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Mainly there are 3 ways whereby one can export his/her goods in China:

1. Distribute your goods directly
2. Establish a joint venture
3. Find a qualified agent or distributor with a vast sales network

Before exporting your goods into China or choosing a Chinese partner, it is advised for you to conduct thorough market research and due diligence. Companies should be mindful of possible problems in export rights, regulations and intellectual property rights protection. If the company decides to distribute the goods directly, then it will have to be aware of the distribution rights and understand the licensing process in China.

Distributing your goods directly may be a complicated and time-consuming process as one may not be familiar with China’s business practices and government regulations. Application for distribution rights and establishment of own distribution channels will be difficult. Chances of failure will be higher as a result. Establishing a joint venture will thus be a better option. Establishing cooperation with a local partner can allow you to have faster access into China’s market and with the local partner’s knowledge and experiences of China’s market, your success rate will be higher and goods can be better distributed.

Acquiring help from a local partner does give you many advantages in penetrating the China’s market. A side issue to note will be that joint venture usually requires large amount of capital and China’s government may have capital control towards outflow of funds should one transfer his/her funds back to his/her home country. The government will also need to assess the potential economic benefits that it can bring to China, e.g. does it create job opportunities for the local population before approving it. read more »

Planning on visiting or doing business with an Arab company? Here are few tips about Arab business and culture for visitors, exporters, and international traders to understand the culture, business culture, and how to do business with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, and other Middle East countries.

Conservative behavior: In public, Arabs behave conservatively. Display of affection between spouses is nonexistent. It is a private society and display of one’s feelings is kept private. You will also notice that laughter and joking in public is toned down, which is not the case in private gatherings. Arguments between spouses, friends, and people in general are also kept private or conducted in a way that guarantees no one else is aware of it.

Invitations: If you are invited to dinner or lunch, you are not expected to bring food, drinks, or gifts. Upon entering the house notice the guest room you are taken to. If shoes and sandals were left at the door by other guests, then take off your shoes. It is customary when entering guest’s room or office to greet everyone there by saying Alsalamo-Alikom, which means “peace be with you”. The reply to this greeting is “Wa’alikom Alsalam”. Once inside, everyone will stand up to greet you and shake your hand. Start with the person standing on your right side or the one who is approaching you. Notice that in both modern and traditional Arab guest rooms, attendants are seated in a circle to ensure that no one is facing someone’s else back. Also note that the soles of your feet should not point directly toward someone else. Always use your right hand when giving or receiving objects. read more »

I’ll bet you sometimes come across this thought pattern when you are having a bad day or just pondering out the window. Your email keeps piling on top of your other previously read ones and you just feel that there is more than just sitting at your desk or working for someone, day in day out.

This is a bold move and I congratulate you for thinking this way. Why? Because that means you are ready to move on to the next phase of your life. You see, some CEO’s think they have it all when in fact their homes, cars, luxury club memberships and salary all goes away when they are retrenched or retired.

I’m going to give you the 3 methods to positively impact your dream on firing your boss: read more »

Overview

Textile quotas were eliminated among WTO members at the first day of 2005 in accordance with the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). However, resistance to quota removal spread in the US and EU. Subsequently, China reached agreements with the EU and the US in June and November 2005 respectively. The China-US agreement, effective from January 2006, governs the exports of a total of 21 groups involving 34 categories of Chinese textiles and clothing products to the US during 2006-2008. The China-EU agreement, effective from June 2005, covers 10 categories of Chinese textiles and clothing exports to the EU during 2005-2007.

On the other hand, the mainland and Hong Kong agreed in October 2005 to further liberalise the mainland market for Hong Kong companies under the third phase of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA III). Along with other products of Hong Kong origin, the mainland agreed to give all products of Hong Kong origin, including clothing items, tariff-free treatment starting from 1 January 2006. According to the stipulated procedures, products which have no existing CEPA rules of origin, will enjoy tariff-free treatment upon applications by local manufacturers and upon the CEPA rule of origins being agreed and met.

Hong Kong clothing companies are reputable for ODM and OEM production. They are able to deliver quality clothing articles in short lead time, as foreign importers and retailers request clothing suppliers to tighten up supply chain management to ensure the ordered merchandise reaching the store floor at the right time. Increasingly, Hong Kong clothing companies, the established ones in particular, have shown enthusiasm for brand promotion.

Hong Kong’s total exports of clothing rose year-on-year by 9% in the first 11 months of 2005. While Hong Kong’s re-exports of clothing rose by 20%, domestic exports fell by 14%. In the first 11 months of 2005, Hong Kong’s clothing exports to the US and EU rose by 11% and 18% respectively. While Hong Kong’s clothing exports to Japan levelled off, those to the Chinese mainland declined by 11%.

Industry Features

The clothing industry is a major manufacturing sector of Hong Kong. Its gross output is one of the highest among all manufacturing sectors, amounting to HK$35.9 billion in 2003. It is the largest manufacturing employer in Hong Kong, with 1,673 establishments hiring 28,752 workers as of June 2005. It is also the leading earner in terms of domestic exports, taking up 40% of the total in the first 11 months of 2005.

Hong Kong’s geographic boundary has never constrained the development of the forward-looking clothing industry. The majority of clothing manufacturers have set up offshore production facilities in an attempt to reduce operation costs. Relocation of production facilities offshore has however resulted in a steady decline in the number of clothing manufacturers in Hong Kong.

Hong Kong is not only a leading production centre but also a hub for clothing sourcing globally. Companies doing garment trade in Hong Kong are experienced in fabrics procurement, sales and marketing, quality control, logistic arrangements, clothing designs and international and national rules and regulations. The professionalism that they command and the combined services offered are not easily matched elsewhere. With a total of 15,190 establishments hiring 95,889 workers, they form the largest group involved in import-export trade in Hong Kong. read more »

Selling your products or services in export markets can be a very profitable and a true engine for growth for your company. Manufacturers, service providers and traders can all benefit from adding foreign markets to their portfolio of customers. However, selling into export markets can also deplete your cash flow. Large companies that have a cushion of funds in the bank, usually have no problems. However, smaller and emerging firms can run into cash flow issues very quickly.

The biggest issue for exporting firms is waiting 30, 60 or even 90 days to get paid for their goods or services. Slow paying customers can really affect your company’s cash flow. This can challenges your ability to pay suppliers, employees or even rent.

One solution to this common problem is to go to the bank. If you can provide them with a few years worth of audited financial statements, have a good track record and have good personal credit, then the bank should be able to help you obtain business financing. However, obtaining bank financing can be very difficult for small and medium sized firms.

A better alternative is to use export factoring, a form of export finance. Export factoring allows you to accelerate the payment of your foreign export invoices, providing you with the necessary funds to meet your obligations and grow your company. With export factoring you can get your invoices paid in as little as 2 days. And, as opposed to most conventional financing tools, factoring is easy to obtain and quick to set up. read more »

Cultural attitudes towards colors, numbers, shapes, sizes and symbols vary greatly from country to country. In designing your packaging, be sure to take into account these Do’s and Dont’s for the national markets you target.

CZECH and SLOVAK REPUBLICS

• DO use the number 7, which has positive connotations.
• DON’T dress your products in black; but red, white, and blue are looked on favorably.

DENMARK

• DO use red, white and blue for packaging. Hearts are a good motif, particularly at Christmas.
• DON’T use the unlucky number 13.

GERMANY

• DON’T use red or combinations of red, black and white, or brown. Number 13 is also considered unlucky here.

GREECE

• DO use bright yellows and greens or blue and white, avoiding black.
• DON’T use unlucky 13; but 3 and 6 are considered positive.

ITALY

• DO use bold colors for foods and toys, soft tones for cosmetics, clothing and “upscale” items.
• DON’T use purple or the number 13. read more »

In this article I’d like to talk about the first three steps I believe are vital in starting up your own import-export business.

The first and most important step is to determine your interests.

It goes without saying that the most successful businesses are those where it ceases to be considered work for the owner. We’ve all heard stories of people who started out very small and grew their business into million dollar enterprises. It wasn’t just luck or coincidence. They were involved with something they truly enjoyed doing and worked hard at it.

Choose something you are passionate about and you would pay to do. What things do you already pay for? What things are you already passionate about? read more »

Have you ever wondered how products get into and out of the country? Even just some of the small products that you see in your stores everyday. They come from a variety of countries all over the world in order to meet the demand for that product in your country. This presents an excellent business opportunity for work at home entrepreneurs.

Import / export is one of the fastest growing areas of home business – because you need relatively little to start the business up, and you don’t have to have a lot of different overhead in order to keep the work from home business running. Plus, there are hundreds of products out there that people want, and maybe need, and they are willing to purchase those products at a significant mark up in order to acquire them.

How does import / export work? Here is just a glimpse at what you would be looking at for this great work from home opportunity: read more »

photo credit: soylentgreen23

To be successful in business you need not start off by investing in something big or large scale to climb the ladder quicker. All you need is a level headed business objective and the necessary know how to achieve it. Establishing your ground in some small business can also reap you good rewards if you play your cards well. Besides, your desire to start your own business can be realized through a loan and getting small business finance is relatively easy with an interest rate that suits your capacity. Although business finance is considered to be somewhat of a difficult task to achieve without much running around and going through a huge amount of paperwork, it is not really the truth. In fact, there are financial consultants that can arrange business loans for you in one day with minimal paperwork and there’s no catch either.

So how is it all possible? To know that, you have to first understand the kind of loans that is available in the market today. read more »

A game my 8-year old son and I love to play in a department store is to race to be the first to find an item that is Made in the U.S.A. Sometimes the race takes more than 60 seconds. Try it yourself. Our marketplace has turned into a global bazaar. Shirts made in Honduras, mangoes from the Philippines, dog collars made in Indonesia, Italian leather handbags made in China. In this day and age, importing from abroad is not just good business sense, it is necessary for survival.

But you don’t want to be just a consumer at the end of the growing multi-billion-dollar trade chain. You want to be part of the international trade money flow. Before you order your first shipment though, you need to ask yourself – is this business right for you? Here are 4 simple questions to help you decide that.

Question #1: Do you have a connection to the supply source?

You are trying to import something from a foreign country to sell in the U.S. What’s different about you that you can do this more profitably than others?

Familiarity with the source country – maybe you spent a number of years in the country, you are familiar with the culture, the language, the industry. Those things provide considerable advantage.

Contact with sellers – you may know of reliable suppliers in the foreign country, you may have met them in person, or have been referred by a trusted source; you may have established a prior business relationship with them. Trust is key in the business and having prior relationships with sellers you trust gives you a leg up.

Merchandise with huge price gap – You may be aware of merchandise that cost much less abroad than in the U.S… A large price gap allows a lot of room for testing, learning and experimenting marketing channels. read more »