Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and sm

Re: [spiers] Calling all importers of contemporary home decor, housewares and small furniture


> Finally, John, in your course, you mention that it is possible for you
> to determine where products are sourced from. We are big fans of
> Target, Crate & Barrel and West Elm. They all produce great products
> in China. Our luck with Chinese suppliers has been average. How do we
> find out which suppliers they use? Any suggestions would be helpful.

***The fastest way is simply ask the hktdc to find out for you (they know off
the top of their
heads... at www.hktdc.com, although the problem is these suppliers are geared
toward mass
production and quality in the 5 million unit range... also, a fellow who is
intimate with selling
to walmart tells me that walmart now auctions off new products, that is to say,
regardless of
the source of the design, they do a live worldwide auction over the internet to
see who has
best product... next time I am in vancouver I'll visit your store, but I think
you'd be bettter off
figuring out where "sur la table" in seattle sources...***
>
> PS We found great design-oriented products at the Thailand Gift Show
> in Bangkok. It was a great event and is coming up again in March if
> anyone is interested. I warn you though that Thais compete on design
> not price so their products command a premium. Unfortunately, the
> price divide is too great and the Chinese are beating them on both fronts.

*** "occidental in inspiration, oriental in execution..." are these thai designs
thai or north
american?***

John

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