Latest Issue
|
Big in Japan
As UK Trade & Investment wraps up another hugely successful 'Export Week' this November, we've been reminded of how truly lucrative the international marketplace can be for large and small companies alike. Events, workshops and trade seminars up and down the Capital showed us that the sky really is the limit when London firms take their goods and services to the world.
Nowhere is this more true than in Japan, particularly in my own area of expertise: the fashion industry. In a trading relationship which has been going for in excess of 400 years, Japan's taste for British, and particularly London, fashion continues to thrive. As early as the turn of the 20th Century, it was British clothing firm John Smedley that provided the then Emperor of Japan, Emperor Taish_, with 365 vests and 365 pairs of finely produced London long-johns in a business deal which revealed both the intimacy and endurance of our trading relationship.
As the third largest economy in the world, with GDP twice that of the UK and GDP per person nine times that of China, Japan remains an Asian powerhouse - with the second highest spend worldwide on research and development, a hunger for new trends and an increasingly globalised outlook.
It is a market which is hungry for British good and services - particularly its textiles and apparel, which has a combined value of £7.3bn. And this demand is for good reason: put simply, British products are in vogue. The universal appeal of Britain's high quality branding, rich textile heritage and the tireless innovation of well-schooled British designers make us an incredibly attractive trading partner. This is why exports from the UK to Japan are worth £9.6bn a year and 450 British companies have operations there.
And it is with the help of UKTI that many of these companies succeed. Companies such as Meli Melo, a London-based handbag label, have secured big win international trade deals with thanks to the help and support provided by UKTI. The company entered the Japanese market after they participated in a UKTI tradeshow in Japan, met enthusiastic buyers and secured contracts to sell their handbags in retailers across the country.
On each of the trade missions they joined, UKTI provided them with funding and cultural guidance and support. This advice extends to any company looking to sell abroad. The advice that International Trade Advisers like me give to companies such as Meli Melo is often essential to securing deals- from cultural etiquette to business norms.
One piece of advice I often give to firms who are doing business in Japan for the first time is how to accept Japanese business cards. The best way to avoid inadvertent rudeness is to accept it with both hands, politely bow and then place it neatly on the meeting table in front of you. Putting it straight in your back pocket not only means you could forget about it, but you could also offend your Japanese host.
It's not just anecdotal support we offer. We have locally based advisers across the Capital who are always available to introduce you to new markets, help you with market research, enable you to reduce your risks and build a bespoke export plan suited to your business needs.
You too could benefit from this support, whether in Japan or in any of the countries UKTI operates in. We can help to research markets; put you in touch with local Embassies and in-market experts who work locally to find business leads. So, if this is the kind of support you think you could do with, a good opportunity is just at the end of the telephone. Although Export Week is now over, at UKTI we consider every week to be an Export Week. Contact UKTI to get your product onto the international marketplace.
British fashion is always ahead of game, and so should your export plan. With UKTI's help and support, your business can grow and target those lucrative markets with a high demand for British products such as Japan.
The first step is clear: pick up the phone and call UKTI on +44(0)20 7234 3000 or email export@uktilondon.org.uk to speak to one of our excellent trade advisers and begin your exciting journey towards international success.
Other News from UK Trade & Investment
Latest news about Editorial features
- Download issue 32 of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- Download issue 31 of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- Download issue 30 of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- Download issue 29 of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- OEM Automatic supports local college by donating laptops
- View and download issue 28 of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- Brexit Briefing - an Industrial Technology EXTRA special issue
- Acquisition of Needlers to significantly enhance RS Components’ position in the PPE market
- View and download issue 27 of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- Issue 26 of Industrial Technology EXTRA now available for download
- Renishaw hosts webinar to show how engineers can #BeTheDifference
- Issue 25 of Industrial Technology EXTRA available for download
- Rockwell Automation recognised for culture of supporting women by the society of women engineers
- RS Components launches go-kart design competition to promote STEM skills through motorsport
- Industrial Technology EXTRA - 28 September
- Industrial Technology EXTRA - 14 September 2020
- New report says OT networks vulnerable to cyber-attacks
- View this week's issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- Winners announced in global innovation competition
- This week's Industrial Technology EXTRA is now available for download
- A new issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA for you to download
- Download the latest issue Industrial Technology EXTRA
- August's first issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA is now out
- Electrocomponents joins The Valuable 500 global effort to advance disability inclusion
- The latest issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA is available for download
- A new issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA is available now
- Download this week's issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- The first of your July issues of Industrial Technology EXTRA
- Your new issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA - 29 June
- Analog Devices wins Transatlantic Growth Award
- Industrial Technology EXTRA - 22 June
- Visit our virtual exhibition stand
- Your Industrial Technology EXTRA for 15 June
- Industrial Technology EXTRA for 8 June is now out
- June's first Industrial Technology EXTRA is now out
- Industrial Technology EXTRA! for 26 May
- Industrial Technology EXTRA for 11 May
- May's first issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA now available
- Read the latest issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA!
- 3rd issue of Industrial Technology EXTRA! out today
- Industrial Technology EXTRA! - issue 2
- Industrial Technology EXTRA! - launch issue
- Professor calls for engineers to help solve NHS and healthcare issues amid pandemic
- A tale of squires, stew and electric vehicles
- Bleak house, but great expectations
- The debate on democracy – to the moon and back
- Smart factories will boost global economy
- Employee welfare is top priority for Flame Hardeners
- Deferred gratification or meaningless promises?
- Proof again that nostalgia ain’t what it used to be?
- The vinyl revival in an increasingly digital world
- Star Trek and the virtuous circle of product innovation
- Expanding our thinking on the sharing economy
- A musical take on the benefits of integration
- Websites could and should be so much more
- Chasing the market when you’re in the middle ground
- Renishaw supports Colston Hall state of the art education suite
- Your brand, your promise
- Brexit, the barman and the boiled egg
- International consumers prepared to pay up to 22% more for British goods
- Impact of Carillion dwarfs the Brexit and Trump effects
- Is good design just a question of perspective?
- ABB wins $130 million power order in the UK
- Across Europe, the only constant is change
- Defining the challenges for a low carbon future
- Infrastructure challenge for an all-battery future
- Cheeseburger lessons for UK manufacturing
- With demonisation, the devil is in the detail
- Cinderella, pancetta, and the great Brexit debate
- Data is the 21st century industrial battleground
- Arsene Wenger and the future of the EU
- UK SMEs confident about growth prospects
- Star Wars lessons for product development
- Well, I never saw that one coming
- Energy expert IDEC joins COPA-DATA Partner Community
- Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
- To the infinitesimally small, and all the way back
- Is the rise of storage units costing us dear?
- Just how green is a new green product?
- Total value of UK goods exports to reach £445bn in 2026
- Is there another sad passing still to come?
- Understanding the true impact of Brexit
- The importance of good communications
- Manufacturers call for a support programme to help alleviate lack of skilled labour
- Growth can only be maintained if we address skills shortage
- RS helps to fast track the engineers of the future
- Southern Manufacturing returns to Farnborough
- Southern Manufacturing returns to Farnborough
- Unmade in China: hidden truth about China’s economic miracle
- From the local bus to the global adventure...
- The gap between R&D and production
- Star GB reveals details of Autumn Open House
- Bridging the 'valley of death' between research and bringing products to market
- Emissions trading scheme could cost UK steel sector over £300 million a year
- New annual report out today lifts the lid on UK manufacturing
- The lobster, the cat and the wardrobe
- Britain 'must invest in design skills' to drive forward in Industry 4.0, manufacturing experts warn
- Game of Thrones and a lesson for engineers
- Mechanical engineers back UK staying in the EU
- Big investment boost for the UK's automotive industry
- Manufacturing growth is going steady, says the CBI
- The plastic dream factory
- New website helps UK small businesses navigate funding maze
- Automotive industrial partnership on the starting grid
- Sales and investment rise as SMEs defy slowdown
- Remanufacturing industry offers £5.6 billion opportunity for UK plc
- Britain on the cusp of fourth industrial revolution
- Manufacturing growth picks up speed
- Zen and the art of jimmying out the backup battery
- 3D printing service for bespoke fasteners
- Renishaw's EVO Project - additive manufacturing for industrial use
- RS Components augments rapid-prototyping product portfolio with new Ultimaker 2 3D printer
- Tapeswitch uses 3D printing for bespoke parts production
- TR Fastenings invests in 3D printing
- Web tool creates 3D gripper jaws at push of a button
- The perils of riding the change curve
- Crowd funding the UK's space industry...
- Dad's Army, and the art of recycling...
- Personal protection
- Emerging exports in emerging Europe
- New Lean Workshop Group seminars announced for October
- Renishaw engineer shortlisted for Young Woman Engineer of the Year Awards
- Connecting with our cousins across the Commonwealth
- UK industry wasting millions as cost of poor maintenance mounts up
- UK now a competitive centre for manufacturing
- Go from zero to exporting hero
- You've made your bed, now you have to lay in it...
- Small businesses helpless in the face of cybercrime
- Manufacturers gear up for 'Made in the UK'
- UK businesses losing up to a third of customers due to poor service
- £2m up for grabs for the UK's most innovative engineering and manufacturing SMEs
- UK economy stabilises in Q2 following surge in first quarter
- Firm growth in manufacturing
- New campaign to boost female engineer numbers
- £30 million fund to address engineering skills shortage
- Growth returns to the market for geared products
- Forget sun, sea and sand. Think trade, commerce and exports
- Fast moving consumer goods in a fast moving global market
- Unlocking savings in MRO
- Small business? Become a big business exporter
- Where there's manufacturing, there's a way
- UKTI funding for companies looking to export
- Cosworth reveals programme to create Centre of Excellence for niche manufacturing
- Growth in UK manufacturing leads to employment increase, says KPMG
- Counterfeit materials lead to Aston Martin recall
- Rally success for E-Wheel Drive concept car
- UK engineers concerned about government's ability to secure the future of their industry
- Smart manufacturing will drive demand for M2M communication
- UK manufacturing sets off on a high in 2014, says KPMG
- Increased orders for manufacturing industry offers opportunity for investment
- Government must cut the red tape affecting small businesses
- New CBI indicator reveals fastest pace of growth since 2007
- Government must do more to back British innovation
- Carbon Trust calls for businesses to adapt or die
- Bronze skies and Industry 4.0
- Space 1999 and the lack of UK innovation...
- Embrace manufacturing convergence to optimise plant agility
- UK manufacturing growth surges
- Eurozone pulling out of recession
- Manufacturing boost as companies invest
- Export opportunities in the Turkish market
- SME confidence at a 12 month high
- Manufacturing returning to the UK
- Manufacuring production and new orders expand in December
- Confidence boost for UK manufacturing
|
|