Sport Fishing Spreads to China

PRADCO-Fishing has launched some of its most popular brands and products to the sport fishing market in China. It is doing so with the help of global fishing giant Daiwa. Daiwa-China will represent PRADCO-Fishing’s brands and products exclusively in China. In return, PRADCO-Fishing will have access to Daiwa’s dealer and distributor network, which has been built over the past 10 years by Ken Sasaki, president of Daiwa-China. The two companies recently worked together to make the announcement to more than 120 fishing dealers in China at the Bihai Fishing Tackle Trade Fair in Langfang, China, in February. The Bihai show, billed as the largest fishing trade fair in China, featured more than 2,000 exhibit booths with approximately 150,000 people participating. Daiwa, headquartered in Japan, has already printed 5,000 copies of PRADCO-Fishing catalogs in Chinese to be distributed to key customers.

PRADCO-Fishing was represented at the show by Hiro Naito, Pacific Rim marketing manager who also covers PRADCO-Fishing’s South Korea market, and Bruce Stanton, vice president and general manager of PRADCO-Fishing and Lindy. “Hiro has known Mr. Sasaki for nearly 30 years, and during a recent conversation, they decided the timing was right to launch our fishing lures and brands in China,” Stanton said. “Hiro managed our business in Japan when it boomed in the 1980s and 1990s. He is passionate about promoting our products, and we plan on utilizing him extensively for dealer and consumer promotions in China.”

Daiwa featured PRADCO-Fishing signage, products and DVDs in the booth on the Bihai show floor. Outside the exhibition hall, Daiwa displayed a large banner featuring PRADCO-Fishing brands Heddon, Rebel, Booyah, Yum, Cotton Cordell and Arbogast.

While the sport fishing market in China is dominated by carp and trout, bass fishing is slowly growing. Stanton explained that bass have been stocked as a food source in many lakes, ponds and rivers in South China, and there are growing numbers of anglers who want to catch them.