Whilst in the UK we are concerned about the effects of the latest budget, the reforms in the National Health Service and whether or not journalists at the News of the World newspaper are guilty of phone tapping, we should take a minute to contemplate the life shattering events that are taking place throughout the Middle East and Japan. Libya, Yemen, Syria, Bahrain and Egypt are all experiencing political change and internal violence that could not have been contemplated even two months ago. Japan, stricken by an earthquake and tsunami coupled with the struggle to contain the potential man made disaster of the damaged nuclear power station has experienced a loss of life of unimaginable proportions.

On our return from our latest visit to Asia we could not fail to be saddened by these tragic events. On the one hand you have a natural disaster where the people of Japan are stoically and calmly dealing with the situation helping one another when ever possible, whilst on the other hand you have fellow countrymen killing each other using weapons that were supposed to have guaranteed us world peace. During this trip we met a number of people who were directly affected by these events and they no longer had the energy to deal with the more mundane issues of negotiating prices and arguing over delivery times. When talking to them you realised how fragile life is and how it passes one by so quickly.

We travelled to Vietnam, India, Malaysia and China. The mains aims of this trip were to visit our key factories, progress new product development and to source specific customer product requirements.  At this time of year our outdoor factories are completing the orders for the current gardening season and very shortly they will be shutting down production for another year. The more ambitious factories are switching over to the production of indoor goods for the European autumn season.

It is pleasing to report that our main factories are running on time this year and we are in the fortunate position of being able to offer repeat orders from two of our factories in China with only a 30 day production lead time. This is unusual but has been facilitated by the cancellation of so many orders that were due to be shipped to the Middle East. Business in these areas has come to a virtual standstill and some of the factories in China have containers of products that cannot be shipped. Unfortunately, these items are not readily saleable in the UK as they have particular design features aimed at the Middle Eastern markets.

When meeting with the factory owners the same topics came up in our conversations over and over again. The never ending current cycle of price increases was the number one on the agenda. The global requirement for fair working conditions for all workers comes at a price that all consumer economies have no choice but to accept. In Vietnam and China in particular, there have been huge wage increases for factory workers and these when combined with national insurance charges are resulting in big cost increases for the factories. The price of oil has risen throughout the world and the knock-on effects of this increase should not be underestimated as so many products are derived from oil. The poor harvest this year has almost doubled the price of cotton. It is normal for us at this time of year to be well advanced on price negotiations for next season, however on this occasion not one factory was willing to quote firm prices. They all want to wait for markets to stabilise before quoting. This clearly is making life extremely difficult for us in respect of the launch of new products but we have no alternative but to wait. What is clear is that there will be some large product price increases coming through over the next few months. It should be noted that in Vietnam inflation is running at nearly 13% and they currently have a bank borrowing rate of nearly 16%.

Even whilst these conditions prevail some less experienced buyers are still demanding cheaper prices. We have said it over and over again in our monthly reports that will in most case be a false economy. It is quite clear that at the current time the only way in which generic products can be reduced in price is through the use of inferior materials or by the desizing the items.  This point was brought home to me by my children who pointed out that whilst a packet of Maltesers still looks like a packet of Maltesers it has in fact been reduced in size in order to meet a price point. In the production of gardening products the same principle can be applied. This is particularly noticeable on the PVC rattan/ aluminium furniture where two of the larger factories in China have reduced the size of the chairs and the thickness of the material being used in order to meet price points. This reduction in size is only really noticeable when you sit at one of these sets and realise that you cannot fit into the chair – be aware.

Our approach to dealing with this issue is to seek out new production facilities in emerging countries. This was our main reason for visiting India. We are convinced that this country will over the next 10 years will become an important producer of consumer products. It has the ability to combine modern design and technical resources with an unlimited supply of labour. Over the next year we plan to introduce a number of product ranges sourced from factories we are working with in this country.

As the spring weather finally kicks in it is pleasing to hear from a number of our customer that trading is at the top end of their expectations. After the poor weather conditions experienced in December, a large number of garden centres have reported that this March has been one of the best ever recorded.  Hopefully, these positive results will continue over the coming months as consumers stay at home and get the feel good factor from spending time in their gardens.

One of our key strengths has always been product sourcing to specific customer requirements. As companies tighten their belts and reduce internal costs, we are receiving more and more enquiries to source product. It is at point in time in the economic cycle, when the advantages of product outsourcing become extremely relevant. We are able to develop, source, produce and deliver products from all over the world to your door without our clients having to incur any costs until the containers arrive at their chosen destination. Additionally, we are still able to offer full finance facilities, thereby enabling our clients to manage their bank facilities in the most productive manner. The cost savings derived from outsourcing should not be underestimated and we have received many endorsements from companies who have used our services. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you would like to pursue this service further. Our sales representatives are extremely experienced and more than happy to explain the exact way in which we operate this programme. Of course it goes without saying that our sourcing services are totally confidential

The initial results from this trip have been extremely positive as we were able to find some new and exciting products.

A brief summary of the new products that are currently in development is given below:

Outdoor

PVC Aluminium and Rattan Furniture – additions to the XLC range
New Acacia furniture – FSC and Non FSC – in natural and painted finishes
Modern range of furniture cushions in vibrant colours
Recycled Rubber tiles and Spheres – undercutting European prices by up to 20%

Indoor

Mirrors
New Acacia furniture – FSC and Non FSC – in natural, painted and rustic finishes
New range of Indian Furniture – additions to the ITF range
Metal Beds at very competitive prices
Occasional kitchen items
Designer Cushions

Please remember that our showroom of over 10,000 ft.² is conveniently located by junction 4 of the M1. This facility is open every day of the week from 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Within 200 yards of the showroom is the Elstree Village Hotel, where we are able to get preferential rates for our customers if you are planning an overnight stay to spend time in London.