott's first bass tournament in 1967 was won by a guy from Tennessee named Stan Sloan.  Bill Dance is credited with catching the first fish in that tournament.  There was another guy from Tennessee in that tournament named Charles Spence .  Charles Spence was the founder of Strike King.  Bill Dance was an early partner with him in the company but left the partnership after a few months.  That was probably a big mistake.  In my mind, Strike King and Bill Dance will always be tightly linked.  He sold a lot of lures for them on his TV show over the years.  They were an important sponsor for him.  It's very sad that Strike King is leaving Collierville, it's home since 1987 and the home of Bill Dance.  

It’s a business move. I live in Springfield and I suspected the move since they were both acquired by the same company. Especially now that KVD made the jump to Lews this year. 

It’s business, nothing personal. That’s what they told me when my company merged with another and their book of business was better than ours. I survived 3 other mergers until that point so now that my number was up I didn’t complain.

 

Sucks all the same...

 

My heart goes out to the employees that lost their jobs. I hope they land on their feet in a better place than they were.

kvd moving to lew's did 'em in ... things change ...

 

tennessee's economy is good according to the stats ... another job should be on the table ...

 

been there done that ...

 

good fishing ...

On 10/29/2019 at 10:18 AM, J Francho said:

Just in time for the holidays.  Sucks for those 18 people.

I've dealt with their customer service via phone and snail mail.  Figured I would be passed around and transferred a few times but I'm pretty sure they just cupped the phone with their hand and yelled across the room for the person I needed.  Looked it up on Google (yeah a little creepy) and was shocked with what I found.  18 people sounds about right.  Nice people (that I talked to). Very helpful.  Hope it all works out.