The financial crisis in 2008, however, has reshaped markets for the company. Today it does about 60 per cent of its business in Europe and the United Kingdom, while the share for the United States has shrunk to 30 per cent and Japan accounts for around 10 per cent.
“Having seen so many ups and downs over the last few decades, our strategy is to stay resilient, to wait, observe and make the right move – since opportunity always co-exists with crisis,” said company CEO Dr Tony C L Tai.
Matching Builds Bridges
Because W Haking Enterprises has already established strong ties with big-name brands, the company has recently focused on finding medium-size buyers through the HKTDC Hong Kong Electronics Fair. The company’s recent exhibitions at the event led to connections with companies hailing from Europe, Germany, Japan. During the 2010 Fair,Canada was added to the list through hktdc.com Buyer Meetings. The service successfully paired W Haking Enterprises with a retailer that owns more than 70 stores across Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia.“Sometimes it is really difficult to come across the right buyer with so many visitors touring our booths during the Fair,” said Dr Tai. “The hktdc.com Buyer Meetings service is great in that it narrows down sourcing items to a specific category, so it is easier for both sides to hit the right target. The Canadian buyer eventually bought 20,000 pieces of digital photo frames from us,” he said, adding that the company attributes the sale to its good design, attractive price and reputation.
The business relationships formed in 2010 continues to thrive, since the Canadian company has placed repeat orders for frames as well as made new purchases of film, photo converters and camcorders.
“We are definitely interested in using the hktdc.com Buyer Meetings service again,” he said. “Being able to find one new business partner from each fair is blissful!”
