New coup by Eheim

From the beginning of next year, the Kamihata Fish Group will act as exclusive distributors for the Eheim brand in Japan. The Eheim subsidiary in Japan will close at the same time. With a sales force of 45 people, the Kamihata Fish Group has close contacts with its retail customers. "We want to create a close partnership," says Gebhard Mang, who is responsible for global marketing at Eheim. Both companies are family-owned, operate in the premium segment and share many common features with regard to their corporate culture.
Purveyor of the Hikari brand, the Kamihata Fish Group is the clear market leader in Japan with a market share of 46 per cent. The corporate group is well positioned in the Japanese market with regard to the import and export of ornamental and pond fish too and employs 285 people. It comprises three different companies. Kamihata Fish Ind. Ltd imports thousands of different species of fish, reptiles and aquatic plants and has a workforce of 120. Kyorin Co. Ltd has around 75 employees and markets aquatics products under the Hikari brand in over 50 countries worldwide. Kyorin Food Ind. Ltd, comprising a staff of 90, produces aquatic diets under the Hikari brand in three factories throughout Japan. The company is able to produce a big variety of different shapes and forms such as wafers, granulates and flakes. The Kamihata Fish Industry Group has developed a robust system to control every aspect of its operation from production at Kyorin Food Industries Ltd in Japan to the storage and distribution of finished goods.

Eheim GmbH & Co. KG, a German manufacturer of aquariums, filters, fish food and accessories, is one of the world's leading suppliers of aquatics products. The company also intends to enter the garden pond segment next year. Eheim's declared mission is to consolidate its position further outside Europe in the next few years. Its sales in Europe currently account for 75 per cent of overall sales, and it aims to grow in other parts of the world too while nevertheless further extending its market reach in Europe. In China, where the company has its own subsidiary and has been supplying retailers directly for a year, it succeeded in more than doubling its sales compared with the pre­vious year. Since 2006…