Top Indonesian brand eyes eastern Europe with distribution deal

One of Indonesia’s top international fishing tackle suppliers made its long-awaited return to Europe’s premier trade show and immediately announced a major distribution deal.

PT Central Sarana Pancing – owner of the award-winning Relix and CarpLinq brands – arrived at the first ever Angling International LIVE event with big news. It has reached an agreement with Hungarian bait and tackle supplier and wholesaler Energofish that will see Energofish distribute the Relix Nusantara range of products in five countries across eastern Europe.

Initially Energofish will look after the sales for Relix in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine. Products will include the Nusantara’s range of rods, lines and lures with reels expected to be included at the end of the year. Rivai Susanto, PT Central Sarana Pancing owner, told Angling International: “Our aim is to be able to supply all Nusantara categories of tackle eventually.”

He added that his plan is to gather feedback from local anglers to develop products that fulfilled the needs of specific markets. “This distribution agreement gives us the opportunity to drive into new European markets.”

Energofish is no stranger to products from the Asian producer – its association with the company stretches back more than 26 years. However, it was a decade ago that Susanto approached Energofish with Relix Nusantara, giving its pro-staff members some products to test on European waters.

Istvan Pal, Energofish CEO (main image left with Rivai Susanto), said: “We have worked with PT Central Sarana Pancing on OEM/ODM projects for some time, but the distribution agreement is a new challenge for us. The pro-staffers were impressed with how suitable these products are for the methods they are practicing.

“It will be a step by step process as we evaluate the suitability of the products in our bid to slowly enlarge the market. What has been working for anglers across Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia can work across Europe too.”

Susanto said he was delighted to be back at a European event after a four-year absence. “We have really missed talking face to face,” he said after picking up an award in the Angling International LIVE Product Showcase – winning the Spinning & Baitcasting category with the Cangkek Alap-Alap 682 SP spinning rod.

He added that following a slow year in 2023 when export business was down on previous years, the market has shown signs of recovery in the last 12 months. “The war in Ukraine was one of the main reasons for difficulties within Europe, but things have changed and we are more confident and optimistic about the business going forward.”

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