NEWS | NOVEMBER 2018
What next after Japanese bait
giant Marukyu quits UK?
Questions over what went
wrong are still being asked
after Japanese fi shing bait
manufacturer Marukyu
withdrew from the UK
market last month.
While the fi rm itself
blames uncertainty over
Brexit causing a slowdown
in business, others feel
its overall message was
wrong and that it was
over-reliant on science that
needed explanation before
customers would buy.
Lee Prater, owner of
Maidenhead Bait and Tackle,
told TTW, “Fishing isn’t the
electrical/car world where
people will pay the price for
snazzy names and dazzling
technologies, their mistake
was expecting the general
public to pay a premium for
their goods because they
said so. Their retreat will not
affect my business and I will
continue with the trusted
brands most anglers have
come to love, Dynamite
Baits, Sonubaits and Bait-
Tech.”
Marukyu bait stormed
into the UK back in 2010,
creating a huge level of hype
and interest as the fi rst
Far Eastern country to dip
its toe into the European
market with a range of
environmentally friendly
fi shing baits said to be
scientifi cally designed to
help anglers catch more
fi sh.
It invested heavily in
marketing and advertising,
have a comment to make
but the powers that be
made a decision and, while
it’s a shame, we have to
remember that it would
have been the hardest
decision to make but we
have full respect for that.
“At the end of the day, a
company exists to make
money; otherwise you might
as well call it a non-profi t
entity. Business is all about
the numbers. The numbers
don’t lie and if Marukyu
couldn’t make the numbers
work for them, then it has
made the right decision.”
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went on the acquisition trail
and even set up a dedicated
UK manufacturing facility
to reduce supply times to its
customers.
But it has now
acknowledged the UK
market is not growing as
fast as that in the rest of
Europe and that its UK
factory failed to deliver
the required products and
effi ciencies across the
continent, which will now
be supplied direct from
Japan.
Its departure leaves
plenty of question marks
over the bait sector in the
UK, especially given its
‘Science Working With
Nature’ slogan that appears
to emulate demands from
a new fi shing bait survey
suggesting anglers’ buying
decisions are infl uenced
by quality and sustainable
ingredients.
It also remains to be
seen what effect this will
have on other overseas bait
suppliers. Is the market
sector changing or are
buyers simply sticking
to established European
brands? Another Far Eastern
manufacturer, Old Ghost,
quit the UK at the end of
2017 after just four years.
Hayley Goldsmith, MD
of UK-based Bait-Tech,
added, “It’s sad to see any
company make the decision
to pull out of a market.
I’m sure many people will
The full statement on the withdrawal, from Marukyu’s CEO Masazumi Miyazawa:
After very careful consideration, Marukyu Japan has reluctantly decided to close its UK
operation. This is due to a combination of issues.
Marukyu is a global business and there continues to be uncertainty concerning Brexit,
which could have serious consequences for its UK business.
The UK business is not growing as expected due to ongoing domestic economic
uncertainty and pressures which, in turn, are in contrast to Marukyu’s mainland
European business which continues healthy growth. This area of business growth is
on products which are manufactured in Japan as opposed to the UK and consequently
will be supplied directly from Japan. This is further supported by the recently signed
Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Japan.
It is important to Marukyu that it continues to behave in a professional and
honourable manner and to this end; it will ensure that its employees and suppliers are
paid. The company would like to thank all of its employees and business colleagues for
their support and wish them well for the future.
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