A video conference was held between Home Edition MJ and Barkly Basics on Oct 8, 2020 Home Edition MJ’s Best Rayon Gloves

In the aftermath of travel restrictions during COVID-19, more and more companies are looking for opportunities to meet overseas buyers through video consultation.

To support Korean companies in this, we arranged video consultation meetings through our regional office. In September 2020, we received a list of 30 companies engaged in cosmetics, food, and household products that had previously applied to join a video consultation from the Jeonbuk Regional Headquarters. We then initiated and a marketing campaign for buyers.

Barkly Basics is a buyer that outsources kitchen products with a stable track record of purchasing dish detergents through our trade matching manager. So, we proposed that Barkly Basics to have a video conference with Home Edition MJ. The buyer company said that they came across Home Edition MJ at an overseas trade fair in 2018 and that they bought some samples, but the deal did not go through. They also expressed their willingness to resume communication with them. The Korean company expressed some concerns, saying that they lost connection while they were negotiating the quantity of goods to be exported to Barkly Basics. Nevertheless, they eventually decided to join the video consultation meeting, saying they would resume the conversation by placing their trust in Korea International Trade Association (KITA).

Prior to the video consultation, the company sent rubber glove samples of all sizes to the buyer. The buyer company attended the meeting after fully reviewing the samples. The discussion on the color and quantity of gloves, which the two companies were unable to narrow ther positions in the past, was also partially resolved through video calls, instead of emails, and expected to close the deal soon. However, in December 2020, the matching manager received a call by the buyer saying that communication with Home Edition MJ was delayed.

The reason for the delay was that the overseas business manager who had attended the video conference left the company and an employee who could only speak Chinese was left in charge. The handover of the responsibilities was not done properly either. Thus, the trade matching manager rechecked the color, size, and the quantity of goods and supported the discussion between the buyer and the company. The Korean company then decided the production schedule and price, and the matching manager then adjusted the price again with the buyer and passed on the inquiries on matters like packaging.

Sent some samples prior to the video conference The buyer sent the remittance record

On February 19, they concluded an export deal on 10,000 gray Best Rayon Gloves in gray (USD $1.30 per glove) and the remittance sent in March was confirmed. The production is now complete and the shipment is being loaded into containers for maritime transport. The second discussion on a new product is underway, with enthusiastic support from the matching manager.

They buyer company expressed their satisfaction with the deal, saying that they were able to significantly expand their business with Korean companies through video consultation, and can now import a competitively priced item. Home Edition MJ also expressed their appreciation to KITA for the video consultation hosted by Jeonbuk regional headquarter and thorough post-monitoring helped them finalize the deal.