Liu Yu Fishing Tackle: A Practical Path from China to Global Markets

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Zhou Jun, founder of Liu Yu Fishing, pivoted a domestic match fishing brand into the American lure fishing market. The store launched in January 2026 and turned a profit within three months, with the independent website accounting for over 30% of sales. This case is particularly relevant for domestic outdoor brands with strong supply chain advantages. The biggest pitfall is the lengthy inventory cycle—45–50 days for sea freight plus another 45–50 days for production—which can easily lead to stockouts or excess inventory.

• Selling domestic match fishing gear directly to the U.S. would fail; 80% of the equipment must be redesigned for lure fishing
• Establish a海外 team on the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto, using locals to shape brand content and product definitions
• Spend three months mastering platform rules and cross-border processes before opening a store
• Attend professional expos like ICAST to win authoritative local awards…
• Inventory planning must simultaneously fund three stages: warehouse stock, sea freight, and factory production

1. What’s the Opportunity?

Zhou Jun, founder of Liu Yu Fishing, transformed a domestic match fishing brand into a lure fishing brand in the U.S. After launching on its own website and Amazon in January 2026, the company achieved profitability within three months, with the independent site contributing over 30% of revenue and earning the sole Best Product Award from a Chinese brand at the 2026 ICASF. The core logic leverages China’s supply chain advantage of “high quality at mid-range prices” to disrupt the underperforming American lure market, where competition is insufficient and gear innovation has stalled.

2. Independent Assessment

It’s worth pursuing, but the barrier lies in “product reconstruction,” not traffic tactics. While the American lure market is mature, it faces a clear innovation bottleneck, leaving room for Chinese brands to cut costs through supply chain efficiency. The critical differentiator is whether you’re willing to invest heavily in localized product development—80% of the gear requires new molds—rather than simply reselling existing goods.

3. Cold-Start Roadmap

Phase 1 (Months 0–3): Don’t rush to open shop. Spend three months thoroughly understanding platform rules and cross-border logistics while recruiting an overseas product manager with local fishing experience (Zhou Jun poached a candidate who had applied two years earlier and become the Overseas Product Manager for ArcPro).
Phase 2 (Months 3–6): Build a four-person local team in a fishing hotspot, such as the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto, responsible for brand content and localized product definition, while simultaneously running mold development and prototype testing.
Phase 3 (Month 7 onward): Attend professional expos like ICAST to secure authoritative local endorsements. Launch officially in January and achieve profitability by March.

4. Biggest Risks and Pitfalls to Avoid

Critical Pitfall: Extremely high capital tied up in inventory leads to stockouts or overstock. With sea freight taking 45–50 days and production another 45–50 days, you must finance all three stages simultaneously: warehouse stock, goods in transit, and production. If a hit product is misjudged, cash flow can break easily.
Avoidance Strategy: Start with small-batch, high-frequency tests to gather data instead of blindly placing large orders based on domestic experience. Establish a dynamic inventory model and retain at least three months’ safety margin in funds.

5. Case Review (How Others Did It)

• Product Reconstruction: Realized that only 20% of domestic match fishing gear is compatible with American lure fishing. Eighty percent of the equipment—lures, rods, and gear tailored to target species—must be redeveloped, abandoning the illusion of selling domestic stock directly.
• Team Localization: Rather than managing from China, the overseas company was established on the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto (a premier fishing destination), hiring four local employees to handle content creation and product definition, ensuring deep knowledge of local fishing methods and communication styles.
• Talent Hack: Poached a candidate who had applied for a job two years prior but wasn’t hired. That individual, having since studied lure fishing deeply, returned and eventually became the core overseas product manager.
• Channel Mix: Online focus on Amazon plus the independent website (over 30% share) and TikTok. Offline expansion through ICAST expos to grow B2B sales, entering major sporting retailers like Bass Pro Shops.
• Brand Endorsement: At the world’s largest fishing tackle show, ICAST, in 2026, the brand won the “Best Product Award” in a vote by experts from the American Fishing Association, media, and professional anglers, becoming the only Chinese brand honored.
• Strategic Discipline: During the harshest tariff disputes, the company went against the trend by firmly positioning the U.S. as its primary market, betting long-term on the assessment that “China and the U.S. are economically complementary, the U.S. monopolizes competitive markets, and China dominates saturated ones.”

6. Dual-Track Feasibility

Cross-border: Viable. The key lies in “localized product reconstruction” plus an “on-the-ground overseas team,” making it suitable for manufacturers with fishing or outdoor supply chain advantages, provided they can front the capital for long inventory cycles.
Domestic: Not viable for this specific play (the original text focuses on an export case; domestic operations have been handed to professional managers, and match fishing in China is highly competitive—not the opportunity highlighted here).

Original article · Biji Xia: Read original →

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