Pure Fishing sales director praises 'very positive' EFTTEX show

Pure Fishing’s Sales Director has delivered a strongly positive verdict on the latest edition of EFTTEX, the European Fishing Tackle Trade Exhibition, underscoring the event’s enduring importance as a continental meeting point for brands, distributors, and manufacturers operating across the recreational angling sector.

Speaking shortly after the close of the show, the Sales Director described the atmosphere on the exhibition floor as “very positive,” reflecting renewed commercial momentum across the European tackle trade after several years of disrupted supply chains and cautious buyer sentiment. The remarks carry weight given Pure Fishing’s standing as one of the world’s largest fishing tackle conglomerates, with a portfolio that spans freshwater, saltwater, and fly fishing brands distributed in more than 40 countries.

EFTTEX has long served as the principal trade-only gathering for the European angling industry, drawing exhibitors from across the EU and beyond, alongside a growing contingent of Asian manufacturers — particularly from China — seeking direct access to European buyers. For international suppliers attending the Budapest-based show, the endorsement from a major brand-side voice signals that order books remain active and that retail demand for 2025-26 product ranges is tracking ahead of the cautious outlook many distributors carried into the year.

The positive read from Pure Fishing follows broader signs of stabilisation across the European tackle market. Retailers across Germany, Scandinavia, and the Benelux countries have reported improving sell-through rates on premium rod and reel categories, while the lure segment continues to attract investment from both legacy brands and emerging challenger labels. Several Chinese OEM and ODM manufacturers exhibiting at EFTTEX have separately pointed to growing European appetite for private-label and custom-colour programmes, a trend that has accelerated as mid-tier distributors seek differentiated assortments to defend margin against big-box competition.

For the China-based manufacturing community that supplies a significant share of the world’s rods, reels, lines, and terminal tackle, the Sales Director’s comments are likely to reinforce confidence heading into the autumn buying cycle. Order negotiations for 2026 delivery typically begin in earnest in the weeks following EFTTEX, and positive sentiment from a tier-one buyer can translate into firmer commitment volumes across the supply chain.

The show also provided a platform for broader industry debate, with Angling International’s coverage highlighting youth participation in fishing as a recurring theme. Rob Carter, a recognised voice in the youth angling space and recent industry award recipient, has been prominent in calling on brands and trade bodies to invest more seriously in attracting younger anglers — a message that resonates with manufacturers weighing product development priorities for the seasons ahead.

For Chinese factories serving export markets, the youth engagement question carries direct commercial implications. Lightweight starter kits, entry-level spinning combos, and social-media-friendly lure designs have all emerged as growth categories, and several Chinese exhibitors at EFTTEX reported the strongest buyer interest in precisely these segments. Brands that align their 2026 ranges with the demographic shift Carter describes stand to capture disproportionate share in both European and emerging Asian retail channels.

Pure Fishing’s endorsement of EFTTEX also reflects the show’s growing strategic value as a venue where global brand owners, regional distributors, and manufacturing partners can align on pricing, sustainability commitments, and packaging regulations in a single setting. With the EU’s incoming ecodesign requirements reshaping product specifications across multiple categories, face-to-face dialogue at trade exhibitions has become harder to replicate through digital channels alone.

As the European tackle trade digests the outcomes from Budapest, the consensus emerging across both brand and manufacturing sides points toward cautious optimism. Distributors are placing orders earlier than last year, brand houses are committing to broader SKU ranges, and manufacturers in China and Southeast Asia are reporting stronger enquiry pipelines than at any point since 2022. The Sales Director’s verdict captures a sector that has turned a corner and is now investing in growth rather than simply managing decline.

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