Is European TT shops discriminated vs Asian TT shops ?!

After taken up TT again after a 30 years break have I tried out a lot of different blades and rubbers.
I normally buy my items from Tabletennis11 and UK shops, but after experienced some problem to order some "new" rubber because of some brands marketing policy and perhaps favor Asian shops and players (?) ...

Here are some examples

Mizuno Q3 and Q4
I wanted to try this rubber out since I had read some posetiv reviews about this rubber and it could suit my playing style ... I asked one of my normal suppliers when they expected to start the sale of this rubber. here is the answer from them.

We are not able to sell this rubber. The reason seems to be that Mizuno Japan doesn't want us to sell this rubber in Europe. Sorry...

Xiom Omega 7 Tour
After have tried out Omega 7 Pro and Asian version did I want also try out Tour version.
I asked my my normal suppliers this summer (June) when I could expect to buy this rubber from them.
I was informed that The Omega VII Tour will only be released next year (2019).
So I was surprised when "yogi_bear" writed (on this page) that it would be released August this year.
I have seen some TT shops in Asian already sell it, so I went back to my Supplier and informed them that they have must have been wrong when they informed me that the released date would be next year.
Theirs answer was; Sorry, we do not have a release date yet. We will only have something more definite next year.

What! They are one of the leading sellers of Xiom i Europe ... I wonder what they are thinking about the negativ sale possibility.
In this Online world buying possibility are they compete against Asian TT shops which get some preferably ...
I could point out some other examples I have experienced, but think this show my point!

Sorry for my bad English! But my excuse is that English is not my Native language :D:)
 
Amici, I feel your pain, and have been through your thoughts.
But you have to understand that the asian market is about 6 times larger than the european one and is getting larger for two reasons - asian population is growing faster, and the standart of the asian population is going better.
At the same time the productivity of some specialized products, such as TT equipment, are still limited. Some TT companies prefer to rise prices, when the market is enlarging, rather than to increase the production, its safer and more profitable.
So, because of all these, the new products of some brands are logically distributed through the largest markets first, thus accumulating fastest and greatest revenue. Smaller markets have to wait.
It may seem humiliating, but just asume that you have heard about the new product a year later, and you'll feel better.
 
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In fact, it isn't the first time TT11 has claimed that a certain company wouldn't supply it the latest products. I'd rather think of it as a one-side story from TT11. If there were a demand for Mizuno rubber, there wouldn't be any reason why Mizuno could refuse to supply it to TT11 and other European distributors. I used to receive exactly the same reply from TT11 about a Nittaku blade, but months later they launched it on the website. It turned out that it's just a matter of time. At the end of the day, it comes down to the supply and demand in each region.

If you're eager to get access to the latest Asian equipments including Q3 and Q4, actually there're plenty of distributors from Japan and Korea which are more than happy to ship overseas as long as you can pay for the shipping cost. Check out Ruten, Amazon or other "takkyu" stores and see for yourself. I'm not so sure about Xiom though. Cheers.
 
Hi,
Thank you for your repleys!
I did not say it was TT11 :cool: And I dont think you can blame them in this case because I think Mizuno dont supply any European TT shops with Q3 or Q4 ... But if you see in my "Equiment so do I play with Q4 and R47 :)

Today I also bought 3 rubber with Xiom Omega VII Tour vers from Australia ... So No Problemo!
 
Hi,

Today I also bought 3 rubber with Xiom Omega VII Tour vers from Australia ... So No Problemo!

Happy for you :)

Did you pay attention where from these rubbers are sent to Australia? Usually its on the sticker of the regional Xiom centreq attaced to the nylon cover. Is it Japan?
 
Hi,
I am not sure what you mean ... I have ordered and Paid for them today, but will probably take 1-2 weeks before them reach my home in Norway ... PS. I have been in midle of Nowhere in Bulgaria > Pleven! ... Chess Congress ...

Xiom_Omega_7_TOUR.jpg
 
Cheers!
I hope you find better places if you come again in Bulgaria. If you plan to, don't hesitate to ask me.

Back to the question - for me it is interesting to know where from these rubbers are sent to Australia.
Our regional Xiom partner receives all Xiom products from Japan, but according to the european schedule, though in Japan they are available much earlyer.
 
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For Mizuno Q3/Q4, it is hardly available even in much of East Asia. Taiwan is the only place outside Japan that gets an official release, and only the Q3 is available for sale at the moment.

In the grand scheme of things, it makes total business sense for manufacturers to prioritize Asia over Europe in recent years. The late Mats Bandstigen said in a 2009 interview that China accounted for 40% of its blade sales, Japan and Korea for 20%, Europe for 30% and Americas for the remaining 10%. In another interview at the WTTC 2015, Mats said the European market was shrinking as whole. In 2016, Andreas Zandrén said China almost reached 50% of its blade sales in the world.
 
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That's no surprise at all. From a business wise point of view it's much smarter and rather totally normal for companies when they introduce new products to first focus on some hotspots first before introducing the product to the whole market. It also helps create a buzz and a hype before it can become a cash cow.

This happens with nearly EVERY product you can buy.
No matter if it's beverages/snacks/electronics or tabletennis equipment.
When the I.phone was first introduced ap-ple first focused on certain regions like bay area/cali and newyork and didn't focus so much on wisconsin or nebraska.

So that's totally normal.
 
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