Top Chinese sourcing agent extends its service for European brands

One of the best sourcing agents in China has announced that it has extra capacity for connecting tackle importers with Chinese factories.

Towa Outdoors, based in Weihai, specialises in sourcing tackle for the European market and has developed a 360-degree service for importers seeking medium to high-end products.

It counts established European brands and big-selling wholesalers among its customers. And now its owner is reminding new and growing European businesses of the power of Towa Outdoors to smooth the way towards finding their first Chinese suppliers and towards achieving the best products at the best prices.

Jack Sun (below) is the company owner and has worked in the tackle business for almost 30 years, first as the owner of a factory specialising in high quality luggage and rods and then, from 2018, as an agent making matches between buyers and suppliers.

Towa Outdoors, says Sun, is the ‘eyes and ears’ inside China for each of its European customers.

“We offer a customised service, which starts with your plans for your next products and ends with us managing the delivery of those products from China. And we take care of everything in between.”

The service works for customers of all sizes, says Sun. “If you are an established brand, with multiple product lines, you could be dealing with 30 or more factories, which is an impossible task. We have the capabilities to manage that for you.

“And if you are new to China, sure, you could find a supplier by attending a show like China Fish, but how do you know it’s the best fit for your business? And do you have the time or the money to keep returning to China to check on progress? We take those problems away.”

Sun has detailed the five-point service that explains how Towa Outdoors supports European tackle importers through the process of securing and managing their Chinese suppliers.

He says: “It starts with us talking about your plans for your new products. We specialise in the European market, for example supplying half of all EVA luggage for the market. Thanks to my own experience stretching back almost 30 years, we fully understand brand classifications and product differentiation, including across different countries.

“In our history we have placed orders with more than one hundred tackle factories and not just in Weihai but in other manufacturing centres like Ningbo and Guangzhou. We have a database of one hundred more, which means you can rely on us to provide effective and targeted services right from the start.

“It is not just luggage and rods, it is every kind of tackle. We have an exclusive arrangement with a German customer, for example, that we have helped grow over ten years from luggage to having a multi-product catalogue of tackle.”

The second part of the process is where Sun and his team work to find the factories that match your requirements. “We choose them based on their expertise, service, delivery times, the quality levels of their products and their prices,” explains Sun. Towa Outdoors then reports on the best options and guides the client through the final selection.

“A good recent example is a new customer from Central Europe which is relying on us to source eco-friendly tackle,” says Sun. “It proves we are able to make any kind of match.”

At the third stage, there is a discussion about payment options. Towa Outdoors can work on commission, says Sun, but also work as a purchaser, buying the goods from the factory and selling them to the client in Europe.

He explains: “If there is a difference in payment and invoicing terms between the buyer and the factory where one wants to pay later and the other wants earlier payment, we can help by making the initial purchase. If there are cash flow issues, it means we can ease the situation for both parties.”

The fourth stage is where Towa Outdoors effectively becomes the client’s representative on the ground in China, managing quality control and schedules by visiting factories directly. Explains Sun: “It’s not possible for some buyers to come to China regularly. And some factories are not set up for regular communication with their customers.

“For customers and factories, the most direct communication is still through exhibitions, but these only happen once or twice a year, and the discussions are shallow not deep. It means we become the eyes and ears of the European business in China.”

Finally, Towa Outdoors can manage deliveries of completed orders to Europe. “Yes, we look after shipping too,” says Sun. We have a manager on our team who is exclusively responsible for taking care of that. Our service covers the entire product supply chain, so our European customers have complete peace of mind.

“Think of Towa Outdoors as the bridge between European customers and Chinese manufacturers.”

T: +86 13806317775
jacksun@towa-outdoors.com