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Xie Yuerong， General Manager of China’s Arrow Ceramic Sanitary Ware Co. Ltd.， surveyed the U.S. states of Georgia and Florida in late 2015 and saw business opportunities sprouting everywhere.
Xie was there to attend the first Home Improvement and Decor Conference held at the Darien outlet mall in Georgia on December 8， 2015. The event was aimed at linking Chinese manufacturers to the American market through the organizer International Decor Outlet （IDO）.
The Darien mall， formerly housing dozens of top American brand stores， was the first stop of a business survey tour that sought to attract greater foreign investment.
Xie is a moderate， prudent and low-key businessman. He nonetheless held the limelight during the tour thanks to the success of his business.
Arrow is China’s top brand for sanitary wares and enjoys high levels of favorable publicity. On November 11， 2015， the Singles Day shopping festival pioneered by China’s leading e-commerce platform Tmall， businesses across the country thrived with an unprecedented torrent of sales. Arrow also broke its record with a sales volume of over 70 million yuan （$11 million） that day.
It was no wonder that Xie， being the first in the group to sign a contract with IDO， had a strong influence on the coterie of businesspeople present at the tour.
Xie told Beijing Review that he had visited IDO several times before the December tour. According to him， Arrow has exported to the United States for many years through different channels.
However， he was not satisfied with the current sales channel. Xie said that if， for example， Arrow cooperates with U.S. businesses such as Home Depot， a famous retailer of home improvement products and services， its profits would drop sharply. He added that if one chose to do business with original equipment manufacturers， one’s brand would never be recognized by U.S. consumers. “Our products are at the top level of the world—quality and technology are not the problem，” he stressed.
“If we forge a path by ourselves， the risk will be too high for us—therefore IDO is a good partner for us，” Xie said. He explained that with IDO’s involvement， Chinese manufacturers and dealers would get rid of the troubles associated with traditional distribution channels， law papers， commercial insurance and other procedure-related work. Besides， Xie stated， the rent is acceptable. In the two IDO malls in Darien， Georgia and Jacksonville， Florida， the monthly rent is ever lower than that of a Chinese secondtier city’s mall. Chinese investors welcomed
Over 100 Chinese manufacturers and retailers of interior decor and home improvement materials had joined the business survey tour of the southeastern area of the United States， hosted by IDO.
Established in late 2014， IDO is the first U.S. direct-to-consumer outlet for manufacturers and retailers of interior decor and home improvement materials registered in the state of Florida. After the tour， a majority of the participants signed contracts of cooperation and decided to do business in two IDO-owned malls in Darien and Jacksonville.
According to its blueprint， IDO will develop world-class retail space of over 10 million square feet throughout the major cities in the United States with an initial investment of over $200 million.
IDO had started off by attempting to attract Chinese businesspeople by contacting them one by one. Jerry Lee， a project manager at IDO， claimed that doing so was a fruitless endeavor.
Lee， born in China’s Hunan Province， is a Chinese American who has lived in the United States for over 20 years. He had been an exporter of interior decor and home improvement materials before immigrating to the United States.
After several months of preparation， Lee conducted a series of tours to Beijing， Nanjing of east China’s Jiangsu Province and Foshan of south China’s Guangdong Province through the support of local governments.
Cao Derong， Consul Director of Commerce of China’s Consul General in Houston， praised IDO as “a very good opportunity for Chinese manufacturers to meet customers in the United States.” Cao said that the two countries were working to make relations more fruitful. “We came here to make money but also to make new friends，’ he said. He reminded Chinese business people to pay special attention to U.S. laws and quality standards， which are quite different to those in China.
Brett Cook， Mayor of Darien， told Beijing Review that， “this is a brand new economic cooperation mode between the two countries—we never have done this before，” expecting more Chinese contractors， decorators， designers and manufacturers come to open their business to malls owned by IDO.
Georgia’s McIntosh County Commission Chairwoman Kelly Spratt confirmed that the county strongly supports the IDO plan， passing a resolution. “I foresee great demand for these types of businesses， and McIntosh has the first of its kind，” she said， “We welcome you with open arms and open hearts.”
Promising partner
IDO malls’ first locations—Darien and Jacksonville—are both close to the Port of Savannah in Georgia， which is the top U.S. shipping harbor. China is the largest partner of the southern port.
In the future， a free trade zone will be established nearby Savannah， according to Lee. Chinese manufacturers would then be able to assemble parts of their products there that have been shipped from China with zero tariffs， and also have their products labeled “Made in U.S.A.”By doing so， manufacturers could then enjoy profits of two to three times that of products made outside of the United States.
According to IDO’s blueprint， it will have eight locations in different states. IDO’s chief executive Warren Hickernell announced that the corporation had partnered with JJ Atlantic Investment Group， a U.S.-based capital finance company which has extensive experience working with international manufacturers to finance their global expansion. In addition， while working closely with government partners in the U.S. Department of Commerce， Department of State， Department of Labor and Department of Treasury， IDO is able to assist retailers in navigating the often confusing government regulations surrounding immigration， business operations， taxes and employment issues.
“Every supporting link will be taken good care of by professional hands，” said Xie. “Of course IDO will share some of our profit， but if both of us can earn money， why not？”
Starting with IDO malls in Georgia and Florida， Xie announced， “We are at the testingthe-water stage—if the results are good， we will join other IDO locations. Since we have come to the United States， the only choice is to follow up. Someday， we will open our Arrow brand stores in the United States.”
Xie was there to attend the first Home Improvement and Decor Conference held at the Darien outlet mall in Georgia on December 8， 2015. The event was aimed at linking Chinese manufacturers to the American market through the organizer International Decor Outlet （IDO）.
The Darien mall， formerly housing dozens of top American brand stores， was the first stop of a business survey tour that sought to attract greater foreign investment.
Xie is a moderate， prudent and low-key businessman. He nonetheless held the limelight during the tour thanks to the success of his business.
Arrow is China’s top brand for sanitary wares and enjoys high levels of favorable publicity. On November 11， 2015， the Singles Day shopping festival pioneered by China’s leading e-commerce platform Tmall， businesses across the country thrived with an unprecedented torrent of sales. Arrow also broke its record with a sales volume of over 70 million yuan （$11 million） that day.
It was no wonder that Xie， being the first in the group to sign a contract with IDO， had a strong influence on the coterie of businesspeople present at the tour.
Xie told Beijing Review that he had visited IDO several times before the December tour. According to him， Arrow has exported to the United States for many years through different channels.
However， he was not satisfied with the current sales channel. Xie said that if， for example， Arrow cooperates with U.S. businesses such as Home Depot， a famous retailer of home improvement products and services， its profits would drop sharply. He added that if one chose to do business with original equipment manufacturers， one’s brand would never be recognized by U.S. consumers. “Our products are at the top level of the world—quality and technology are not the problem，” he stressed.
“If we forge a path by ourselves， the risk will be too high for us—therefore IDO is a good partner for us，” Xie said. He explained that with IDO’s involvement， Chinese manufacturers and dealers would get rid of the troubles associated with traditional distribution channels， law papers， commercial insurance and other procedure-related work. Besides， Xie stated， the rent is acceptable. In the two IDO malls in Darien， Georgia and Jacksonville， Florida， the monthly rent is ever lower than that of a Chinese secondtier city’s mall. Chinese investors welcomed
Over 100 Chinese manufacturers and retailers of interior decor and home improvement materials had joined the business survey tour of the southeastern area of the United States， hosted by IDO.
Established in late 2014， IDO is the first U.S. direct-to-consumer outlet for manufacturers and retailers of interior decor and home improvement materials registered in the state of Florida. After the tour， a majority of the participants signed contracts of cooperation and decided to do business in two IDO-owned malls in Darien and Jacksonville.
According to its blueprint， IDO will develop world-class retail space of over 10 million square feet throughout the major cities in the United States with an initial investment of over $200 million.
IDO had started off by attempting to attract Chinese businesspeople by contacting them one by one. Jerry Lee， a project manager at IDO， claimed that doing so was a fruitless endeavor.
Lee， born in China’s Hunan Province， is a Chinese American who has lived in the United States for over 20 years. He had been an exporter of interior decor and home improvement materials before immigrating to the United States.
After several months of preparation， Lee conducted a series of tours to Beijing， Nanjing of east China’s Jiangsu Province and Foshan of south China’s Guangdong Province through the support of local governments.
Cao Derong， Consul Director of Commerce of China’s Consul General in Houston， praised IDO as “a very good opportunity for Chinese manufacturers to meet customers in the United States.” Cao said that the two countries were working to make relations more fruitful. “We came here to make money but also to make new friends，’ he said. He reminded Chinese business people to pay special attention to U.S. laws and quality standards， which are quite different to those in China.
Brett Cook， Mayor of Darien， told Beijing Review that， “this is a brand new economic cooperation mode between the two countries—we never have done this before，” expecting more Chinese contractors， decorators， designers and manufacturers come to open their business to malls owned by IDO.
Georgia’s McIntosh County Commission Chairwoman Kelly Spratt confirmed that the county strongly supports the IDO plan， passing a resolution. “I foresee great demand for these types of businesses， and McIntosh has the first of its kind，” she said， “We welcome you with open arms and open hearts.”
Promising partner
IDO malls’ first locations—Darien and Jacksonville—are both close to the Port of Savannah in Georgia， which is the top U.S. shipping harbor. China is the largest partner of the southern port.
In the future， a free trade zone will be established nearby Savannah， according to Lee. Chinese manufacturers would then be able to assemble parts of their products there that have been shipped from China with zero tariffs， and also have their products labeled “Made in U.S.A.”By doing so， manufacturers could then enjoy profits of two to three times that of products made outside of the United States.
According to IDO’s blueprint， it will have eight locations in different states. IDO’s chief executive Warren Hickernell announced that the corporation had partnered with JJ Atlantic Investment Group， a U.S.-based capital finance company which has extensive experience working with international manufacturers to finance their global expansion. In addition， while working closely with government partners in the U.S. Department of Commerce， Department of State， Department of Labor and Department of Treasury， IDO is able to assist retailers in navigating the often confusing government regulations surrounding immigration， business operations， taxes and employment issues.
“Every supporting link will be taken good care of by professional hands，” said Xie. “Of course IDO will share some of our profit， but if both of us can earn money， why not？”
Starting with IDO malls in Georgia and Florida， Xie announced， “We are at the testingthe-water stage—if the results are good， we will join other IDO locations. Since we have come to the United States， the only choice is to follow up. Someday， we will open our Arrow brand stores in the United States.”