inspire


BUSINESS WEST – CONNECTING BUSINESSES INTERNATIONAL TRADE


Export markets are a major opportunity for firms of all sizes, and Business West provides a range of services to help you go global


Dream big or go home - help exporting to China


By Jonathan Smith, China market specialist, Business West


Chinese people have a long and distinguished history of dreaming big. The Great Wall stretches for over 5,500 miles, while Qin Shi Huang (China’s first emperor) built a tomb with over 8,000 terracotta warriors to protect him in the afterlife. No one can accuse China’s modern


leaders of a lack of blue sky thinking compared to their predecessors as shown by the country’s rise from poverty over the last three decades. Currently, Xi Jinping seeks to lead a ‘great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation’, turning the country into a fully developed nation by 2049 (100th anniversary of founding of the People’s Republic). A common complaint of Chinese companies about their British partners is that British companies are often too reticent to take the risks and make the commitments needed for real success in China. China is not a market in which dabblers can achieve success. It requires long term commitment of both time and money, and is not somewhere where most companies can do well without a fair amount of handholding. Companies that are willing to take risks


and commit to the market can be rewarded, however, and we have the ability to assist those SMEs in the South West that have China-sized dreams. Our Extend Your Global Reach programme is currently assisting around 20 companies from across the region enter the China market and there are still spaces for more companies that are interested in selling to China (this programme is also available for India, Southeast Asia and Latin America). After helping companies assess whether


there is an opportunity for them in China, we work with our in-market delivery partner (China-Britain Business Council) to design a bespoke consultancy package designed at making sure companies stand the best chance possible for securing sales. This handholding supports companies


from beginning to end and can include guidance on getting companies ‘ready for China’ through, for example, advice on IP protection, as well as practical in-market support, such as identifying potential partners and accompanying companies to meetings and following up on their behalf.


14 insight SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017


Putting China in your hands


W


e have been recruiting companies for our Extend Your Global Reach programme for over six months now


and are halfway through our recruitment process with only 20 spots left on the programme for China. The companies we have recruited have been


SMEs from across the South West in a wide range of sectors, but they all fall into one of the following three categories:


The improvers These companies have already seen strong sales in China, but could be doing much better. In a country with over 1.3 billion people and the world’s largest economy (measured by PPP), there are very few SMEs that can say that they’ve ‘cracked’ China. WCBS is one example of this sort


segment they had previously missed. The next stage will be to contact schools in the most promising regions to set up meetings that WCBS already has the ability to convert into sales.


‘With the


world’s largest economy there


are very few SMEs that can say that they’ve cracked China’


of company. They make software that helps schools effectively manage their data and have been making serious inroads into China over the last three years. However, with over 300,000 schools in China


and a law compelling all schools to have a data management system in place by 2020, WCBS have barely scratched the surface of their potential in China. We have assisted WCBS by completing a detailed mapping exercise of bilingual schools across China – a market


The accidental China exporters These companies have seen some sales in China before, but very small amounts and have not made a concerted push into the market. Sometimes these companies are sought out in China due to their world-renowned quality in their niche area. Sometimes these companies may be seeing small volumes of sales on the back of a chance meeting with someone at a trade show. Dartington Crystal fits this description very well. A Royal Warrant holder, theirs is the sort


of brand you would imagine high- income Chinese consumers would love. However, Dartington only sold to


one department store in all of China. We contacted retailers that we identified as


potentially interested in Dartington Crystal. Then we arranged a market visit for Dartington to meet with these retailers and accompanied him to these meetings. Afterwards we followed up to push discussions along where needed. After a successful first visit, we are preparing the ground for a second visit later this year.


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