Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Center held ‘Purchasing Conference with Large Distributors’ on November 19

153 SMEs participated in 267 business meetings worth KRW 18.5 billion

◇ At the 2014 Purchasing Conference with Large Distributors held at the Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Center on November 19, a representative of a SME participates in a business meeting with a merchandiser from a large distributing company. ⓒ Gyeonggi-G News Yu Je-hun

SMEs facing difficulties entering new markets and conglomerates requiring new technologies and creative products met and opened cooperative opportunities for mutually beneficial results.

The Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Center held the 2014 Purchasing Conference with Large Distributors on November 19. During the conference, 267 business meetings took place, generating KRW 18.5 billion in results.

In the conference, a total of 40 merchandisers from 15 large distributing companies participated, including: chain stores (E-Mart, Home Plus, E-Land Retail, GS Retail, Daiso, LS Networks); on-line distributors (eBay Korea, Interpark, 11st); and home shopping channels (Hyundai Home Shopping, Lotte Home Shopping, Home & Shopping, NS Home Shopping). They engaged in one-on-one meetings with the 153 SMEs and discussed the supply of approximately 20 types of daily and household goods such as beauty products, food items, kitchen appliances, and interior items. 

Of particular note, this year’s conference extended the list of participants to include promising distributing companies familiar to provincial residents such as Home Plus. Furthermore, products from 26 SMEs were on display in the conference room for buyers from large distributing companies to examine in person.

In addition to one-on-one business meetings, E-Mart, eBay Korea, and Hyundai Home Shopping made presentations about their space provision policies; these were especially well received by the SMEs that often lack information on reaching large distributors.

JM Idea, a manufacturer of multi-purpose ice holders, realized results worth KRW 500 million from a business meeting with chain store company A, which is interested in a product that keeps bottles, cans, and cups cold. JM Idea also made an agreement with on-line distributing company B for entry into stores from this coming April and for the organization of joint promotion events. 

Unibini Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of smart toothbrushes for children, achieved results worth KRW 500 million from a business meeting with on-line distributing company C, which is interested in the unique characteristics of talking toothbrushes that play back brushing instructions and music. Because of the possibility of exporting the product, Unibini also made an agreement to list the product on overseas websites with support for English translation. 

Bae Jin-u, a manager at eBay Korea, said, “When meeting companies through business fairs like this, productive results are more likely if both parties come to the meetings well prepared. Today, here at this conference, I’ve seen some creative and innovative products that cannot be found at large companies.” 

Jeong Yeon-sik, Manager of Hana CNT, said, “Cooperation with large companies is necessary for SMEs to grow into globally specialized exporters. I expect that, through this conference, we will have opportunities to meet large distribution companies, which are not easy to arrange, and to secure wider sales networks.” 

Gyeonggi Province and the Gyeonggi Small and Medium Business Center expected that SMEs would have opportunities to present their various technologies and products, to cooperate with large companies via such vehicles as purchasing agreements and technology exchanges, and to expand sales networks. 

Min Kyung-seon, Director of the Trade Support Department at the Gyeonggi Small & Medium Business Center, said, “This purchasing conference was arranged to offer opportunities for SMEs in the province who are experiencing difficulties in expanding sales networks to enter into agreements with large distributing companies of Korea. We will continue to do our utmost to diversify the program by expanding the highly favored on-line home shopping area, and to provide SMEs with more practical support by strengthening the pre-matching and follow-up functions.” 

Back in April, Gyeonggi Province held a purchasing conference at KINTEX, and arranged business meetings between 72 buyers from large companies and 221 SMEs to help SMEs expand their sales networks.

ⓒ Gyeonggi G-News | Kim Jin-kyoung jinkyoung_kim@nate.com

http://gnews.gg.go.kr/news/news_detail.asp?number=201411191134577055C052&s_code=C052