Skip to main content

Over the last 20 years I have been to China more than 150 times. But only now does the market seem ready to me for us to capture a new sales market. We have maintained a Support Center in China, run a sales office and sold successfully, and cooperated with more than 40 suppliers. But there has also been bad news; I also opened a wine store in Shenzhen. Just between you and me, it was the nicest wine store in the world, however, commercially seen, nothing but a shambles. Oh well, you learn from your mistakes.

Retail and hospitality in China focus on local products. Cheap, cheap, cheap. But more and more, logistics companies, large chains and subsidiaries of international corporations are asking for brand name products. Scanners should come from Datalogic or Honeywell, POS printers from Epson. But these large manufacturers have trouble with the fragmented selling systems in China, especially when the product goes through ten sets of hands before it is installed. Large IT distributors are already in China, but they are concentrating on bread and butter products.

Most of the existing distributors limit themselves to a few brands, a small local region, or are "mixed models" - meaning they also deliver to end-customers. However, many new developments make locating there easier: founding a 100% subsidiary in China has become easier. Import and export licenses are also easier to obtain, as is English-speaking personnel. European insurance companies are liable for warehouses in China, and banks convert the RMB, the Chinese currency.

Who knows, maybe we will do something. . .