Page 41 - Koi Net - On-Line Koi Magazine - Issue 11
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Winter is still hard for many dealers, so bringing in the The breeders seemed quite busy. Sometimes when you
Koi to sell in the shop at this time of year is a cost that look on social media, etc, you get a false idea of how
many cannot recover. Yes, they may sell the Koi, but busy Japan is. Most Social media people are hobbyists
many of the buyers do not have heated systems, so the who are posting pictures and video of certain Koi, show
dealer ends up keeping them over the winter months winners or special Koi they have seen. This is not an
anyway. indication of sales in Japan, this is just appreciation of
Koi they want to show others.
The All Japan Koi Show trip is quickly turning into one
of our busiest trips and we can buy all the Koi we While we do not have any restrictions on who we visit in
require at this time. So, before the trip, we made the Japan, we do go to breeders who have always supplied
decision to bring fewer Koi back to the shop to sell. So, our needs. We still do the full rounds and have a look at
the Autumn trip was to take care of the clients who were new stock, which at this time of year arrives daily!
with us on the trip and to find the orders for our clients
who were not travelling with us, which were many! This year, according to our clients, Shintaro had the best
SHINTARO Koi, the best value and best size. Many people say “You
It was a strange trip because when I left I wanted to get HAD THE always go there . . .” Yes, I do. I have known the
the orders done in around 5 days, before the main party Shintaro family most of my life, but his Koi are excellent.
of clients arrived, which I did – but then it just went BEST KOI, The clients all agreed after seeing many other places
crazy! that his Koi this year were at another level. In the words
THE BEST of one of our clients who is a Go-Sanke guy, “Why go
Everything I posted on Facebook sold within minutes, anywhere else.”
every Koi I sent to clients by text all sold, not a single VALUE AND
“Can you have another look,” they just bought them. Yagenji, a lot of people’s favourite breeder in the
BEST SIZE mountains, very nice guys, very hospitable, nothing is
Then new clients, who I have never dealt with before
too much trouble for these guys. The earthquake in
started getting in touch, looking for Koi, which we
2002 devastated this breeder, their parent Koi and stock
found. Incredible really. The Koi sold were ALL High-end
where killed. At that time the Yagenji brothers had the
Koi too, some to keep and grow in Japan, some to
BEST Shiro Utsuri in Japan, no argument. They lost the
come home to be grown here.
parent stock and had to start again. While they started
We sold Koi to clients in four different countries while again they bred many ‘easy’ to sell Koi which dealers
we were in Japan and had a record Autumn buying trip. welcomed with open arms, they were selling thousands
Surprising, as we stayed less time than previous years. of Koi throughout the year. In the background though,
they were breeding some very special Koi. It takes time.
THE KOI THIS The Koi we are selling are getting better and better and
we as a company are growing with it. I do not know They bought a new Koi house which is 2 minutes from
YEAR WERE what it means for the Koi industry in the UK, but it looks their older Koi house and started using that for the
THE BEST I promising for the first time in years, with more and more better-quality Koi. This year it really showed how they
people getting into the hobby. have re-built their business. It has taken many years,
HAVE SEEN and although the numbers are not huge, they are well on
So, a quick note about Japan this year. the way to getting back to breeding TOP end Koi.
The Koi this year were the best I have seen. Not the This has been the same for many breeders in Niigata, it
best I’ve seen since – whenever. The best! which shows has taken a long time to start again, but the results are
that the breeders are also improving year after year. I excellent. When you visit Japan as often as I do, you
spoke to a few dealers out in Japan, around the hotel can see their progression unfolding in front of you. A
and around the mountains and they all agreed that the couple of times during this trip I stopped for a couple of
prices are very good and the selection is large too.
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