Little Blue Fish Hooks Chinese Market
A small Black Country jewellery company is aiming for glittering success in China – with help from UK Trade & Investment.
Little Blue Fish, of Vaughan Trading Estate, Sedgley Road East, Tipton, specialises in the design, development and supply of fine and costume jewellery for the volume retail and wholesale market, and also produces bespoke pieces of jewellery.
The company, which has three employees, has secured sales in China after making three visits to the market with the support of UK Trade & Investment’s West Midlands China Trade Liaison Office (CTLO).
Managing director Lyndon Parry said: “We recently appointed an agent in China, who is selling our products for the high volume market, and in addition have sold a number of bespoke British-made pieces to customers in Hong Kong and mainland China.
“The value of the products is about £10,000 over the past nine months, but this is only scratching the surface – the potential of this market is huge.
“Many of our high volume jewellery lines are manufactured in China, so we are selling products made on their doorstep, but this isn’t an issue as brand identity and high quality designs are key to success in this market.
“China is a difficult market to reach as it takes a great deal of time and patience. We would never have done it without the excellent advice and support we’ve had from Mark Eaton and his team at the CTLO and UK Trade & Investment’s commercial team at the British Embassy in Beijing, especially with introductions to potential customers.
“For a small company such as ours, to be making inroads into China during the current economic climate is a remarkable achievement.”
Mark Eaton, director of UK Trade & Investment’s CTLO, based at Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a great example of how smaller companies can establish themselves in difficult markets by utilising the wide range of UK Trade & Investment services. The proactive attitude and flexibility that Little Blue Fish offer are ideal for the Chinese market.”
Established in 2002, Little Blue Fish also exports to the USA and is looking long-term at targeting Australia.