October i, 1908.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



19 



The Export Trade in Rubber Goods. 



By Alexander Macpherson. 



[Note. — This article is intended for the man who is considering 

 the advisability of extending his sphere of usefulness to embrace the 

 world's markets — not for the manufacturer who is already doing a 

 large export business.] 



BEFORE launching out it is well to consider how you will 

 handle the business when you get it. If going into the 

 export of rubber shoes with the idea of working off sur- 

 plus stocks, "Don't." Lasts for the Australian trade differ ma- 

 terially from a la mode in America. Northern Europe calls for 

 larger sizes than elsewhere. It is a mistake to think you can 

 fill orders from abroad when you are slack, or when you like. 

 You introduce your goods, your importer sells them for stated 

 delivery and usually orders well ahead. He has spent his time 

 and money getting business for you and states that he must have 

 delivery at a specified time. To be fair, you must ship to meet 

 his requirements. If you do not, he is out of pocket and so are 

 you. It has cost you money to open up in new territory, and re- 

 peat orders are generally required to make a real profit. You 

 must plan to make from special lasts and to turn out the goods 

 in time to reach a certain steamer, or a season's trade may be 

 lost by the importer and a good customer by you. In order 

 to do a successful export business you must be prepared to give 

 export orders first attention, even if at a loss of profit obtainable 

 by marketing an equal given quantity of goods at home. 



In mechanical rubber goods you may have to make many 

 special lines to do any great volume, and plan to ship goods of 

 dimensions unusual on the home market. To follow the English 

 practice of turning out garden hose in 60-foot lengths would 

 mean ripping up the hose room and putting in new plant, and be- 

 sides you can sell the 50 foot "coils," as the New Zealanders 

 call them, almost as readily. But it is no use sending 400 foot 

 rolls of 12 inch 6 ply belting to Mexico, when 100 foot lengths 

 are ordered done up in separate bales so as to ride mule-back 

 over the mountains. Your man knows how he wants goods packed. 

 If he orders "specialties" generally done up by you in cartons, 

 to be shipped 100 pairs in bulk in a case, he wants them that 

 way, and he wants them at a figure lower by the price of the 

 carton. He also wants them in as few cubic feet as possible to 

 keep down the freight charge. The steamship lines accept your 

 shipment to be charged for cubic measurement or weight at their 

 option. The goods may travel thousands of miles and be trans- 

 shipped many times, and must be packed accordingly. Gsntainers 

 for home shipment will not do for foreign; cases must be strong 

 and metal bound ; bales must be doubly secure and compact as 

 possible. Safeguard against pillage en route. 



Export business means increased details in your office, perhaps 

 extra staff, and the supervision of some of its best members. 

 It means cablegrams and cable codes to study. You must be 

 posted on declarations for the different countries and to pay 

 handsomely for some of them. It mejins being posted on freight 

 rates and sailings of vessels. Your shipping arrangements must 

 be made at the ports of sailings. You will educate yourself in 

 foreign exchange and will get posted on letters of credit, new 

 forms of drafts and settlement in London by cable. All this 

 takes time, money and minutest attention to detail. You may 

 get a heavy foreign mail to-day, the return mail closing next day, 

 with no other for four weeks, numerous inquiries to answer, 

 quotations on special lines to give, and a friendly buyer's com- 

 missions to execute in time for to-morrow. Such occupation 

 will likely keep you out of mischief for that day and night, but 

 your staff will hardly he expected to appreciate the extra tasks. 

 Then there is the study of trade-mark laws to be considered. 

 Should you, after all, decide seriously to tackle the export busi- 



ness, then, (i) Where shall you send your goods? (2) How 

 shall you introduce and market them? (3) What shall be your 

 prices? (4) On what terms shall you sell and how collect? 

 There are many other queries but these are the main ones : the 

 others are sub queries. 



Where Shall You Send Your Goods? 



You want to know which countries are most likely to absorb 

 your goods in the largest quantities and on the most preferred 

 tariff basis. If you are Canadian, if you go the right way about 

 it you can obtain fairly accurate information from your govern- 

 ment at Ottawa. If manufacturing in the United States, a letter 

 to the department of commerce and labor, inquiring the imports 

 of stated lines of rubber goods into any given country, to- 

 gether with the value of goods made in such country, also in- 

 formation as to the customs tariffs, giving you particularly the 

 tariff preference your country's goods enjoy, would be likely 

 to be answered by a letter giving such information or promising 

 to obtain it for you. It will pay you to be posted in advance. 

 In Japan there are factories making rubber goods and ready to 

 promptly fill special orders. British and Canadian manufacturers 

 send their goods in on a 10 per cent, basis, while the Japanese 

 collect 40 per cent, ad valorem on those from the United States. 

 Americans do sell rubber goods in Japan, but these circum- 

 stances are to be considered. Take Brazil, on the other hand, 

 with which country the United States have a treaty whereby 

 certain manufactured products including rubber enter Brazil at 

 a rate of duty 20 per cent, lower than that collected on goods 

 made in other countries. Brazil has been developing rapidly, 

 railways building, no rubber manufacturers there; most stable 

 government in South America. Why not make full inquiries 

 about Brazil? But don't spend a thousand or so in trying to 

 open a market for rubber footwear there. The largest dealers 

 in leather shoes in Rio de Janeiro told me once that he had had 

 two cases of sand shoes in stock for years. But under 

 a high protective tariff some general manufacturing is done. 

 The established and new railroads are and will be users of 

 mechanical goods ; mostly all to go from Europe unless American 

 manufacturers avail themselves of their opportunities. You will 

 be conferring a blessing on the Brazilians if you establish your 

 goods on their market. I never saw such rotten rubber goods as 

 were on the market when I visited it in 1904, and still I sold 

 good goods, at a fair profit, and more have followed them. These 

 countries are mentioned for purposes of illustration. The prelim- 

 inary investigation of any field can be carried on at long range 

 at practically no expense beyond postage. 



How Shall You Introduce and Market Your Goods? 

 There are many ways. There are the New York exporting 

 houses who would likely take on your line. You may obtain 

 a list of importers of your class of goods in a given country. 

 You may write them with catalogues and price lists. You may 

 learn of reputable agents and may correspond with them. 

 At the same time you may take up much time and may burden 

 your files with a voluminous correspondence. You may be 

 called upon to send many sainples (no charge), and may be 

 induced to contribute many dollars towards traveling, office and 

 advertising expenses, and if your goods are "mechanicals" I am 

 satisfied that you will only be using up energy, time and money 

 to no avail. In my experience the right way to introduce and 

 market your goods abroad is by means of a personal canvass on 

 the part of one of your head men; the higher up the better, so 

 long as he is adaptable, has good judgment, has enough decision 



