Tips on How to Import Merchandise from China

Time is Money. Last minute shipping is always expensive.You can always save a lot if you don’t play it too close to the edge.

By planning in advance you can not only avoid overpaying, but also take advantage of some nice discounts depending on your suppliers. This can give you time to plan for storage when it’s needed and overall make you more flexible in terms of choosing a carrier and tariff.

Plan ahead means you will have enough time to choose the suitable transportation method, find a good freight forwarder and leave you and your customers better preparation.

Cool Tip: Make sure book your cargo two weeks earlier ETD when importing from China.
 

How to do Sourcing: Saving On the Little Things of Merchandising

One of the most essential needs in international sourcing is knowing how to reduce costs, specifically in shipping costs.

No matter how big or small of a player you are in the sourcing and merchandising industry, managing shipping and saving freight cost directly affects your business’ bottom line and overall success.

SAVE FREIGHT COST

Every dollar saved in shipping directly reflects better financial performance. Overpaying in logistics means you can’t provide consistent and cost-effective delivery to your customers and seemingly have no control on your company’s desired specialization.

In the merchandising industry, it is a well know fact that China will be one of your major partners in your deals. If you have little to less knowledge on shipping logistics to and from China, you better read up for the betterment of your business.
 

Marketing Strategy: Maximising Investment using Corporate Gifts

If you are looking into maximising your marketing budget this year, then you should invest in corporate gifts! Most people like to get things organized to welcome the beginning of the year. This is why everybody always have a new year resolution. Help your clients and business partners to get organized. A thoughtful gift is always appreciated far more than its actual value.

This gift is highly customizable. You have many options on colour and material. PU can be a very good material for this if leather is too luxurious for the target audience. Having a large surface area, you can choose to brand it prominently or subtly. You can even customize the finishing. Try using foil stamping to make your brand more visible.

Using Marketing Budget Optimally
Corporate gifts can strengthen your brand image and your ties with your partners. It also increases brand awareness. It is a form of subtle investment. Using your marketing budget for corporate gifts will enforce brand recall and hopefully generate more collaborations.

Custom Aprons: Impressive Marketing Gifts

Differentiate your customers experience by offering them high-quality custom aprons! An indispensable accessory for your kitchen’s customers to cook either pasta or a menu worthy of the biggest tables.

Such marketing products will make your customers happy thanks to an original design and a high-quality material. They will enjoy an apron which composition is made out of 100% cotton and resistant material, adjustable cords and easy to care for. For sure, you will bring light to their kitchens.

In addition, those high-quality vintage aprons come in a huge range of colors which you can customize in different ways. As a result, with such a unique product, your promotion will be impressive!

Why using custom aprons for your promotion?
Brand exposure :  Your company will benefit from a good brand exposure as the logo is well placed on the apron. For sure, this product will enhance your brand visibility when your customers will use it, as the brand logo will catch people’s attention.
High-quality:  With this 100% cotton, durable and eco-friendly apron,  you will impress your customers as it is such premium marketing gift.
Practicality: Customers will enjoy to have this apron as it is a very useful accessory in every kitchen. Moreover, the pockets can keep all your customers favorite supplies. It makes a good promotional product.

Corporate Merchandise: Asahi Money Clip

The money clip is a gift that provides much utility as it allows them to keep these reserve currencies separate from main wallets, to be kept safe should the worst happen. A custom logo may also be etched onto the holster to allow for an additional advertising benefit for the company.

Stimulate sales with GWP promotion

This form of promotion is a form of investment that pays for itself. Even though there will be some costs incurred from providing the GWP, it will also translate to increased sales revenue! This happens because people may be drawn to make a purchase because of the gift offered. Thus the initial cost of the GWP is a small sum to pay for the large amount of sales that will could potentially be generated.

GWP helps to boost customer satisfaction!

When customers obtain an additional item other than what they have originally purchased, they feel appreciated. Customers will feel like they are getting more value for their buck. Therefore, this will increase customer satisfaction and aid in building customer loyalty.

Offering a promotional gift certainly provides two-fold benefits for both the brand as well as the customers. So start offering them today to experience these benefits for your company!

Liquor Merchandise Ideas: Premium Products for you Brand

Seeking effective promotional ideas for your corporate gifts. Wine related gifts can truly set your firm apart from competition by offering classy yet inexpensive items of high perceived-value.

Wine Decanter

Decanters are key items for wine lovers. For old wines which contain sediments (due to the aging process), properly decanting will insure that these have a chance to settle at the bottom of bottle or decanter. Younger wine will benefit from decanting by increasing its contact with oxygen, thus releasing aromas.

Lastly, presentation of wine in a beautiful crystal decanter adds to the ambiance of a beautifully dressed table.

Wine Aerator

Similar to the decanter, wine aerators enhance the taste of the wines you drink by exposing them to air. However, aerators do this task better and faster than decanters.

No need to remember to open the bottle long before dinner in order to enjoy its full aroma, aerators deliver oxygen to the wine rapidly and efficiently. A great item for all impatient wine connoisseurs out there.

Wine Vacuum Pump

On the opposite side, if you would like to keep your wine for later (if you do not wish to finish a full bottle in 1 sitting) oxygen should be kept out of your bottle in order to prevent the aromas from escaping. The use of a vacuum pump becomes mandatory. By inserting a rubber bung into the neck of the bottle and extracting the air, you insure your wine will lose nothing of its bouquet and is ready to be served again days later.

Bottle Stands

Meant to showcase your best wine while on the table or bar.  this can just be for decoration purposes or have pouring function.  Bottle stands are the perfect tools to fit for displaying your unopened wine.

Choose from wood, metal, glass and a host of other materials and designs.

Wine Stopper

Wine stoppers are devices used to seal a bottle of wine after it has been opened in order to keep the wine from spilling and to prevent oxygen from spoiling the beverage. Traditionally made of cork, wine stoppers evolved and can now take many shapes and forms. Easily personalized, they bring a nice touch to any celebration or events and can represent any theme of your choice.

Wine Case

This item allows you to easily carry around your favourite bottle and can also provide a great gift pack when offering a bottle of wine to somebody as a gift.

Meant to conserve and protect your best bottle while it is carried around, wine cases are great addition to an already classy product. They can come in many shape, colors and material.

Wine Glasses

Wine glasses are also one of the most important element in any wine tasting. Shape is important as it concentrates the flavor and the aroma (bouquet) to emphasize the varietal’s characteristics. For example red wine glasses have shorter stems and wider bowls as compared to white wine glasses.

Wine glasses are also of key importance to decorate dinner table and can easily be customized to your specific need and want.  Give away a specific glass to your customers to tie in with the location of the event or which fits in well with the region the clients come from.

Champagne Glasses

Champagne Flûtes are stem glasses with tall, narrow bowls. The concept is to hold the glass without affecting the temperature of the drink and to retain champagne’s signature carbonation/fizziness. Usually coming in sets of 2, 6 or 12, champagne flutes are the perfect idea for corporate gifts.

They can be easily customized according to your designs.  This gift is synonymous with luxury.

Wine Charms

Wine charms are decorative loops to be wrapped around the stem of a wine glass in order to help you remember whose glass is whose. Useful during parties, marriages or get-togethers, wine charms provide personalized items to all attending guests in order not to mix up glasses. Allow guests to take them away & remember those precious moments.

Wine Album

Marrying modern design and ease of use, allows you to collect your preferred labels in a single and elegant album. No longer you will forget that exceptional bottle that you enjoyed or the special occasion on which you savored that excellent wine.

Wine Coasters

Another handy and fashionable item, wine coasters keep wine drips from reaching tables and counters. At the same time, they can easily be customized in terms of material and appearance. From polished stainless coasters to glass, ceramic,etc. Wine coaster are yet another item used to dress your table for big events.

Customer Retention: Premium Gift Packaging for Merchandise

A nice whiskey campaign requires some nice packaging as well. No company would hand them over like normal bottles. Give a look at this new packaging designs for your liquor marketing campaigns. All of them come in the same material and similar shape but in different types of wood and styles.

Why would these promo whiskey stones be effective promo items?

Higher perceived value: The clean and well-finished design and the materials used for the boxes and the bottle of liquor makes the promo gift seem not cheap at all. The customer will feel like receiving an important gift and consequently adopt a different approach towards your brand.
Branding: The logo on top of the box is a perfect example of branding. However, not only the box can be branded but the packaging of the bottle as well. Your name will be visible in every glass and single merchandise.
Custom: The design can be changed and made custom, it is possible to use other materials, apply different closing methods, compose personalised sets and so on. The possibilities for customisation are infinite.

Branded Flasks: Whiskey Campaigns made more Attractive

What’s a flask without whisky or whisky without a flask?This promotion provides customers using Irish stores the opportunity to not only get two bottles of whisky but a fantastically branded flask as well.

Why do we like this branded hipflask as a promo product?

High quality. We provided customers with a high quality promotional product, which in turn reflects the sort of quality first time customers can come to expect from the brand.

Boost in sales. This gift with purchase strategy will attract more customer to try the product and to purchase 2 bottles in order the get the premium gift.

Customer loyalty. Customers which have already tried this brand’s drink will also be delighted with the free branded hipflask promo, and provided they receive excellent service for their loyalty,  the business will continue to attract more and more customers through positive word-of-mouth.

Thus, a free branded gift with purchase, when executed correctly can be an effective way for a brand to market themselves on a regular or seasonable basis.

GWP Ideas: Football Uniforms by Wolf Blass

MCFC Football Uniform

This uniform is a good marketing item because of the association between football and premium liquor. Fans will be influenced by the branded jersey., therefore it is a nice incentive product as well. By attaching a corporate sponsor to jerseys like this can rapidly increase your brand recognition and gives customers a rewarding Gift with Purchase!

Gentlemen's Merchandise: Premium Cufflinks

Looking for the perfect gentleman’s fashion accessory? Cufflinks could be the ideal product for you.  Cufflinks symbolise professionalism in white collar business.  For service industry professionals, complete your staff uniforms just as you would with lapel pins to take presentation up a notch.

Perfect for premium incentive or targeted promotions, cufflinks allow you to showcase your corporate logo with style.  Cufflinks offer a large variety of choice in term of materials include

• Glass

• Crystal

• Enamel

• Onyx

• Textiles

• Stainless

• Precious Metal

• Leather

Details imprinting Method

Printing / Engraving / Enamel / Embossing.
Being highly customisable in terms of aesthetics, material or shape,  it is a very good product to be given in either corporate or promotional purposes.  If the gift is not directed toward customers, cufflinks can be a great way for new employees to feel part of the company. Why not include then in welcome packs for employees or supporters for sports teams?