At present, the main types of cross-border buyers are: department stores, large supermarket chains, hypermarkets, brand importers, industrial product buyers, import wholesalers, traders, etc.
1. Department stores
In the United States, the larger department stores include Macy’s, JC, Penny, etc. They have their own purchasing companies in various production markets around the world, and different varieties are handled by different purchasing departments. They select their own suppliers through large traders and form a purchasing system, which is difficult for general factories to enter.
Department store sellers have large purchase volumes, stable price requirements, and the changes in the products purchased each year will not be too large. They have relatively high quality requirements and basically will not change suppliers. These department stores will participate in professional exhibitions in the United States and Europe, and will not come to China to participate in exhibitions in person.
2. Large supermarket chains and hypermarkets
In the United States, there are many larger supermarket chains, such as Walmart, which has a very large annual purchase volume and has its own purchasing companies and systems in the production market.
Supermarket buyers basically buy products that have been developed. If the quality and price are suitable, the order will be placed quickly. However, this type of buyers are more sensitive to prices. In purchasing, they will keep the price very low and require a large variety of product changes. However, once purchasing, the purchase volume will be relatively large. If the company has strong development capabilities, strong funds, and the ability to reduce product prices, it can consider this type of customer. Small factories are restricted by funds, product prices, etc., and generally find it difficult to meet the purchasing requirements of large supermarkets.
3. Brand importers
Brand import franchise buyers are generally brand franchise stores. They will find large-scale and high-quality factories to directly place orders in the form of OEM, such as Nike. Brand importers have their own quality standards. Once purchasing, the orders are relatively stable. When determining the purchase quantity and payment terms, they will refer to their own business scale in China.
Private brands (such as IKEA) attach great importance to the supplier’s business philosophy, like to establish a long-term cooperative relationship with the factory, and hope that the supplier can cooperate in product research and development and improvement for collaborative development. If the supplier can cooperate and both parties can continue the long-term cooperation, the profits and future development space will be considerable.