Japan Hicat® Partner...

Some of our Instagram followers may have noticed a Hicat Japan account set up by a cat who has taken a real interest in our photos & products - the cat is called Koishi & her pet parent Arata are going to see if they can bring our brand of indoor cat climbing to Japan, which is something that we’ve tried in the past but never been able to get off the ground.

Exports to Japan will be affected by the recent price increases imposed on us by couriers bringing the shipping cost of a Freestanding Fatcat to Tokyo to around £500 - this is the same for shipping a similar unit to the States but the language barrier has proven to be the first obstacle so having Koishi & Arata working with us will make all the difference.

We don’t have much margin to work with in supporting Arata to promote & sell to Japanese customers so the main thrust of our arrangement will be the local customer support that he can provide - being a cat lover we are off on the right footing & the unique nature of our products will surely help differentiate Hicat® from the rest of the market.

As with Mirko, our Australian Hicat® partner, Arata may end up fabricating units but we think this will be limited to just Polecat units which, as people making enquiries from outside of the UK will know, are the most expensive to ship in terms of unit cost vs. shipping rates so making these units locally will give these customers a more cost effective option.

We’ve just made & sent some samples of our finishes & Scraaatch™ pieces in cut down form to help spread the word - we really hope that we get the opportunity to work with Arata (& Koishi) long term & will obviously keep everyone updated on developments.

Hicat®16 January 2022