An official licensee of major sports franchises including the NFL, CFL and Hockey Canada, JF Sports Canada is a leader in creating innovative products for retail, promotion and corporate gifting. The company sells to retail stores across North America and e-commerce websites including Amazon.com.

Dedicated to providing distinctive products to its customers, JF Sports Canada is constantly looking for quality suppliers able to provide excellent products with prompt delivery. A frequent visitor to the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, company president John Lee approached the hktdc.com Buyer Meetings service to help identify professional and reliable suppliers offering new products.

At the 2011 HKTDC Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair, the hktdc.com Buyer Meetings service introduced JF Sports to a Hong Kong supplier specialising in hats and caps. The face-to-face meeting allowed both parties to better understand their backgrounds as well as eagerness to collaborate. The discussion also put JF Sports at ease regarding the supplier’s production capability, and about a month later they placed an order for imitation fur hats, with a repeat order expected for the third quarter of 2012.

“We would definitely use the hktdc.com Buyer Meetings again to grow our business,” said Mr Lee, describing the talks as informative and involving referrals from very knowledgeable companies. “The pre-arrangement saves us time and we intend to line up more meetings in April during our next visit to the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair.”

JF Sports also successfully used hktdc.com Buyer Meetings service to locate suitable suppliers during the year. “This year-round sourcing support is definitely making our sourcing activities easier,” Mr Lee said. “In one case, our Canadian warehouse received the poker sets we ordered within seven weeks after both sides first touched base. It was just amazing!”