 |
 | |||||||||
| |||||||||
|
| |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Small World gets bigger through strategic expansion ( 29/04/2005 ) | |||||||||
The 40-year-old company, distributing to eight countries with annual sales of HK$233 million (US$30 million), has targeted China for strategic expansion and says Hong Kong makes the ideal platform. "Hong Kong is a central location for reaching our factories and it has all the required infrastructure for communications, logistics and development support," CEO Debra Fine said. The company plans to expand both organically and through acquisitions, Ms Fine continued. Operational efficiencies "The long-standing partnerships we have with our Chinese manufacturers are critical to our strategy for a number of reasons. Firstly, scalability: we can scale up or down our operations and production runs without incurring the fixed costs we would if we owned our own factories, or being held back by the time needed to add capacity in the case of acquisitions. "Secondly, reliability: our long-term relationships give us the confidence to know we can get the production we need on time. Thirdly, cost: manufacturing costs in China are very competitive. And fourthly, experience: our Chinese manufacturers have been in business for many years and are familiar with the quality and safety requirements we must meet." Small World Toys, a wholly owned subsidiary of Small World Kids, Inc, develops and manufactures high quality specialty toys and educational products for retail, department, catalogue and online markets in the US, UK, Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.. Its larger customers include Learning Express, Creative Kidstuff, Toysrus.com and TJ Maxx department stores. Close to production base
"We have a track record of more than 15 years of successful manufacturing in China, and as we continue to execute our acquisition and growth strategy, our Hong Kong team will enable us to continue the seamless manufacturing relationships we have for our current lines, as well as those we acquire in the future." Having a strong presence in the world's toy capital is pivotal, Ms Fine added. "We have found Hong Kong to be the ideal sourcing hub given the strength of the toy industry in Hong Kong and China. The annual Hong Kong International Toy Fair is both time and cost efficient for finding new vendors, products and even companies for potential partnerships." Small World Toys is looking for growth in the range of 15 per cent this year and will be "working very closely with our Hong Kong office and Chinese vendors to achieve this goal." Related link | |||||||||
| |||||||||
|
|
