Orvis

The Orvis Company

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Founded	1856 (1856) in Manchester, Vermont, US
Founder	Charles F. Orvis
Headquarters	Sunderland, Vermont
Number of locations	88 retail stores, 11 outlet stores
Key people	President: Simon Perkins
Products	Clothing, gift/home, fly fishing, dogs, luggage and outdoor equipment
Revenue	US$316 million (2021)
Owner	Perkins family
Number of employees	1,500 (2021)
Website	orvis.com

Orvis is a US-based family-operated retailer and mail-order company focusing on fly fishing, hunting, and sporting goods. Established in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis in Manchester, Vermont, it holds the distinction of being the oldest mail-order retailer in America.

Currently, Orvis maintains 40 retail outlets and one outlet/warehouse in the United States, along with one retail store and one outlet in the United Kingdom. The Perkins family has owned the business since 1965. Throughout its history, the company has experienced two ownership transitions and been led by five different CEOs.

History

In 1856, Charles F. Orvis launched a tackle shop in Manchester. His 1874 design for a fly reel established a benchmark for American reels as the first fully modern model.

Orvis was distributing catalogs prior to the Civil War, predating Sears Roebuck's catalog by more than two decades. During the 1870s, Charles's daughter Mary Orvis Marbury managed the fly department and later authored Favorite Flies and Their Histories in 1892.

Following Charles’s passing in 1915, his sons Albert and Robert took over management but struggled to sustain the company during the Great Depression. In 1939, Dudley Corkran from Philadelphia purchased Orvis for $4,500 and revitalized its operations. Corkran brought on bamboo rod craftsman Wes Jordan, who developed a Bakelite impregnation technique that enhanced rod durability.

After World War II, Orvis faced competition from both traditional bamboo rod manufacturers and emerging fiberglass and graphite producers such as Shakespeare and Fenwick. The company continues to produce premium flies and fly-tying equipment with contributions from expert tyers including A.K. Best and Tom Rosenbauer.

Acquisition by the Perkins family

After nearly a year of negotiations, Leigh H. Perkins (1927–2021) purchased Orvis in 1965 for $400,000, financing the deal with $200,000 of his own savings and a loan. At that time, the company employed 20 people and generated $500,000 in yearly revenue. The following year, Perkins established the Orvis fly-fishing school in Manchester, Vermont—the first institution of its kind in the United States—aimed at broadening the customer base and making fly casting more accessible. Eventually, the business expanded to operate seven such schools.

During the 1980s, Perkins diversified Orvis’s product range beyond fly fishing to include gifts and apparel, transforming the brand into a comprehensive lifestyle company. He was also an innovator in marketing strategies, initiating customer mailing list exchanges with competitors like L.L. Bean and Eddie Bauer. In 1977, Orvis introduced the Dog Nest bed, a novel product category inspired by Perkins’ appreciation for working dogs.

With leadership from Perkins and chief rod craftsman Howard Steere, Orvis gained prominence for producing premium fly rods and reels, particularly advancing graphite rod technology. In 1989, author Tom Peters recognized the Orvis fly rod as one of the top five U.S.-manufactured products of the decade. By the time Perkins retired in 1992, annual sales had surged to $90 million, supported by a workforce exceeding 700 employees.

Leadership transitioned to Perkins’ sons—CEO Leigh "Perk" Perkins Jr. and Executive Vice Chairman Dave Perkins—who formalized and expanded Orvis’s corporate mission. Under their guidance, revenue more than tripled; however, acquisitions made between 1982 and 2000 introduced challenges related to brand coherence due to incompatible subsidiaries. To address this, a rebranding initiative launched in 2000 repositioned Orvis as a unique outdoor lifestyle brand.

Simon Perkins, grandson of Leigh H. Perkins and son of Leigh "Perk" Perkins Jr., assumed the role of president in 2020, sustaining the family’s strategic direction.

Orvis also manages three shooting grounds—Hill Country in Pennsylvania, Sandanona in New York, and Pursell Farms in Alabama—providing sporting clays, upland and waterfowl hunting experiences, along with Orvis Schools staffed by full-time professionals.

Conservation initiatives

Orvis’s commitment to conservation traces back to its founder Charles Orvis’s pioneering fisheries management efforts in the late 1800s and has remained a fundamental aspect of its corporate philosophy. Under CEO Leigh Perkins’s tenure, conservation was deeply integrated into company values, with donations to wildlife organizations commencing well before such practices became widespread. In recognition of his lifelong dedication to environmental stewardship, Perkins was honored with Chevron Corporation’s Chevron Conservation Award in 1994.

Beginning in the 1970s, Orvis has allocated five percent of its pretax earnings annually toward conservation projects. The company collaborates with various organizations including the Atlantic Salmon Federation, The Nature Conservancy, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Ruffed Grouse Society, and Trout Unlimited.

Workforce adjustments

In response to economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Orvis enacted layoffs and furloughs during 2020.

In October 2024, after 170 years of publication history, the company announced it would cease producing its catalog to emphasize digital engagement and sustainability efforts—a strategic adaptation reflecting changing market dynamics. Employees impacted by this decision received two months’ full salary and benefits alongside additional severance packages and assistance with health insurance coverage and career transitions.