Archive for the ‘Articles’ Category

Are you looking for a fun product to import?  Why not start your own business importing children’s dinnerware?

Children love bright, colourful plates and mugs and they love the clever little characters that often decorate their dishes.  Let your artistic side out and create your own designs.  Not artistic?  It doesn’t matter because there is a huge range of products to choose from.

Children’s dinnerware is usually made of plastics or melamine.  You don’t have to import the standard mugs and plates.  Look for colourful bowls of different sizes, egg cups, plate and cutlery sets or even tea sets like Mum and Dad use.  There are lots of possibilities. 

There are some international safety standards in place that your products must meet and they may be checked for chemicals in the materials used as well as suitability of the product for little children.  If you are designing your own products remember that they will be used by little hands with little fingers.  Keep an eye on safety standards.

Children’s dinnerware is inexpensive and very lightweight so it won’t cost you a lot in freight.  You can make a good profit in this business while still having all the fun of the children’s colourful products.

So, what will it be?  Plates, bowls or mugs

Happy Importing

Jackie Mikami.

More flights, greater competition and lower fares on routes between Australia and China are now possible following the signing of a new air services agreement.

Finalised in time for the Chinese New Year, the new arrangements will increase the available seats on routes between China and Australia by 70% by the end of this year, and, consequently, air cargo capacity..

The national airlines of both countries will immediately be able to offer up to 10,500 seats per week between Australia’s major gateway airports and China, and a further 4,000 seats from November.  Previously, seat allocations were capped at 8,500.

The new agreement also provides:
• A special capacity entitlement to accommodate new services between China and Brisbane, with 2,000 of the additional seats for Chinese airlines quarantined for flights into and out of the Queensland capital.
• Further opportunities for Australian airlines to operate between China and other destinations such as Europe, while allowing Chinese carriers to operate to additional points beyond Australia.
• An opportunity for the airlines of both countries to operate via a larger number of intermediate points.

Significantly, the latest agreement contains a shared commitment to commencing negotiations aimed at concluding an ‘open skies’ agreement, an outcome that would remove most – if not all – of the existing limitations on Australian and Chinese airlines operating between the two countries.

The announcement is a significant breakthrough, reinforcing the importance of Australia’s economic relationship with China, now Australia’s largest trading partner.

It will allow the airlines of both sides to better compete within the rapidly-growing Asia-Pacific region and it positions the Australian aviation industry at the forefront of the rapidly developing Chinese market.

The Asia-Pacific is now the world’s biggest aviation market and last year alone, nearly 1.4 million people travelled between Australia and China.  In fact, over the past 5 years passenger growth on routes between our two countries has averaged 16.9%.

Source: WWW.TANDLNEWS.COM.AU

When I think of travel I first think of bags but it isn’t always the lack of luggage that causes problems for travellers. Sometimes it is the lack of basic necessities especially when travelling off the beaten track.

If you are looking for products to import why not think about travel towels?

Modern manufacturing has produced some wonderful materials that are highly absorbent yet very small in size. These materials make excellent travel towels. Just think about micro-fibre cloth and how much water it can absorb despite its size. Wouldn’t they be perfect to pack for your holiday or camping trip? They would be great to take with you on family trips to the local pool or even for sports people to throw into their bag when they head out.

You could have travel towles made in different colours or sizes for different purposes. Create a travel wallet that has a towel included. Design a clip on purse big enough to hold the towel and clip onto a beach bag or laundry bag so that it doesn’t get lost. Create a range for children featuring cartoon prints or a range that will fit into a handbag for that unexpected night away from home.

Travel towels would be very handy on long overseas trips but just as useful for daytime family outings. Choose your market and create a range to suit. Add some fun and spice to a very useful product.

Happy Importing

Jackie Mikami.

Importing fashion is a great opportunity for anyone in Australia to consider.

With the import tariff down from 17.5% to 10% how can you resist. There are constant free trade agreements coming into place with many countries around the world such as Thailand that make it easy to import from.

Looking at fashion the options are endless; you can import things like ;

• tshirts
• hats
• boardshorts
• kids clothing
• baby clothing
• pajamas
• underwear
• swimwear
• theme fancy dress for kids and adults
• ski gear
• work clothing
• wedding dresses
• formal dresses
• christening gowns and more

The options are truly endless. When importing clothing it is great to have your own brand to add to your imports. This helps you stand out in the crowd when you go to sell your goods in Australia. Packaging can be fun to. It is so cheap and easy to make a gift box with your logo to put PJ’s in or a cute give away draw string bag with your brand on it for underwear, even a branded beach ball to go with swim-wear.

Clothing importing has a few restrictions such as quantity and sizing to be aware of. The cheaper and simpler the item the greater quantity you will be asked to buy from the factory. Not always the case but very common. Swim wear uses so little fabric but the fabric mill requires a big purchase to make your original fabric so this is something to think about in advance. No problem if you have good capital backing though.

Sizing is so varied throughout the world and unfortunately in Australia we do not even have a sizing standard for clothing. We all know the  8, 10, 12, 14 etc sizing but the actual measurements of these can vary dramatically from brand to brand and store to store. This is something you can dictate when you order your fashion from overseas – the sizing. Best thing is to get a set of sizes of similar clothing to yours or patterns and send to your factory.

Do not get caught thinking you must have samples or patterns or designs even before you can start. Really all you need is an idea !

Lets talk fashion – we have much experience in fashion importing and look forward to sharing it with you.

Kind regards and happy importing
Jackie Mikami

CEO JOLT Consulting

info@joltconsulting.com.au

Free dial 1800 706230

Have you seen the look for the winter season?  It is quite retro with its short, shaped jackets, leggings and high heeled boots.

What do I like?  The boots!

The gorgeous shoes in this picture are from the Myer winter fashion collection.  Just look at those heels!

If you keep watching the fashion trends throughout Europe you will be able to see what styles are coming our way in future seasons.

That gives you a head start when it comes to designing shoes for your own label.  You want to be ready to offer the same style boot that is on the runway for Australian fashion shows.

There are so many styles you could work with.  Retro, diamonte, studded, classic, bridal,military, evening, punk… the list goes on.

Look for what is coming, think about what really appeals to you in a shoe and combine them both into a style that is uniquely your own.

If you know what you want then start now while the Aussie dollar is still strong and the import duty has been lowered.

Don’t forget to check our estore for some helpful ebooks on importing.

Happy Importing,

Jackie Mikami

There are a number of ways that you can move your products from the country of manufacture to your location.  Methods include air, sea and, once arrived in the country, could also include road or rail.  Each has its own advantage and disadvantages. 

So how do you choose which method is best for you?

There are a number of things to think about.

• How big/heavy are the items?  Heavy weights would be best sent by sea.  Light weight or small items could be sent by air
• Are the items time sensitive?  If they are required by a certain date or liable to perish you will need to select the fastest form of transport, usually air.
• For safety reasons some products will not be allowed on planes. 
• For sea freight you may need to use the whole or part of a container.  There are different fees for each that you will need to consider.
• Cost – Sea freight is often the cheapest option but delivery will take longer than air freight.
• How will you get your goods from port/airport to your warehouse?  Rail is probably better over longer distances but road may be more convenient.
• Do you know what you are actually paying for?  Know your INCO terms so you can read and understand the contracts.

Once you have selected your method of freight you will need to choose the safest way to pack your items, especially if they are breakable or likely to be damaged by dampness.   You need to find out how to label them, buy insurance and complete the necessary paperwork.  Sometimes having the products made can seem like the easy part!  Remember that we can help you to manage your freight requirements.  You don’t have to do it alone.

Happy importing

Jackie Mikami