May 2007 Update:

Trip to China:

I visited the 101st Canton Trade Fair in Guangzhou China last month. This visit was a real "eye-opener" and there are numerous opportunities for promotional and uniform clothing and headwear sourced directly from Chinese suppliers. 

One opportunity of which some of you are already aware of is "consolidated ordering". We have run this successfully with aprons for the past few years. Essentially we have a group of clients all requiring the same basic item but each client has their own logo embroidered or printed on this basic item. By consolidating an order of several hundred per client we can reach the minimum order requirements for completion ex-China. These items are typically delivered at a discount of 50% of the regular New Zealand price for the same product. We have two products in the pipeline, if you are interested in 300+ units of the following products; black quick-dry (moisture wicking) T-shirts or navy quick-dry long-sleeved polos please contact me anthony@monograms.co.nz or 0800-800-676 .

Some observations from my trip; China's population is over 1.3 billion people, yet this juggernaut achieved 11.1% growth in GDP in the last year, New Zealand's GDP was 1.5% for the same period. I was based in Zhuhai a special economic zone 70 minutes by ferry from Hong Kong and a hair raising two hour drive from Guangzhou. Zhuhai is a rapidly growing, attractive, modern coastal town, of 1.3 million. Guangzhou is a major trading city of twelve million people, China's eighth largest city. Guangzhou is an ancient city over 2,500 years old, there is little evidence of its heritage as the new rapidly replaces the old with little sentiment. As we drove from Zhuhai to Guangzhou the weather did not change but the sky went from clear and blue to dirty and grey because of the pollution. The factories we use are not significant polluters. There is a great deal of media focus on global warming yet New Zealand and Australia seem to be selling considerable amounts of coal to Asian countries, until these countries and the US take significant steps to reduce their pollution output any steps we take seem 'token". Of the 40,000 people who participated in Hong Kong's marathon last year 4,000 required medical attention due to the effects of air pollution from Chinese factories over 50 kilometres away. How will athletes fare at this year's Olympics in Beijing? The government fine for having more than the one permitted child in China is RMB$100,000 this is approximately two years equivalent average salary.

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Fair Trading:

It has been brought to our attention that a competitor of ours has recently established a dummy website and e-mail address that is very similar to our own. This company has responded to several e-mails from our clients who have directed enquiries to specific people at Southern Monograms but have mistyped our e-mail address. We have sought legal advice and are considering taking action against this firm for breaching the Fair Trading Act. We would like to have as strong a case as possible, if you have received a response to an e-mail that was intended for Southern Monograms from another firm based in Auckland please forward all details to me anthony@monograms.co.nz or 0800-800-676 .

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May Special:

We are continuing last month's special giving away a free embroidered beanie with every embroidered jacket over $30.00 + GST. Click here for details.

 

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If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to get in touch with us at any time. Click here for our contact information . We'd love to hear from you!

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Anthony Barker
Manager
Southern Monograms Ltd

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