Western Australia’s largest rock lobster processor, Jaybow Lobster Australia, has been rebranded as Westar Lobster, six months after it was created through the merger of Lobster Australia and James Bowes Pty Ltd.
The rebranding signifies a move to streamline the brand internationally, following the merger of Lobster Australia, owned by Kailis and France Holdings, and Craig Mostyn Group’s subsidiary, James Bowes, in October last year.
Westar Lobster chief executive officer Chris Perrott said the new brand had been created after extensive consultation with the company’s stakeholders and employees.
“It’s an attempt to revitalise our own company in what is a particularly traditional industry,” he said.
The company operates three brands in its overseas markets – Aspa, Batavia and Jaybow – and plans to convert these to the new Westar brand.
“Eventually, they’ll come under the one brand, but we don’t want to do it too quickly because it will cause confusion,” Mr Perrott told WA Business News.
The merger between Lobster Australia and James Bowes had created the largest rock lobster processing company in the world, Mr Perrott said, with operations centres in Fremantle, Dongara and Geraldton.
He said the merger had reduced the company’s costs per unit, but it was difficult to quantify before the end of the season, which is June 30.
“The aim is to get costs per unit down. There is an economy of scale now, and we will try to get the costs down further,” Mr Perrott said.
The current rock lobster season is expected to be poor in terms of volume, according to Mr Perrott, particularly in the southern zone from Fremantle to Greenhead, near Jurien Bay.
This year’s catch was estimated to be 40 per cent down, year on year, to the end of March, while the northern zone, around Geraldton, has fared somewhat better, with the volume up marginally by 7 per cent.
Mr Perrott said industry predictions showed the 2007-08 season would also be reduced in volume, to about the same level as the current year.
Despite the poor season, Mr Perrott said the company would continue to pursue new opportunities overseas.
While the process of securing new buyers was slow, due to the sizable volumes of produce required for long-term viability, Mr Perrott said Westar would continue to expand into European markets.
The company has an existing relationship with British chain Marks and Spencer, which has been developed over the past year.
