Breaking new ground in import/export

Hi

First off are you able to say what the product is? this is just to give us a better idea as to whether you would need a licence or not, if its not alcohol or that sort of thing i doubt you would need a licence as such.

I would say first you should approach the manufacturer, (presuming you have already established that there is a market for the product here and done plenty of research) this is made easier because they are english speaking. Most manufacturers are happy to sell you their products at a low price but you would usually have to buy a minimum order amount, so for instance if you were importing handbags they might want you to buy 100 bags as a minimum order.

Once you have got the details such as min quantity/production time/price per item/shipping to UK, most manufacturers would use UPS/Fedex or similar or they might even offer to ship the items at a lower cost but it would take alot longer (dont forget to consider import duty and VAT on your products).

So now you have actually got the manufacture and import side sorted and have worked out the costs involved and more importantly how much profit you can expect to make by selling these items, you can then approach stores/boutiques (would start small to start with so that you can get a feel for selling your product face to face)...by far the best way to do this is to take your finished product into them to have a look at or arrange a meeting with the senior buyer.

Also consider other factors such as presentation, if you turn up with your product in a plastic bag etc they won't be too impressed so think about packaging and what you would want it to look like if you were actually purchasing the item.

Hope that was of some help