On Wednesday 7 August, ACBC Victoria with the support of Global Victoria hosted an exclusive ‘Women in Export’ roundtable at the International Chamber House.
Victorian women from a range of industries including life sciences, education, agrifood, and more, were invited to this exclusive roundtable to discuss and deepen their knowledge of exporting to the sophisticated China consumer market.
Ema Lawrence, Director of Global Engagement at Global Victoria, started by strongly advocating the utilisation of the services provided by Global Vic. With 5 offices in China, including the Vic House in Shanghai where products exported to China are showcased, Global Vic is an excellent gateway for those interested in entering the Chinese Marketspace.
Our 4 experts, including Nikki Palun (Octtava Wines), Kit Yau (AliExpress), Evelyn Hussain (The Silk Initiative) and Ines Liu (Dezan Shira Associates), contributed to the roundtable session where they generously shared their insights and experiences on exporting to China.
Having experienced the hardships of running her wine business during COVID and China’s bans on Australian Wine, Nikki Palun, owner and winemaker of Octtava and Susuro wines, highlighted the need for sector expertise and resilience when exporting your products. She also emphasised the need for a good logistics manager to help with the complexities that can come with navigating logistics and supply chains.
Kit Yau, government relations and account director for AliExpress Business covered the topic of bringing goods into China. Kit’s advice for those looking to export was to thoroughly understand the requirements and regulations, and most importantly, to keep up to date as these rules are constantly changing. The use of social media, such as RED (xiaohongshu) and local influencers was also recommended as a method to bring more visibility to your products and brand.
Bringing goods into a foreign country also calls for a change in marketing strategy as culture and environment can impact consumer behaviour. Evelyn Hussain, Associate Vice President of The Silk Initiative, shared how vital it is to do your research before entering the Chinese Market due to its highly sophisticated and educated nature.
Foreign Direct Investment specialist at Dezan Shira & Associates, Ines Liu discussed setting up business in China with a focus legal hurdles like IP and trademark. Her main takeaway was to get your trademarks sorted early to avoid any conflicts or overlap with other brands established in China.
Here is a summary of the main takeaways from the event:
ACBC Victoria extends a warm thank you to Yoshiko Tanaka, Ema Lawrence and Carolina Modesto from Global Victoria for their support in running this event. We also kindly thank Nikki, Kit, Evelyn and Ines for sharing their expertise and we trust this roundtable has given more women the support and confidence to export to China.