“This year at the Forum we made an accent on the presentation of the main instruments and technologies, and we also provided recommendations on how to search for “your” factories, and how to design and build up your product. Using the example of Guanghzhou Hongda Craft Co., Ltd. and its product range, we considered a ready-made concept for retail shops of different types. We discussed how to create a product range in a proper way and how to apply the technology of sales chain formation. The Forum participants considered ready-made business cases and carried out negotiations regarding the supplies of goods from China.

“This year about 120 companies of various profiles were presented in Pavilion 2.4. There were large factories out of top 100 factories of internal Chinese market with good marketing and quality products. There were factories that came to Russia for the first time and that had never done wholesale business in our market; for them that was a great chance for self-promotion. For many companies Russia is still a far and unknown world, and the trade show provided a great chance to find buyers.

“The representatives of small businesses and beginners in entrepreneurship also participated in the Forum. Some of them had already had the experience of first misunderstandings and mistakes and wrong investments into unprofitable purchases. Now they use a systematic approach in finding “their” manufacturer, a real partner in China.

“The interest in China is growing today, and we have felt it during the general discussion at the Forum. The participants now ask more specific questions compared to the last year. People start preparing for the Forum beforehand, and they supply information about their business in advance; they write letters with questions. China is on the agenda these days especially in the period of our unstable relations with the West; the product range is changing, as well as the market offers. Besides the above, there’s one more important issue which has emerged this year: there is rather a large number of Chinese manufacturers who would like to open their offices in Russia, and they are looking for partners. And I think it will be a priority issue in the nearest five years.”