Autumn collection from Suzarn

With HKTDC Business Matching, Susan Bahnsen has moved a step closer to the dream of seeing her jewellery designs selling at airports when she travels around the world.

Jewellery designer Susan Bahnsen dreams of seeing her jewellery designs selling at airports when she travels around the world. That dream, it seems, is coming true, thanks in part to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC).

On a visit to the International Jewellery London trade fair, Ms Bahnsen, an Australian living in Edinburgh, Scotland, was impressed by a Hong Kong jewellery display. At the fair, she also visited the HKTDC’s promotional stand and learned about its Business Matching services.

“I’d already been searching the Internet for possible suppliers,” said Ms Bahnsen. “But it was hit and miss, and very time-consuming. When I tried the HKTDC’s Business Matching service I found it was excellent. I had a number of responses about my enquiry, and they got back to me very quickly.”

As a result of the HKTDC’s recommendations, Ms Bahnsen met jewellery makers Golden Apple International and Tung Hing Jewellery in Hong Kong. “I found the quality of their jewellery very reassuring. Now I’m keen to grow the business. I’m looking at starting a wholesale operation. I want to exhibit at trade fairs and I’m investigating selling through in-store concessions.”

Ms Bahnsen said she would recommend the HKTDC’s Business Matching service without hesitation. “Small companies are obviously conscious about cost, but it’s a good-value-for-money service. And it helped push us forward quickly, identifying suitable business partners that we would have been very lucky to find otherwise.”

HKTDC Business Matching helps local and overseas companies look for potential partners for business development. For more information, email businessmatching@hktdc.org. You can also call (852) 1830 668, or the Hong Kong Trade Development Council office near you. For more information, click here.

Rewritten from Business Voice, United Kingdom, September 2006