Innovation is key as imports plummet by 50%

The global economic downturn has impacted heavily on Gauteng importers especially where non-essential products are concerned. According to Marcela Irimescu of Klaus Klein Exclusive Designs, an importer of products from the Far East, the economic crisis saw volumes drop dramatically, while in many warehouses products were gathering dust as no one was buying. Smaller companies have been particularly vulnerable, having to find innovative solutions to continue trading. “It has been very slow going for retail since the end of last year – in fact our imports of sanitary ware this year (for stock) are at least 50% less compared to the same period in 2007.” The company imports customdesigned sanitary ware and home products for the building industry from China. Designed in South Africa by Irimescu and her team, the custom-made modular bathroom units, steam showers, massage baths and other products are manufactured in China and shipped to South Africa. In fact there was such a dramatic decline in business that the company decided to scale down its showroom and upgrade its website. “We started off selling to wholesalers but this has since been reversed to the online market.” And to compensate for the tough economic climate they have taken to importing and exporting directly to the West African market. “The market for our specific products as well as others in South Africa all but dried up, forcing many importers to turn to other avenues of business to make up the loss in revenue. “People have been very cashstrapped and in the building industry we saw a remarkable slowdown, with deals sometimes taking months to be concluded.” She said in some instances interest was shown as early as March, but products were only purchased in August. “I don’t believe we will see an upturn this year for the retail sector. It is more likely that we will see the volumes only start to increase early next year. “Consumers either don’t have the credit or are just not spending money at present unless it is on essentials such as food.” She says the company is targeting projects for the supply of sanitary ware and hotel furniture for new hotels as well as for the revamping of existing hotels in the run-up to 2010, while also looking at ways of increasing its exports into the African market. “We have found the manufacturing in China to be excellent and have a good relationship with the shipping lines and transporters bringing our containers in. It is all about being creative in difficult times.”