Posted by Rachel Westall on 24 January 2023
We're a Japanese company and importer of Japanese products. King Jim is one of our Japanese brands we distribute in the UK. Our parent company in Japan established in 1942. And we started our UK branch in London in 2000.
Who founded the company and why?
Originally, our company started exporting Japanese publications including newspapers to Japanese emigrants overseas. As the times changed, our mission shifted more to exporting Japanese culture worldwide. In the UK, nowadays we present an extensive range of items such as characteristically well-designed stationery and traditional gifts directly imported from Japan.
How has the company evolved?
As the demand for Japanese products increases, we're expanding our range of items we import to the UK. King Jim is also one of them. There are many stationery brands in Japan which are not well known abroad yet. There's still great potential for Japanese products to be discovered in the UK market.
What do you specialise in?
King Jim is best known for their filing products. They've developed many office-use stationery items in Japan.
We're excited about the TEPRA Lite LR30 Bluetooth label printer. As I've explained, King Jim supplies many office products and the TEPRA brand is one of the office-use label printers. However, it can modify the specifications and can adopt to more personal use at home – for your day-to-day products in the home. With this item, labelling and organising your home will be much easier and prettier.
Do your products suit all levels of crafters?
Yes. With the original app in your smartphone, you can produce well-designed labels very easily. The app has various templates, frames, fonts, emojis and even you can print images (b/w) on labels. You can also choose different designs of tapes to print on.
Craft has boomed over the last year! Have you noticed any new trends?
As we're spending more time at home, the demand for organising your personal area is increasing. The TEPRA Lite is one of the solutions for this need.
How often do you launch new ranges?
King Jim launches new tapes regularly. This year, King Jim collaborated with the brand POKETO and released new tapes. Please check our homepage for the latest information.
We have a starter set of the TEPRA Lite label printer with three tapes, which is good value. The printer itself might be a bit pricey but once you have royal customers, you can expect a repeat purchase for tapes.
What sets you apart from your competitors?
There are some similar products on the market but the quality is guaranteed by the brand KING JIM, as they specialise originally in office-use label printers. I can also add that all designs are created by in-house designers, and they're very cute - Kawaii in Japanese! If you can't satisfy with the pre-installed illustrations, that would be very disappointing, wouldn't it?
Do you visit any trade shows? Do you plan to visit any soon?
We usually exhibit at the London Stationery Show every year.
What are you looking forward to most over the next year?
I hope to introduce the TEPRA Lite label printer to many markets (not just stationery), such as arts and crafts shops. I'm looking forward for this item to be discovered and useful to everyone who loves to labels.
What new products can we expect from you in the future?
Japanese companies launch new items very quickly so I can't answer this question. But I promise that you can expect new products you've never seen before. Please check our B2B website for updates.
JPT Europe Ltd / King Jim
+44 (0)20 7839 4839
www.jpteurope.co.uk
www.kingjim.co.jp/english
