After four decades in business, Hop Hing Hat Factory Ltd started to drum up its marketing efforts in 2000 with advertisements on the HKTDC website as well as joining the Hong Kong Gifts & Premium Fair and Hong Kong Fashion Week.

“We found these marketing platforms to be effective,” said Hop Hing Hat’s merchandiser Clarence Sum. “We secured new customers as well as gathered upbeat market information through enquiries collected on hktdc.com and at the trade shows.”

During the 2011 Hong Kong Gift & Premium Fair, the hktdc.com Buyer Meetings service introduced Hop Hing Hat to a Canadian buyer which sells to retail stores and online shopping companies in North America. The buyer, an official licensee for famous sports teams, placed an order within a month for imitation fur hats bearing a sporting brand.

“I believe the quick deal can be attributed to our expertise in the business, and also ourprice point and quality, which well matched their expectation,” said Mr Sum. “With the HKTDC sending us background information on the company before-hand, we also were well prepared for the meeting and comfortable that they would be a reliable partner.”

Major markets for Hop Hing Hat include Europe with about 70 per cent of its business, then Japan at 20 per cent, followed by the United States and other Asian countries.

“Two buyers were referred to us that time, and even with one working out we considered the matching very successful,” he said. “The order was not in huge quantity, yet I understand buyers are more cautious nowadays and it takes time for both sides to develop to a win-win partnership. We do not have any direct customer in Canada now,so if we can keep the business relationship, the Buyer Meetings have indeed helped expand our territory. In fact, the buyer has continued to enquire about our collections since delivery last November.”