Question:
I am planning to import some lighting products from China and distribute them in Australia. Can I deal directly with the lighting shops or do I have to sell to some distributors first? Is there any distributor contact list for each industry? How can I establish business relationship with the retailers such as Big W, Woolworths and so on? Is there any trading fair to promote the products in Sydney area?

Answer:
As far as I am aware, there are no restrictions regarding dealing directly with lighting shops. However, you will need to do some research in the market to find out whether these shops are willing to purchase directly from you or prefer to deal through a distributor.

In order to find out who the main distributors are for the lighting industry, we suggest you visit the Yellow Pages online and they should have a comprehensive list for each state. We suggest that you also try to contact the relevant industry association as they will most probably be able to help you as well. If you have trouble getting in touch with the industry body, we suggest contacting a lighting shop as they will probably have a contact.

As for the big retailers, they tend to deal with certain distributors so you will need to contact the head office of these retailers to find out who these distributors are and who makes the decision to stock what items. They will also have their own criteria for what it takes to become a distributor for them.

Filed under: Starting a Business
This page was added on 29 January 2002, last updated on 29 January 2002.