今週も引き続き海外出張のお話
マレーシアのクアラルンプールでウアオの商品をお取り扱いいただいているお得意先へ商品のご案内を行いました。このお得意先の社長は40代前半ですが10数年前に独立開業した新興のHair&Beauty Supplierさんで相当のやり手です。そして、我々にとってウアオの商品をマレーシアで初めて取り入れてくれたとても大切なお得意先です。５年ぶりの再会でお互いの近況やコロナ禍での苦労話など話題が尽きません。
お取引サロンを定期訪問するセールスマンの事務所兼倉庫を郊外に持ち、近隣のサロンが手軽に材料を買うことができるいプロ用ショップを市内の中心地へ出店されてます。そしてこのプロ用ショップは同社のアンテナショップの役割も果たします。
今回のアポは先方の指定でこのプロショップへ訪問したのですが、以前は1区画の狭い店舗の中に商品を山積みにして販売をしていましたが、３区画まで店舗を拡大し取り扱い商品も洗練されて大手の欧米メーカーや日本製の商品の取り扱いの幅も広がりこの会社の成長をうかがうことができます。
商談はいつも社長と奥さんが同席されます。社長が主に水物系で奥さんが道具雑貨系とご夫婦で守備範囲を分けられています。今回ウアオの商品からはSトリートメントマスク・フィザップ・ライブケラブローアップローションの３品をご案内です。以前のblogでも書きましたが、現地のサロンにおける施術において ”結果” と ”ケア” は別という考え方もあるのでそこを踏まえ、彼らの営業のスタイルや販売商品を見て商品を選定したのが今回の3品です。どの商品も説明はスムーズに伝わり実際に商品を手に取ったり奥さんの髪に塗布したりして試します。それぞれ使用した感じの評価も悪くない模様です。ここからが本題の価格提示です。価格提示をして”安い”と言われたことは一度もありませんので、これも彼らのビジネススタイルと理解しています。実際は５年前と比較して日本円は現地通貨に対して２０％強は安くなっているのですが・・・(笑) しかし実際に輸出価格に輸入関税等上乗せしていくとそこそこの価格になるのも事実。その場で注文を取りたかったのですが、昨年納入した在庫を持っていることもありタイミングを見て今回紹介した商品と一緒に発注してもらうことになりました。そして初回発注の時は価格面でサポートするよう念押しされました。華僑の方はコミュニケーションを取りながら価格交渉をするのが本当に上手で毎回お勉強になります。
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Business trips to Southeast Asia ③
November 10, 2023
Continuing our overseas business trip story this week
I was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, to introduce our products to a client who deals with WUAO products. The president of this client, who is in his early 40s, is a new hair and beauty supplier who started his own business more than 10 years ago, and he is a very successful businessman. They were the first to introduce WUAO items to Malaysia, and they are a very important customer of ours. We had a lot of conversations about the recent situation and the hardships of the Corona disaster.
The company has an office and warehouse in the suburbs for salespeople who make regular visits to salons and has opened a professional store in the center of the city where nearby salons can easily purchase materials. This professional store also serves as the company’s antenna store.
I visited this pro store at the request of the client. The store used to sell products piled up in a small one-lot space, but it has expanded to a three-lot space, and the range of products it handles has become more sophisticated. The company’s growth can be seen in the range of products it now handles.
The president and his wife are always present during business meetings. The president mainly deals with water-based products, while his wife deals with tools and sundries. This time, I would like to introduce three products from WUAO: S Treat Ment Mask, Fizzup, and Livekera Blow Up Lotion. As I wrote in a previous blog, there is a belief that “results” and “care” are two different things in local salon treatment, so I selected these three products based on their sales style and the products they sell. The explanation of each product was delivered smoothly, and he actually took the products in his hand and applied them to his wife’s hair to try them out. The evaluations of the products were not bad. Now comes the main issue, the price quotation. I understand that this is their business style, as I have never been told that a product is “cheap” when I have quoted a price. In fact, compared to five years ago, the Japanese yen has depreciated by more than 20% against the local currency… (laugh) However, it is also true that the actual export price, plus import duties, etc., is a little higher. I wanted to get an order on the spot, but since they have inventory from last year’s delivery, we decided an order placed together with the products we introduced this time. And they reminded me to support them in terms of price when they placed the first order. I learn a lot from overseas Chinese who are really good at communicating and negotiating prices.