Part I: Product Info
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The Product
My export idea to Nepal is Canadian rock climbing equipment to be used for honey hunting, in the
both the agriculture and tourism industries, as well as in research. The company I have chosen is
called Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) and they are based in Vancouver, British Columbia. They
sell a wide variety of outdoor sporting equipment, tools, and apparel. There are three rock climbing
items in particular that I am proposing: a harness, a carabiner, and rope. These items all play a role
in ensuring a safe experience for the climber. The harness is to make sure the climber doesn’t fall,
while also allowing free range of motion in the upper body and arms. The carabiner is for quick and easy hooking and unhooking as the climber makes their way down the rope ladder, as well as the metal offering more reinforcement than rope would. Finally, the rope is to act as a safety precaution and catch the climber if they were to slip and fall or become unconscious due to anaphylactic shock from the bee stings. These three items can be exported from Canada separately and in bulk, creating an opportunity for a start-up company in Nepal to receive these separate shipments and assemble the items into a fully functional honey hunting “kit” which will then be sold throughout Nepal. As for use in Canada, we use rock climbing equipment as a recreational sport instead of a harvesting tool but the idea is the same in that the equipment is there to keep climbers safe and prevent falls from large heights. Aside from periodic replacements over the years, I imagine the demand being around 100 pieces of each item.
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Price Comparison: Domestic
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There are a number of other Canadian companies that sell the same products as MEC, but there is one in particular that provides almost identical models and brands. Atmosphere is a part of the Forzani Group, a collection of sporting good stores based out of Calgary, Alberta (FGL Sports, 2016). The names, prices, and item numbers in the following table were taken from the MEC and Atmosphere company websites in November 2016.
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Price Comparison: International
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Alibaba, which is the Asian equivalent to Amazon, provides a wide selection of similar rock climbing equipment made by different Chinese manufacturer. All of the information in the table below was taken from the Alibaba website.
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The items listed on Alibaba are significantly cheaper than the equipment being sold at MEC. In addition to a better price, the products listed above are all manufactured in mainland China, making it easier and cheaper to transport to Nepal since it is so much closer than Vancouver. However, if they were to import rock climbing equipment from China, the Nepalese importers would have to transport the goods through the Himalayan Mountains than line the northern border of the country. Also, the MEC equipment suggested is not manufactured in Canada: the harness is made in the Philippines, the carabiner is made in China, and the rope is made in Germany (MEC, 2016).The items listed on Alibaba are significantly cheaper than the equipment being sold at MEC. In addition to a better price, the products listed above are all manufactured in mainland China, making it easier and cheaper to transport to Nepal since it is so much closer than Vancouver. However, if they were to import rock climbing equipment from China, the Nepalese importers would have to transport the goods through the Himalayan Mountains than line the northern border of the country. Also, the MEC equipment suggested is not manufactured in Canada: the harness is made in the Philippines, the carabiner is made in China, and the rope is made in Germany (MEC, 2016).
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Market Opportunity
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Since honey hunting is not widely practiced throughout Nepal, the rock climbing equipment for the purposes of collecting honey would be considered a niche product. Honey hunting is also currently a seasonal activity with only two harvests per year however the plan is that the implementation of the rock climbing equipment will allow hunters to harvest more often and in less destructive ways.
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(Photo: Financial Post)
