by Minesh Pore
I am sure many of you have read about the impact of the Corona Virus on Trade Shows as well as Travel. We are all very concerned about the situation and our partner Trade Show organisers here in HK are worried as well. The ripple effect of the virus is going to be felt around the world for a while and across industries.
I want to address here the impact on the Retail / Etail Industry due to the Travel restrictions and the TradeShows either being cancelled or postponed. It is very clear that majority of the consumer products around the world, let it be electronics, clothing, home decor, gifts, toys or fashion accessories today are being sourced from suppliers in Asia (mainly china). These Suppliers showcase their products at Trade Shows, mainly in HK, China and major Trade shows around the world.
When a Trade Show is impacted or if buyers are unable to attend Trade Shows this means, they arent able to find the next new product, or the new supplier, who would take them through the next 6 months of products to sell on their offline or online stores. It could also mean a devastating loss of sales, or profit margins for many. We at BuyHive have been closely monitoring the situation and are working really hard to have our product launch preponed to next week, so that we can help as many TradeShow organisers as we can and also help Retailers and Etailers stay afloat.
BuyHive Solution helps provide freelance merchandisers in buyers in HK to buyers Globally, who arent able to attend the Tradeshows such as (HK Houseware, HK Electronics, HK Fashion Week, HK Jewellery Show, HK Lighting Fair, HK Print and Packaging, APLF, Global Sources Fashion & Lifestyle, Global Sources Consumer Electronics, Global Sources Mobile Electronics) and others. The Freelancers are experienced Sourcing and Merchandising professionals, who have experience working for some of the major retailers or trading houses. They come with extensive Business knowledge as well as local market knowledge, their expertise can help International Buyers, who are unable to travel get the most of the HK TradeShows for a fraction of the cost of themselves traveling to attend the shows, and makes sure the exhibitors at these shows get serious inquiries and meet their business goals from the TradeShows.
The BuyHive advantages are as below
- BuyHive helps International Buyers attend HK TradeShows at a fraction of the cost
- BuyHive helps International Buyers, get qualified and experienced professionals do their Sourcing tasks for a very small budget
- Sourcing and buying can still continue thus making sure the Retailers / Etailers stay in business
- It Doesnt affect the head count and budgets of the International buyers
- Buyers from anywhere in the world can attend the HK shows and find products and suppliers, through experienced sourcing professionals who can identify suppliers and products efficiently (in some cases even better than the buyers themselves)
- TradeShow organisers can still go ahead with the TradeShows without the worry of their exhibitors not getting genuine inquiries
- TradeShow organisers can have higher attendance even when Travel Industry is disrupted
We are here to make sure the impact of the Corona Virus situation can be cushioned with the use of technology and local manpower coming together during this unforeseen situations.
We are thankful to our partners @Global Sources, @HKTDC, @INFORMA, and support from @INVESTHK and others, who help us provide this solution to the market, during these otherwise tough times.