Part 2: Channels to find China Eyewear Supplier or Manufacturer
Certainly, it’s far from to find a good supplier even after you have very comprehensive background knowledge of where they located in China. You also need from where you can find them.
Commonly speaking, you can find proper eyewear supplier or manufacturer from offline and online channels.
Before COVID-19 pandemic situation, offline is the most important and efficient place to find good suppliers and start to contact with them, especially in many kinds of professional eyewear trade fairs. During some international famous fairs, most of China strong and competitive suppliers will attend the fair. Commonly they will be in one same hall with different size booth. It’s easy for you to overview these suppliers coming from different manufacturing center of China in only two or three days, which save much time and money for your survey. Furthermore, you can tell which one maybe good for you from set up and outlook of the booth, displayed product, short conversation with their representatives etc. Normally their boss or general manager will attend the fair. You can know more about them after deep and comprehensive communication.
However, as affected in past two years global pandemic, all people can’t have business trip freely more or less. Specially zero-tolerance policy is still carried firmly in China, it’s too hard to arrange offline meeting between buyer and supplier. Then online channels become more and more important for both sides.
This part mainly introduces both offline and online channels for your reference.
Offline channels
Tradeshows
Arguably the most efficient way to find an eyewear manufacturer in China is to attend an eyewear trade show. Google the shows beforehand and be sure to look for shows that have factories exhibiting, as not all have manufacturing sections present. Some good trade shows are:
-International trade show
MIDO – Milano Eyewear Show
The internationally renowned trade fair for the optical, eyewear and ophthalmology industry, attracts people from all over the world, as it groups all major companies of the international eyewear industry.
Visiting MIDO is a first-hand discovery of the world of optics, optometry and ophthalmology in the most complete, diversified and fascinating way possible. All the big names in the sector meet in Milan to present a preview of their products, new lines and the most important new additions that will characterize the market of the future. Most famous China suppliers will exhibit in hall of Asia.
SILMO – SILMO Parris show
Silmo is the leading trade fair for optics and eyewear, with novel and original show to present the world of optics and eyewear from a different angle. The organizer’s idea is to constantly track both stylistic and technological developments, as well as medical ones (seeing clearly being vital!), in the optics and eyewear sector as closely as possible. And in order to really get inside the world of the optician, Silmo has created amazing presentations and informative areas covering the most relevant topics of the day.
VISION EXPO
Vision Expo is the complete event in USA for ophthalmic professionals, where eyecare meets eyewear and education, fashion and innovation mingle. There are two shows which East is held at New York and West is held in Las Vegas.
-Local trade show
SIOF – China (Shanghai) International Optics Fair
Official optical trade exhibition in China and one of the largest optical exhibitions in Asia that showcases most of the international brands and products.
SIOF takes place in the Shanghai World Expo Exhibition & Convention Center.
WOF – Wenzhou Optics Fair
As one of the International Optics Trading Fair, Wenzhou Optics Fair will showcase sunglasses, lens & optical blanks, glasses frames, glasses cases & accessories, lenses manufacturing & processing machinerie, and so on.
You can meet all kinds of sunglasses brands and manufacturers when you come to Wenzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center in May.
CIOF – China International Optics Fair
China International Optics Fair takes place at China International Exhibition Centre (CIEC) in Beijing. You can find sunglasses, sunglasses lens, sun clips, spectacle frames, and so on in this trade fair. It attracted 807 exhibitors who were from 21 countries and regions in 2019.
HKTDC Hong Kong International Optical Fair
Hong Kong International Optical Fair is most international show in China and presents an incomparable trade platform that puts exhibitor in the prime position to connect with global buyers. It will display products like Optometric Instruments, Equipment & Machinery, Reading Glasses, Shop Fittings & Equipment for Optical Industry, Binoculars & Magnifiers, Diagnostic Instruments, Eyewear Accessories, Lenses Cleaner and much more.
Business trip
If you are good at itinerary and hope to do more actual, deeply exploration of the potential supplier or factory, a successful business trip to China is very helpful. It’s very convenient to travel in China as there are extensive high-speed rail network all over the country. Certainly you can also travel by air. During the trip, you can understand the factory much better as you can see the materials, facility, workers, management of factory by yourselves. It’s the best way to collect enough real first hand information by your own site investigation. However, under strict control policy now, it’s nearly impossible to arrange the trip by far. Many people are looking forward to everything recovered to normal situation as before. Hope it’s coming as earlier as possible.
Online channels
Searching engine website
People have been used to search any information they need to know from engine website as it’s easy and fast, like google, bing, sohu and so on. So you can also input key words like “China eyewear supplier”, “China eyeglasses manufacturer” etc. in the search box to look for their homepages or related information. As internet technologies has been developed very long time, you can find much different useful information of the supplier. For example, you can find all-sided information of Hisight in there official website www.hisightoptical.com
B2B Platform
It’s like a huge online B2B shopping mall for both buyer and supplier on B2B plat form.
Global Sources – Founded in 1971, Global Sources is an experienced multi-channel B2B foreign-trade-website that operates its business through online trade shows, exhibitions, business publications and advisory reports based on the industry-sales. The company focuses mainly on electronics and gifts industries. Their core business is to promote import and export trade through a series of media, where 40% of their profits come from print/e- magazine advertising and the remaining 60% from the online trading. The wide platform of Global Sources includes many major websites related to product industry, regional export, technology, management etc.
Alibaba – Undoubtedly, the market leader to start our list is Alibaba.com. Founded in 1999, Alibaba has set a distinct standard for B2B websites. Notably, in a very short span of time, the company has grown exponentially and has made it super difficult for any of its competitors to catch and defeat its growth map. A well-deserved No 1 B2B website, Alibaba has more than 8 million registered members in over 220 countries and regions around the world. Talk about the facts, the company was listed in Hong Kong in November 2007. With the net worth of $25 billion in initial stage, now it is known as China’s largest internet company. Also, it was the first market player to rise the free model, allowing its members to pay in large quantities.
Alibaba has a stronghold in its business and deems about its sellers pretty seriously. In order to enhance the promotional effect of its sellers (supplier members), the company cooperates with large and influential players of the industry, such as Global Top 1000 and China Top 500, to make their purchases through its platform. This guide and screens Chinese suppliers to actively participate in purchasing activities and build their market globally.
1688 – Also known as Alibaba.cn, 1688.com is the Chinese Alibaba wholesale site. A wholesale and procurement business at its core, 1688.com excels through its specialized operations, improved customer experience and comprehensive optimization of the e-commerce business model. Presently, 1688 covers 16 major industries which include raw material, industrial products, apparel & accessories, home-based departmental stores and commodity products, and provides a series of supply chain services ranging from raw material procurement, production, processing, inspection, packaging consolidation to delivery and after-sales.
Made in China – Headquartered in Nanjing, Made-in-China was established in the year 1998. Their main profit model includes- membership fees, advertising & search engine ranking costs for providing value-added services, and certification fees which they charge to provide certifications to the suppliers. According to third-party authoritative sources, Made in China website has nearly 10 million page views per day, out of which the major 84% chunk comes from international stations, which have tremendous export trade opportunities in these views. Although Made in China is not as much popular as other domestic giants like Alibaba and Global Sources, it has a certain influence on overseas buyers. To note, for the overseas promotion, Made in China participates through Google and other search engines to establish its hold.
SNS Media
It’s like a huge online B2B shopping mall for both buyer and supplier in these B2B plat form.
-International SNS Media
Linked-in- Did you know that LinkedIn was launched in 2003 and is the oldest social networking platform still majorly used today? With 722 million users, it isn’t the largest social network, but it is the most trusted. 73% of LinkedIn users agreed that the platform protects their data and privacy. LinkedIn’s professional focus makes it the best opportunity for reaching decision makers for both networking and sharing content. In fact, 97% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn for content marketing, and it ranks #1 among all social networks for content distribution. Using the platform is a great way to get involved in conversations with industry leaders and buyers that are looking for recommendations on products and services. You can see what happened in Hisight in the linked-in page
Facebook- Facebook is the most used social platform with 1.84 billion daily active users. If you are trying to reach a wide audience, Facebook is where you will find the most opportunity. And it offers access to reach an important demographic for B2B marketers: business decision makers. Facebook found that business decision makers spend 74% more time on the platform than other people. Facebook’s business pages can drive brand awareness and set your business up as an authority in your space by using them to publish helpful advice, insights, and product news. Video content is one of the most popular ways to get people engaging on Facebook. Like LinkedIn, Facebook Groups are often valuable sources for you to get involved in conversations and people to connect directly to find recommendations and reviews. Try to open and see the page of Hisight.
Twitter – Twitter offers one of the best ways to engage in conversations with potential buyers for B2B brands. With over 330 million monthly active users and 500 million tweets sent a day, Twitter is where to stay current and up-to-date in your industry. B2B brands can use hashtags and trending topics to participate in active conversations and understand better what their audiences pain points and needs are.
Instgram- Instagram is another top option for B2B marketers. Over 200 million people on Instagram visit at least one business page each day. For Instagram, each company will use their most visually appealing content. High quality photos, interesting infographics, and video perform best on the site. You can see many interesting and creative information of eyewear partner. This is a great platform to feature all of the creative work that each B2B eyeglasses owner have. You will be surprised to see lots of wonderful ideas in Hisight ins page.
-Chinese SNS Media
Zhihu- The Q&A app Zhihu is like Quora. It’s a great place for B2B enterprises to build their profile and reputation. A verified official brand account, or better yet, a VIP membership, allows brand reps to establish themselves as thought leaders and respected names in the industry. Companies should establish a verified account because their brand may already have an account on Zhihu that was registered by a fan, staff at a subsidiary or someone with bad intentions. Registering officially and investigating other accounts claiming to represent your brand gives you control of your company’s reputation on the site and allows coordination and alignment.
Livestreaming, webinars and live chat capabilities are available to selected brands. These are great ways to discuss industry-specific topics and interact with potential partners, customers and the public.
Zhihu’s users are mostly educated, young, Tier 1 city residents looking for authoritative, useful content with flair. Answering questions can educate people, build awareness and credibility and drive traffic to the company’s account page. Aim to provide information rather than push brand messages.
Linked-in / Maimai / Zhaopin- LinkedIn’s local version for the China market has done well but other local recruitment and profession-based social networks like Maimai and Zhaopin have done well and are now overtaking LinkedIn in some respects.
Maimai states that it has over 50 million users and according to research firm Analysys, it has a user penetration rate of 83.8% while LinkedIn China’s is only 11.8%. Maimai has moved into the lead with localized features like real-name registration, anonymous chat, mobile-first design, and partnerships with Chinese corporations.
These are primary China-based channels so you must operate them through local employees and entities, have an assistant who can translate communications or be able to read and write in simplified Chinese.
WeChat – WeChat is a valuable channel because it’s everywhere and used by everyone. There are over 800 million monthly active users. Since it’s a semi-closed social network, B2B businesses can’t take a traditional approach, but it’s a mistake to think that it can’t be used for B2B marketing at all.
After establishing a verified official account, WeChat is a good platform for the brand’s own key opinion leader(s) (KOL) and to build WeChat groups for selected clients, partners and potential partners. The brand’s key opinion leader (or leaders) should be relatable, have expertise and be able to answer questions about the industry, the brand and its products. They can be consultants with industry experience, business management experts, analysts or knowledgeable former workers.
Also consider key opinion consumers (KOCs). Key opinion consumers can be clients who know the company well. They could also be company employees who help with enquiries, complaints, quotations, orders, schedules and other client relationship tasks.
Brands can develop mini programs for WeChat that allows clients to make orders or allow explore the company’s distribution channels and products.
Zhihu- Weibo is a very popular, open public social network similar to Twitter that is extremely popular. It has more than 500 million monthly active users.
After getting a verified official brand account, B2B brands can post content and work with KOLs and KOCs on the platform. Brands must still deliver high-quality, professional, useful content that’s also engaging, interactive and connected to trending topics and special occasions to get any notice on this fast-moving app.
Regularly posted compelling visuals and well-crafted short videos that target clients, potential clients and industry leaders could be highly effective. Pose questions, answer comments, post quality user-generated content, engage in creative campaigns and use hashtags strategically.
Engaging in advertising on both WeChat and Weibo is an option but requires a serious budget which may be better spent elsewhere.
Keep in mind that all China-based tech platforms are subject to state regulations as well as their own internal rules.
(To be continued…)
Post time: Apr-14-2022