NEWS Shimano moves through the gears 1
2
Shimano UK is on track to deliver on its promise to change dealer’s attitudes
towards the brand as retailer confi dence in the company returns J
1
Shimano's Nick Speed has been instrumental in developing the Aero match.
2
Earlier this year Shimano vowed to level the playing fi eld.
apanese brand Shimano is witnessing a dramatic change in its fortune as its new trading policies take affect. At the beginning of the year the company vowed to ‘level the playing fi eld’, something that many dealers (possibly correctly) scoffed at – stating “we’ve heard it all before”. But since then the business has dramatically changed, with retailers fl ocking back to the premium brand as they realise that they can now actually make money on Shimano product. Key to the company’s turnaround has been to create a level playing fi eld for dealers. Something that the brand admits, was not always the case in the past. At the beginning of the year the company introduced new terms and conditions – and after a cautious start, business has grown steadily. “All dealers have the opportunity to buy at the same price”,” says Ian Smith, sales and marketing manager for the company. “Whether you spend £1,000 or a million pounds
16 | Tackle & Guns | November 2019
a year with us, the sales structure is clearly defi ned and it’s the same for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you have one shop or a dozen shops – even more… the pricing policy is the same. It applies to everyone.” Ian believes in the brand and that quality of product is what gives it its reputation. The brand is king. Shimano should not be sold on price. Shimano has worked closely with dealers to highlight how they can make more money with the brand – and the result appears to be paying dividends for all. “There’s certainly been a big change in dealer attitude,” adds Ian. “Footfall at our trade events this year have seen a considerable upturn – and that is echoed in order writing too.” And with Shimano seriously
re-entering the match fi shing market in 2020, the company will pick up more new dealers. “We’ve not had a serious product
offering in match fi shing for a number of years now,” says Ian. “But all that
changes next year with the launch of Aero match – and a number of other high-profi le match-related launches throughout the year too.” T&G editor, Nick Marlow, said: “In this job I speak to a lot of dealers and the attitude towards Shimano is changing. “Confi dence is returning to the dealers. They are increasingly savvy on what they should stock and what they should not. And in the main, they need product that turns quickly and delivers them the margin they need to stay in business. “I speak to dealers week in week out, and over the past 10 months there’s certainly a big difference in what people say. Dealers always lose or gain confi dence in brands, and Shimano has certainly made big in-roads this year.”
SHIMANO UK T 0300 333 4888 W fi
sh.shimano-eu.com
www.tandgmagazine.com
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