Ive been to trophex a few times and to one giftware show in china.
ET is mostly all about euro styled components etc , its not really that machine oriented. Most of the big guys there like Biemans have extensive ranges and are cheaper than buying from the mnfgrs. Europe to SA is a lot easier than anything else , so for me its the premier show to go for. My entrance and ticket also gets paid for by one of my suppliers there , so that helps :)
Apart from that , we find that to do pdu type components for trophies and those colums things is a waste They look like what they are , cheapish , and you can get better equivalents in euro styles that look seriously better or more upmarket and allow unheard of margins , often 500%.
I leave the real rubbish stuff , like customers that want 200 of the tallest junk we can make for like no money (like for those car sound off shows) , to the other folk. Theres no profit in it.
China is overwhelming , the gift fair is over like 8 exhibition halls and has anything you could want at silly prices.
We import tons of marble bases from china , totally rediculous prices , landed cost of a black marble 2" x 2" base , countersunk , drilled etc is under 15c. a 6" x 6" x 3" base is like $1!!!
Its not even worth us doing a plain supawood base for that!!
Same sort of thing with their optical glass awards , their prices allow like 1000% profit , well worth bringing in a container of those 2 items alone.
However you can get the same from the euro guys , they import from china etc an offer em a little bit more expensive , but the advantage is one supplier for a lot of stuff.
India too is emerging as a force in the trophy world , we have seen some stuff from there real cheap , but way to flowery and florid for our customers or my taste. |
