#085 International Shipping, Queen Size New Bed Sheets, Retail Price (14/01/2024)

Photo: One day, after watching the shop, I would close it at 8 pm and then go back to the company to work. It was a very youthful day.

Welcome to a new week's journal! It's my turn to write about this week's work updates.

International Shipping

The first thing we did this week was start trying to ship products overseas. Let me explain the background: I've been offering international shipping services since the early days of Re Pillow, but it's always been done via Hong Kong Post/SF Express. This makes the delivery time long and the cost quite high, ranging from several hundred to over a thousand dollars. Depending on the destination, we charge customers around $300-$600 for shipping. This is really unavoidable because the products are quite bulky, and the shipping cost is already high. We don't really expect many people living overseas to use this service; it's just that we have this service. If someone needs it and really wants to ship overseas, we're willing to accommodate them.

However, if you've been paying attention to the website, you'll see a few small print at the bottom: "From Kwai Chung to the World." Of course, there's a slight self-deprecating tone to this phrase, but it also expresses the desire to one day expand internationally. Therefore, starting this past Sunday, we wanted to try something—I calculated that using top-tier international courier companies like FedEx and UPS might allow for faster and more cost-effective shipping abroad. This would allow me to change the website's international shipping policy, offering free shipping on global purchases exceeding a certain amount. I won't go into details here, but you can refer to the "News" section at the top of the website menu. Clicking on it will show you a short announcement and a video explanation.

However, I don't yet know whether this shipping policy will be effective in practice, or whether the costs will be unforeseen. Therefore, we're just testing the waters as we go. I don't know when you'll read this post; perhaps by then, this global free shipping program will have been cancelled due to significant losses… I hope not.

Queen Size New Bed Sheets

We've consistently received requests from customers to expand the new bed sheets to Queen Size and other sizes, such as 4 feet x 6 feet 3 inches. Therefore, we've been preparing four different sizes for the past few months. However, the production was delayed due to the need to make winter comforters. The products were finally completed earlier this week, and the four new sizes will be available next Wednesday (January 17th).

Retail Market

Two weeks of 2024 have already passed so quickly. It's true, perhaps because of my pessimism, that the Hong Kong consumer market (retail and catering) is really so-so. Although our products have their own unique features and can help people solve practical problems, which makes us relatively better off, we are still part of the retail industry and are inevitably affected to some extent. Frankly speaking, the poor atmosphere in the Hong Kong stock and property markets, and the public's concerns about the future, more or less affect the overall consumer spending of ordinary citizens, impacting all sectors. We small businesses and ordinary people can't do much, so we can only do our best.