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The Jatsui predator brand of Italy has something to tell its customers, and it signals an important change in emphasis that should impact on future sales.
For years Jatsui has traded off its connections with Japan and that country’s classic lure designs for egi fishing. It has carved a niche in European markets by being among the first brands to recognise the eging trend together with the appeal of Japanese-style baits.
But now Jatsui wants it to be known that is has taken what is has learned from Japan and developed its own styles of lures. These are lures that are more attuned to the specific challenges of fishing for squid off its local Italian coastline and throughout the Mediterranean.
To signal the change, some 15 years after its launch, Jatsui has unveiled a new logo.
“At the beginning, we were fascinated by Japanese fishing culture and everything was inspired by Japan,” says Import and Export Manager Armando Zito. “Until now, the Jatsui logo has reflected this with some classic Japanese design features.”
The new logo signals that Jatsui is a brand with its own ideas, says Zito. “Yes, we have been inspired by the fishing styles of Japan, but we have moved beyond that now. We like to say that Jatsui is a brand that inhales Japanese fishing culture, re-works it, and exhales tackle that is 100 per cent suitable for the whole of the Mediterranean. We are thinking global but acting local.”
By way of example, Zito points to the double crown hooks from Fuji-Yama that are used on the Rush series of Jatsui lures. “These are Japanese quality, sharp and with a shape that is ideal for catching the big calamari of the Mediterranean,” he says. “Japan has calamari too, but smaller, so the hooks on Japanese lures are different.”
It’s a subtle but important change that makes Jatsui an even better choice in European markets. “If I had to choose a word to describe the brand, it would be ‘reactive’,” says Zito of the fast pace of its product development programmes. “Year after year we are bringing out what seems like a whole catalogue of new releases. It seems like we are in turmoil, but we are in control.”
Zito says there will be new releases in March, and in May the brand will be ready with its Eging Selection 24/25, followed by being part of a new general catalogue of brands in September. “But I don’t want to give out any spoilers,” he says. “I want to experience the good market reaction in full.”
Of more concern are the identities of Jatsui’s next export partners. The brand is dynamic, growing fast and populated by determined managers who joined young and are still filled with the energy to push it further. It is looking for partners with a similar mindset, says Zito.
“Jatsui likes to cooperate with dynamic partners. Our current list is made up of young and fresh companies that are growing. The retailers we like to cooperate with are young too, and share our vision to align the brand to the new trends in the market.”
The Jatsui brand is owned by Scorziello SASA, the supplier of specialist saltwater tackle based in southern Italy and started by the angling-loving Scorziello family. Jatsui was launched by current company head Antonio Scorziello 15 years ago with a vision, says Zito, “to bring something new or at least alternative to what was already present on the market.”
It has grown steadily and it made a huge impact within the European trade last year by being a multi award winner at the EFTTEX show in Budapest. But, says Zito, it is the future that is the focus now. Indeed, there is something woven into the new logo that suggests just that.
“Check out the lines,” he says. “Moving from the bottom left to the top right. Those who study design will know what they represent. It’s continued growth. It sends out the message about Jatsui. The best is yet to come.”
