It’s a family affair

    Bijal Patani, Sales Director at JS International, provides more information on the history of the company, what new products they are particularly excited about and why customer service is key. 

    Can you tell us about the history of the company? 

    JSI is a family-run business, established by Sam 23 years ago in 1994. I joined as Sales Director in 2005. Since its birth, the company has enjoyed year-on-year sales progression. Over the past 23 years, JS International has thrived on innovation, dedication and superior customer care which is vital for professional working relationships. We deal directly with the trade in the UK, all over Europe as well as other parts of the world with businesses of all sizes and yet our goal remains the same: to provide great quality brands at the best prices. It has been our passion for quality and belief in offering the best products that has made JSI a success.

    There are no minimum order levels with you – was this an important decision to make and how helpful is this in getting sales? 

    Our success comes from the flexibility in our approach in working with our customers – we offer no minimum order levels as this gives our customers the complete freedom to choose what they want, when they need it. We do offer many competitive deals across the year, but there is no need to commit all sales in advance. Customers order as they wish and when is convenient for them rather than having to commit to a large bulk of stock at the beginning of each year.

    office 2017

    Is it important that everything is done in-house with your own warehouse and sales team? 

    It is very important to us that all aspects of running the business to be in-house. This means that our customers get immediate customer service, and having the warehouse on the same premises enables us to turn around orders quickly and efficiently, and the sales team are able to give hands-on advice with the products in front of them.

    The UK is your main market but you also go into Europe. What are some of the most popular European markets for you and how much do they differ? 

    We have been working in the European market since the business began 23 years ago. We have presence in many countries, but our largest markets are in France, Denmark, Germany and Spain where we have been working with the same Distributors for many years and have forged long-lasting working relationships. That being said, JSI is strong in many other countries and we recently opened up the Italian market by signing up a new Distributor.

    How many different brands do you look after and how many are on an exclusive basis? 

    We have exclusive UK distribution for many brands: Clicgear, Bagboy, Ogio, Bettinardi, Enertor, Pure Grips and Voice Caddie, as well as being the licence holder for the Colin Montgomerie & Old Course at St Andrews range. All these brands are equally important to us, and we work hard to ensure they all get promoted and supported as best we can. Clicgear has been with us for a long time now, and the brand is very well established. The other brands are comparatively new, but we have seen a very encouraging growth with all of them since coming on board.

    What are the three products you are most excited to have on your books for 2017? 

    We are very excited to work with Bettinardi Premium CNC Putters this year. They are currently ranked among the five best selling putter brands in the US, and are very well known for their distinctive BB and Queen B series putters. It is the first time JSI have offered our retail partners a club line that comes with a premium price point and a healthy margin. The timing is perfect, as the Bettinardi brand had a major global breakthrough recently when its Arm Lock putter was instrumental in winning its first European Tour event in Morocco.

    Enertor insoles are another impressive brand we have taken on this season. They are scientifically proven to improve your performance and they are worn and endorsed by Usain Bolt. They are proven to reduce the pain of Plantar Fasciitis and are a Class 1 medical device. BagBoy have also introduced their Top-Lok Technology this year. It is an innovative bag to cart attachment system designed to securely lock a Bag Boy bag onto a Bag Boy push cart. This patented design prevents the bag from twisting or turning, eliminating the need for cart straps.

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    Miles is the Owner and Managing Director of Robel Media, and the award winning GOLF RETAILING Magazine. With over 25 years in the media business, Miles has a wealth of experience in magazine publishing, digital media and live events. HANDICAP - 7.2