Individual Award
Simon Henton - Managing Director of LEEDA
and (retiring) Chairman of the ATA
Mark Tellwright (Dreamstore) presents Simon Henton (Managing Director of LEEDA and Chairman Angling Trades Association) with the Dreamstore Active 2006 Individual Award.
How do you pick one individual from the many. It is often difficult to pick out one individual from a team. But even in a team it is obvious who is a natural leader.
Dreamstore has a passion and purpose in encouraging and facilitating new anglers to pick up a rod and give angling a go. It is a source of constant amazement to Dreamstore that many in the angling trades appear to chase a slice of A cake. Simple economics tells us that there must be consolidation and rationalisation in such circumstances, with margins squeezed and for every occasional winner there are many more losers. Such a market squeezes out innovation in the pursuit of market share. Realistically, the only alternative is to grow the size of the market. This is well recognised in the United States, with many examples of trade led initiatives to encourage first time or returning participation in angling. Angling in the USA is very often a FAMILY activity.
What underscores Dreamstore's amazement is the constant stream of research which suggests that there are as many non-anglers wishing for a first opportunity to go fishing as there are anglers who regularly pick up a rod. Any way you look at the potential angling market, there is an open door and an open opportunity to improve the angling experience, encourage more anglers and to increase business opportunity. Fishing Wales proves all three are not mutually exclusive.
Our individual Award is being presented to someone who has helped raise the profile of angling and endeavour to increase interest through National Fishing Week. It is someone who has made angling equipment more accessible by selling to retailers big and small.
The Dreamstore Active Individual Award 2006 goes to someone with an approach that is open-minded and determined, and refreshingly focused on increasing the sum total of angling participation, purposefully adding more ingredients to make the cake bigger for all. Simon Henton is Managing Director of LEEDA and (retiring) Chairman of the ATA.
Go back to the 2006 Awards page