Brand Q&A: Catching Up with Jaked

Jaked is one of the newest entrants into the tech suit market in the U.S., although they’ve been well-known in Europe for several years. We caught up with Jaked’s U.S. rep to learn more about the brand that has had swimmers talking since the brand’s terrific visibility at the 2009 World Championships.

SwimOutlet.com Blog: So first off, is Jaked considered an Italian brand because of the heritage?

Jaked: Jaked is an Italian company with the headquarters in the North of Italy (close to Milano). The company has been created in 2008 when four guys had a great intuition: to use the polyurethane together with a state-of-the-art construction technology in the manufacturing system of the full body competition suits. It has been a real revolution in the swimming world! In the 2009 Swimming Worlds in Rome, most of the swimmers were using the Jaked competition swimsuit called J01, breaking 17 world records and earning 37 medals.

Today Jaked is fully part of the Pianoforte Holding Group, together with Yamamay – a well-known underwear brand – and Carpisa – Italianluggage and bags brand. The group has a franchise network of more than 1200 stores around the world. But even now the entire range of Jaked racing swimsuits is designed, developed and produced in Italy, using materials and fabrication processes in keeping with the finest Italian know-how.

SwimOutlet.com Blog: This is Jaked’s first year being available on SwimOutlet.com. You are only 6 years old and primarily sold in Europe – tell us the philosophy behind Jaked?

Jaked: We have just started our collaboration with SwimOutlet.com and this represents for us the first step of our development in the U.S. market. We are happy for that because both the partners have the same philosophy: to deliver to the serious swimmers all the necessary products to be on top and to reach fantastic targets: not only competition swimsuits, but also training swimsuits and high quality accessories. Our vision? Offer every athlete the best tools for their style and for the challenges they must face!

SwimOutlet.com Blog: Who are some of the elite athletes you have worn Jaked suits?

Jaked: The brand is now represented by Federica Pellegrini, a very popular swim icon not only in Italy, but all around the world. She is a star swimmer: it’s a pleasure to work with her on new products and new lines. It’s also great to see “Jaked” on the podium with her!

SwimOutlet.com Blog: The JKatana is your statement suit, tell us a little about the design inspiration and technology in its construction…

Jaked: JKatana launched in 2013 is still our best-seller. Lightweight fabric, comfortable shape, bright colors (using two different colored yarns to create a shimmering effect) and aggressive price: those are the four factors that have helped Jaked’s sale success and to grow our brand visibility in tremendous ways. But 2015 will be a very important year for us, because we are going to announce the Jaked new competition swimsuit: it’s called JRUSH. It is the very finest of a cutting-edge generation of swimsuits, dedicated to the swimmers looking for the perfect balance between compression and comfort. JRUSH is made from an ultra-light fabric with integrated compression properties. The carbon fiber incorporated into the fabric and the heat-welded garment construction ensures perfect compression for the athlete. And it also presents a real innovation in the women’s models: the exclusive FlexStripes strap compensation system. It can improve fit and comfort: the straps yield to the stroke movement with elastic resistance. We are very confident regarding this new product that have already demonstrated all the qualities during the test phase and furthermore confident looking at the pre-orders that we have already received. Last but not least, this year will also see the launch of a limited edition of the J11 – range dedicated to swimmers looking for an excellent FINA-approved entry-level price point. Presented in two versions (green and blue), this product will be available late April.

SwimOutlet.com Blog: What are some other key products in the Jaked line, you also work in triathlon and water polo?

Jaked: That’s a good question in the sense that Jaked is not only a competition swimsuits company but a global swimming company. We have a complete range starting from training swimsuits (plain colors PBT suits – printed fantasy suits), caps (competition caps and fantasy training caps), goggles and all the products that you are using during your activity (bags, robes, training aides, etc). As said previously, we have just started the collaboration with SwimOutlet.com and we need to introduce our brand step by step starting from the competition swimsuits. But it is clear that our strategy is to enlarge our products proposal in the U.S. with the introduction of the other product categories. This will be done with water polo too, already part of our global product proposal with many team collaboration in Europe. And we have so many projects in the pipeline (as triathlon for example) but we’ll keep those quiet for now.

SwimOutlet.com Blog: What industry trends are you seeing in Water Polo at the moment and how are you different from other water polo brands?

Jaked: We have noted a growing interest for this sport globally and an increased number of players and aficionados. That’s great considering that we have always had a special link with the water polo world: first with the Italian National Team and recently during the World Champs in Barcelona 2013. Jaked won the world title thanks to the Spanish Women’s Team!

SwimOutlet.com Blog: We’re not asking for any secrets but how do you plan to roll out and expand in the U.S. market in the coming years?

Jaked: Good partners, good quality, product innovation and local investments. Nothing strange or crazy but no oversized investments. A step-by-step strategy with a clear percentage of risk, but to be kept under control.