Orvis Manchester Outlet — Local services in Manchester

Charles F. Orvis opened a tackle shop in Manchester, Vermont, in 1856. His 1874 fly reel was described by reel historian Jim Brown as the "benchmark of American reel design," the first fully modern fly reel.1 His tackle catalogs distributed to a small but devoted customer list in the late 19th century, were the early forerunners of today's enormous direct-mail outdoor products industry. Charles's daughter, Mary Orvis Marbury, took charge of the Orvis fly department in the 1870s. By 1892, when she published a encyclopedic reference book on fly patterns—Favorite Flies and Their Histories—Orvis had emerged as the country's foremost arbiter of fly-pattern authenticity and style.2 Following Charles's death in 1915, sons Albert and Robert managed the company until the 1930s, when it essentially collapsed during the Depression. Investors, led by Philadelphia businessman-sportsman Dudley Corkran, purchased Orvis in 1939 for US$4,500, and quickly revitalized the business.2]Corkran hired master bamboo rodbuilder Wes Jordan, who by the late 1940s had developed a Bakeliteimpregnation process that made Orvis bamboo rods uniquely impervious to weather, rot, and other perennial perils.[4] In 1965, Corkran sold the firm to Leigh H. Perkins for $400,000. 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 into gifts and clothing. Described by contemporaries as a genius at mail order, Perkins pioneered the trading of customer mailing lists among his chief competitors, including L.L. Bean, Eddie Bauer and Norm Thompson.[2 Under Perkins and Jordan's successor as chief rod builder, Howard Steere, Orvis became the world's largest manufacturer of high-quality fly rods and reels.citation needed] In 1989, Tom Peters, author of In Search of Excellence, named the Orvis fly rod one of the five best products made in the United States in the 1980s.[6] Through its fishing and shooting schools and growing network of retailers, Orvis became a leading force in marketing the traditions and activities associated with the broader country lifestyle of which fly fishing was just one part. 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."[7] Since Perkins' retirement in 1992, under the leadership of Perkins' sons, CEO Leigh ("Perk") Perkins, Jr., and Executive Vice Chairman Dave Perkins, Orvis has more fully formalized- and broadened its corporate vision. Whilst Orvis has thrived and revenue has more than tripled under this 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.[2 In a major corporate...

Champ was mistreated by the staff member at orvis and the man was very rude and didn't follow his policy of the ecollar takes replacement of a leash the man was chasing me and champ around the store for no reason yelling leash law he was an employee . I told the man before I left you know how to ruin a visit he didn't touch you or knock anything over made us leave early because he has a problem with dogs and orvis is sopost to be dog friendly. I spent 2.5 hours driving there to get mistreated I was very pissed that the man ruined my time...

How cool is this place!?

We had some time to kill and went into the main outlet, just up the road towards Equinox from the smaller outlet.

I’m no fisherman but after five minutes I was ready to waddle into the river and catch some dinner for my lady and myself!

Great quality clothes, dog apparel, outerwear, and beautifully crafted shotguns!

They also have a large lounge area on both the inside and outside and a massive trout pond that is stocked. We’d stay here tonight...