German-based global line brand and manufacturer Maxima Meinel GmbH has appointed Dennett Outdoor Ltd as its distributor for the UK.
It is the second deal in the space of a few days for the Irish-based distributor, following an agreement to take on popular spinner brand Mepps.
At the EFTTEX show in Brussels Maxima’s Max Wieser and head of sales Marc Schoeller confirmed the deal with directors of Dennett Outdoor’s directors Mark and Aaron Gamble.
New co-CEO Martin Berndt had brokered the deal with Mark and Aaron only two days after taking up his new role at the German-based line manufacturer.
Martin said: “The UK has always been a very important market for Maxima, with a strong following among anglers. Many of them have been loyal customers for decades and pass on the use of Maxima products to their children. We, therefore, are very pleased to have Dennet Outdoor as a strong local partner and hope to provide our customers with an even broader range of products.”
Dennett’s Mark Gamble added: “We have had the privilege of distributing Maxima in Ireland for many years. The staff are always professional and helpful and have always been a delight to work with. So we are very pleased to be strengthening our relationship.
“We are excited to expand our sales territory of Maxima products to now include the UK and look forward to making the most of the opportunity that this provides us with. Our aim is initially to provide a good stable supply of MAXIMA products to the angling trade. From that base we hope to grow the business and are already collaborating with MAXIMA on ideas for new products.”
Meanwhile, the partnership between Mepps and Dennett Outdoor aims to improve stock level and the availability of Mepps products to UK retailers so that the brand’s full market potential can be realised and built upon
Director general of Mepps, Rodolphe Jacques, said: “From our perspective, we need a partner who is focused on our brand and Dennett Outdoor has proved to be perfectly aligned with us, as demonstrated by the significant growth of Mepps sales in the Republic of Ireland over the past few years.
“The UK market has always been important and challenging. Anglers are very demanding and have always responded well to our spinners. It is dominated by trout and salmon fishing, which is perfectly suited to our products.
“Together with Dennett, we are expecting a steady and significant increase in our market share in the years to come, with new products currently in development.”
Dennett director Aaron Gamble added: “We have had a good relationship for many years with Mepps and have been able to grow the sales of Mepps products Ireland very well in recent years.
“To be able to distribute a prestigious brand such as Mepps throughout the UK presents us with a great opportunity to increase sales and fast track our growth. It makes a lot of sense for us as we already have a strong customer base of over 1,000 angling retailers who purchase products from us.
“We have a team of six covering sales on the road in the UK and a B2B online platform that makes ordering simple and efficient. We are looking forward to strengthening our relationship with Mepps and developing new products for the UK market over the next few years.”