Had a rep cold-call with us yesterday. Nothing unusual in that you might think, however this chap was from Barcelona representing the Spanish firm ofAdhisa, possibly the largest moulding manufacturer in Europe.
Calling on little old us? In Belfast?
I explained to him that he had obviously made some mistake and that our normal moulding order would usually be a tad under 100,000 m. But no, he was happy to sell to us in the quantities that we would normally buy, and using their chop service, would have no problem shipping a single frame to us.
Seems that all our local UK and Irish suppliers have moved from Europe and are now sourcing in China, so these guys have decided to sell direct to us framers.
Since we presently have accounts with five moulding suppliers, we hardly need to sign up with yet another one so he did not get an order this time. However, having been disappointed with the quality of some recent deliveries, this new source might be worth considering.
Has anyone had any experience with dealing directly with mainland European manufacturers?
The Europeans are coming
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John
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Not your average framer
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Hi,
Enrique Lopez another spainish molding company also have a rep who covers the U.K. The company I originally worked for while being trained used to buy from them on a regular basis. I understand that the prices from dealing direct can be very good too! There was a minimum order value, but I never found out how much.
Cheers,
Mark
Enrique Lopez another spainish molding company also have a rep who covers the U.K. The company I originally worked for while being trained used to buy from them on a regular basis. I understand that the prices from dealing direct can be very good too! There was a minimum order value, but I never found out how much.
Cheers,
Mark
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IanK
Adhisa - nice stuff
I'm not long after receiving my first order from them. A few initial delivery problems - but must admit it was carriers fault, not Adhisa. Alberto was really good at keeping in touch to let us know what was happening. Moulding is nice quality, different and have not had any objections on price. (Yet!)
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John
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As I understand it, our local suppliers are abandoning their traditional sources, the big European manufacturers, and are now buying more and more from China. So companies like Adhisa are bypassing the middleman and selling directly to the framers.
My concern is that this may be a sabre ratttling excercise designed to get the local suppliers' attention. They are saying, in effect, 'if you don't buy from us then we are going to steal your customers'. And they may well leave us high and dry as soon as they accomplish their objective.
My concern is that this may be a sabre ratttling excercise designed to get the local suppliers' attention. They are saying, in effect, 'if you don't buy from us then we are going to steal your customers'. And they may well leave us high and dry as soon as they accomplish their objective.
HOW Much!?
EstLite Picture Framing Software
EstLite Picture Framing Software
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markw
The bit that maybe we are missing is the fact that far east moulding manufacturers are gaining some very good footholds into the european and american markets - for european manufacturers the fact that moulding suppliers are willing to buy cheap copies from the far east is a real threat to their existence.
Maybe the subject of this posting should have been "the chinese are coming" . Personally i would like to know where my moulding comes from and how sustainable was the timber used. We realy ought to be thinking about how long a journey it took to get to us. one thing we can be reasonably sure of buying within the EC - an effort has to be made to control pollution - the people making it are paid a fare wage and the timber used stands a fair chance of being from a sustainable source. So keep the europeans coming - and dont buy mouldings from suppliers who shop further afield.
Maybe the subject of this posting should have been "the chinese are coming" . Personally i would like to know where my moulding comes from and how sustainable was the timber used. We realy ought to be thinking about how long a journey it took to get to us. one thing we can be reasonably sure of buying within the EC - an effort has to be made to control pollution - the people making it are paid a fare wage and the timber used stands a fair chance of being from a sustainable source. So keep the europeans coming - and dont buy mouldings from suppliers who shop further afield.
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Trax
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The big european manufacturers of picture frame mouldings in Spain, Italy or Germany really have no choice ! They try to sell directly to framers. And why ?
Local suppliers in different countries buy more and more mouldings from China or somewhere else far east.
What should the european manufacturers do ? See the contraction of demand ?
I know from a local wholesaler in Northern Europe, that, if he wants to sell a moulding for 10 EURO to the framer, he wants to buy the moulding for 3,50 EURO.
This is quite a good margin ! But it is really impossible for the most manufacturers in Europe, who cares about quality, to offer a moulding to local wholesalers, which is "worth" 10 EURO for 3,50 EURO. (Discount from catalogue price of 65 %)
If you buy mouldings from European manufacturers you know, where the mouldings come from. If you buy mouldings from your local supplier, may be you do not know where the mouldings was manufactured and may be you do not want to know.
Local suppliers in different countries buy more and more mouldings from China or somewhere else far east.
What should the european manufacturers do ? See the contraction of demand ?
I know from a local wholesaler in Northern Europe, that, if he wants to sell a moulding for 10 EURO to the framer, he wants to buy the moulding for 3,50 EURO.
This is quite a good margin ! But it is really impossible for the most manufacturers in Europe, who cares about quality, to offer a moulding to local wholesalers, which is "worth" 10 EURO for 3,50 EURO. (Discount from catalogue price of 65 %)
If you buy mouldings from European manufacturers you know, where the mouldings come from. If you buy mouldings from your local supplier, may be you do not know where the mouldings was manufactured and may be you do not want to know.