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Nick Marlow

It's a small world

Sunday, 05 September 2010 20:02
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AS I write this, the UK has just formed a new government, the euro is in freefall as the European Union bails out the Greek economy, and an oil slick is hitting the shores of the US.

Meanwhile, the weather is unseasonably cold across most of Europe, and from what I am hearing in the US business is booming again. Right… where do I start?

I’m going to start with Fox International heading to the USA!

To most people in Europe, Fox is a household name. The brand is one of the best known across the Continent and the company is well known for producing quality product and protecting its intellectual property rights vigorously.

As you will no doubt have seen on page 3 (and more on 6 and 7) Fox is about to launch into the US in a big way.

While the company is playing its cards very close to its chest you can bet your bottom dollar that it has done all the research in the world – it’s just that sort of company!

The company will be unveiling its products at this year’s ICAST – which brings me conveniently to that topic!

For those of you who have never been to America’s largest fishing tackle trade show, let me sum it up for you – it’s massive, and full of product that sells in America!

But it has been said before, and it will most certainly be said again, that the world is becoming a smaller place. In the eight years I have worked on this publication I have seen fishing tackle evolve and styles cross entire continents. And right now I am witnessing a new phenomenon as lure fishing goes all ‘street’ – and that is something that really is global.

ICAST’s international attendance continues to grow as more and more people from around the world visit the show to see what’s new – and more importantly – to see what they can take back to their homelands.

Of course it goes without saying that TTW will once again be in attendance at the show and will be reporting back.

I look forward to seeing you in Las Vegas!

Do something new!

Sunday, 05 September 2010 20:02
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THE beauty of this magazine is that it’s truly global. It means that I get to speak to people all over the world and, in many cases, get to actually travel a bit too.

And because I fish, I always manage to learn a little bit as well about the many different styles – which is nice.

Like many of you in the trade, I am always looking for that little something new. Unlike you though, I’m not looking for it to be the next big ‘selling thing’. My approach is slightly more pragmatic. I’m looking for new trends and new ideas that could work if the people in a market got behind it. It’s not for me to ‘make it’ work, put it that way.

A few years ago I saw some paste bait in China, at China Fish. As soon as I saw it I knew it would work in Europe. I cross-referenced it with a friend of mine in the UK trade – Ricky Teale of Preston Innovations. Some of you may know him.

I won’t go into the intricacies of what happened, but this month his company has launched a version of this paste into the UK market through its Sonubaits brand. Coincidentally, and neither of us could have known this at the time, Japanese bait giant Marukyu is launching into the UK market with its own, unique and very original paste. And with two of these companies pushing hard, there will be a revolution in paste fishing in Britain. A new market will form overnight. And the dealers will profit from it.

You will find on the pages of this very magazine a new initiative by a Frenchman, a hook manufacturer, and a Japanese bait company. The idea is to launch a Japanese style of fishing into Europe (and possibly beyond!) in 2011. Will it work? Well it could do… if people give it some fresh thought.

Iso fishing is a Japanese style of sea fishing. It’s all very sporting and involves super-light line fishing using bait and attractants to catch lots of fish. It’s easily accessible – and the fish are abundant as they’re not targeted by commercial fishermen.

We are all looking at new ways to grow our revenue. Some ideas will work, some won’t. But when something is entirely new to a region and when the trade gets behind a concept… it always works! And have you ever found a retailer that doesn’t want something new to sell?

Maybe this one actually does have some legs…

From sublime to ridiculous

Sunday, 05 September 2010 20:02
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I once again find myself writing to you from 38,000 feet as I travel back from one of the most hectic tours TTW has had to date.

February – when the April issue of this magazine is actually penned – has proved to be a bit of a moving experience.

For me this month really has been a tale of two shows: Japan’s Yokohama show, and China Fish, in Beijing.

Both shows are covered within this issue – so I won’t talk too much about them here – but I am willing to share a few personal thoughts on China Fish in this column.

China Fish is an event I very much look forward to going to each year – it really is the international hub of the fishing-tackle world. I’m sure the organisers of EFTTEX will tell me that theirs is… and I am sure that the organisers of ICAST will concede… their show isn’t.

So, you can imagine my disappointment to find that the show’s attendance seemed considerably down this year. I say ‘seemed’ – please bear in mind I am writing this to you way before any figures come out. With that said – and absolutely everybody I spoke to was in agreement – the buyers did not show in force – apart from Aussies and New Zealanders… they were there in force?

So what went wrong? It’s not like people have stopped buying is it?

Speaking with many in the trade I’m told that once you’ve been to the show a few times, you make your contacts and don’t need to go quite so often. Well, this may be the case – but it doesn’t bode well for the future of this show that I think, at 20-years-old, needs to reinvent itself to build and move forward.

One thing that I am appalled of is that – and EFTTA please take note of this as I know it’s the dream of more than one of your members – if you allow the public in to the trade show, you will lose your exhibitors. I promise you.

TTW will report more on this subject next month when the official figures are out and we have had time to talk to Mr Li Jiang fully…

And finally I would like to say a very big thank you to my deputy editor David Guest for his help this month. For this issue he has had to put up and endure all sorts to get this magazine to you on time, and without him, this issue just could not have happened. Cheers David!

Supply Shortage?

Sunday, 05 September 2010 20:02
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AS most of you know, much of the world’s fishing tackle comes from the Far East – to be more specific, China.
China is currently in the grips of one of the harshest winters in living memory. Actually, as I write this, Europe is too – but that’s another matter. It’s unusual to write about the weather in a monthly magazine though, as by the time this comes out, everything will have changed. So what has this got to do with you?
Well… China is now suffering major coal shortages because of the lingering cold weather. The areas affected just happen to be the hotbeds of Chinese fishing-tackle manufacture.
The result of this rationing is that many of China’s 598 coal-fired power stations are now limiting electricity supply – with many factories in the region only operating on a two-day week.
The problem is compounded by the imminent arrival of the Chinese New Year, which will see most factories close down for a week.
So what does this mean for you the angler?
What it means, should the shortage and rationing continue, is that the Chinese factories could be up to TWO MONTHS late delivering the goods to the brand owners, meaning your shop could well be running low on the tackle you need to be selling!

Make of this what you will as, like I say, it’s projecting what could happen – but it might be worth speaking to your suppliers and making sure you are top of their list, just in case…

EFTTEX and beyond…

This year sees this magazine celebrating its 10th anniversary helping to grow your slice of the tackle trade. As part of our commitment to the trade, we will once again be helping to drive business to your booths at EFTTEX in Valencia, ICAST in Las Vegas and the newly formed IFTD fly show in Denver.

It always makes me laugh when people just book into shows and then expect business to flock to them. If only it were that easy hey? So this year we are making an extra special effort to make sure these shows work for you. Turn to pages 32 to 33 to find out more…