A new partnership between Omnia, a fishing app, and legendary Blaine fishing shop Thorne Bros. aims to solve a problem for both partners.
By handing off fulfillment and inventory management of fishing products to Thorne, fast-growing Omnia will be able to focus on growing its subscription service and improving its app.
And Thorne will be able to triple its e-commerce sales, an area of needed growth for the retailer.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But Omnia sold its inventory of more than 25,000 fishing-related items to Thorne and closed its 30,000-square-foot warehouse in Golden Valley.
Omnia has developed a rich database of information on lakes across the country. Its online site and app can recommend the fishing gear that would be best for the given location.
Selling the inventory will allow the company to concentrate on app development and selling more digital subscriptions to its information.
“Anglers like to touch physical things, so they’re not easy to sell subscriptions to,” said Matt Johnson, CEO of Omnia. “But we’re a venture-funded business. We have to position appropriately.”