How to Buy at an International Trade Fair
Why International Trade Fairs?
Brand new merchandise can be so new that it may well have not yet appeared on the Internet. In any case nothing beats picking up new products and getting a feel for them, which is uniquely what you can do at an international trade fair. If you have never attended one before you will be amazed at the wide ranges of products in your industry that are still available for import.
Also the deals you can strike, if you get it right can have a significant impact on your business in terms of profit margins and long term cashflow. Prices and terms tend to be non-negotiable in cyberspace, which is why the major international trade fairs are still important and should not be overlooked.
Looking for new products - How to start
The bigger and more important international trade fairs are to be found in centres such as Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Birmingham (NEC) and Nuremberg. When visiting any of these it is always advisable to pre-register, which you can do over the Internet, to avoid wasting valuable time queuing to get your pass.
Fairs like these have two things in common; they occupy several halls and the best sites in the most popular halls are usually occupied by well established businesses who have been there for a long time.
There are two golden rules to observe during any visit therefore - Arrive the day before it starts so you are there bright and early for the morning that it opens and head for the least fashionable sites first.
The reason for visiting the least fashionable sites first is because they are likely to be occupied by firms that will have been on the waiting list for some time. They are therefore new exhibitors and new exhibitors generally mean new products. If you learn that the fair has been expanded by allocating more exhibitors to a new hall the year you visit for example, make that hall your top priority.
In the case of South East and South Asian exhibitors showing at the Frankfurt Spring Fair many will be present in their national halls because they won the allocation of a site from their Ministry of Trade by lottery. This means that there is a strong chance of finding new firms with new products in their national hall year on year.
Remember that the most heavily promoted and prominent products at the show are never the ones with the greatest potential for a small or medium size business. What you should be looking for is the 'sleeper'; the one which could have a dramatic effect on your business.
Importing? - Who to talk to.
Many of the overseas exhibitors, particularly European and US companies that you encounter will have an agent for the UK market. In the case of the big international fairs this agent should be present on their stand or, if he or she acts for a number of companies exhibiting, should at least be contactable at the show. Asian exhibitors however very often work with export agents resident in their own country; China, Taiwan or South Korea, rather than a network of domestic agents resident in their target markets.
In these cases it is important to make sure that the manufacturer concerned is not employing more than one such agent to represent their export business. If this is the case there is no control over the distribution of the products and you could find that others in the UK will be running the same lines perhaps at better prices than you can justify. Checking on the Internet is the best route for establishing whether this could be the case.
When you are visiting an international fair do not be prepared to speak to just anybody on a stand that interests you; always ask for the export manager. If you are presented with a price list, check with them that this is the export price list. When you have the export price list the first question you should ask is – ‘Discount?’
Do not be afraid to bargain especially if you have the power to buy more than just a few trade packs; they really expect you to do so and they are there to do business. Remember that the prices you negotiate at the fair will be with you for a long time.
How long?
When it comes to international trade fairs at centres such as Frankfurt you should allocate at least two full working days, it is simply not possible to achieve anything serious by flying out in the morning and back again in the evening; there is just too much to evaluate. In any event by not being in town the night before you will not be through the doors first thing next morning and this can be important; especially if you are looking for some degree of exclusive distribution in your market.
Listen Up!
Leading international trade fairs are dynamic and competitive places. A lot of checking of what their competition is up to is going on by both exhibitors and serious visitors and a lot of information is in circulation. This makes them ideal venues for you to learn things that can be useful to you.
Even if you find that a particular exhibitor is not of immediate interest to you it is worth telling them what you are looking for. Most will direct you to stands which offer such products or services for no better reason that they know that they are in that kind of business, but some will be better informed. For example they may have heard that exhibitor ‘A’ is doing well with new products or the exhibitor ‘B’ is bringing in new production from say China at very keen prices.
Over a two or three day period you can pick up more useful information than you could hope for in a year: Some of it may guide you to someone who can give your business a real advantage in the future.
Back Up on demand
Always have someone at the office ready to go out and get important information for you on demand. This person is in effect your link to the current market in the UK
For example you may come across a line or a range that, on the face of it, looks really exciting. This will be when you need to make a phone call to get someone to go out right away to a store where similar ranges are on sale to confirm prices and specifications. With this information you will then be in a much stronger position to evaluate whether or not you have an import that could be a potential winner in front of you.
You can avoid a lot of mistakes and save a lot of time by doing this.
Projecting Your Business
The best exhibitors at a large international trade fair are those with good merchandise at the right prices which is well presented. Such features are no accident though and the people responsible for them tend to be professionals who take a long term view of their business. This means that they are not prepared to deal with just anybody who wants to import their products in their own country. First impressions do count and how you present yourself will therefore be important.
For example a business suit may seem to be old fashioned in the UK these days but when you are trying to impress important exhibitors from China, South Korea or India say, it is not. However new shoes are not recommended - you will walk several miles in a day if you work a show like Frankfurt or Hong Kong properly.
You should also be ready to demonstrate what your business has to offer to them, principally your sales and management resources and your position in that market. If you have any promotional material to support your case; bring it with you. Examples of advertising, magazine articles or testimonials from clients are especially useful.
It does not follow however that the bigger you are the more likely you are to succeed. A smaller business engaged in distribution, which is perceived to be dynamic and forward looking will often be preferred to say a supermarket chain which will engage with them for a few months only before moving onto new pastures.
Last but not least you will need to be show that your financial resources will be up to you undertaking a business relationship with them. Figurewizard forecasts could well be useful to you here.
© Figurewizard.com ltd. This article may not be reproduced without our express permission
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