Liam Fox, international trade secretary, has announced a new export strategy that set to make “Britain a 21st-century exporting superpower.”
The new measure will include support for businesses looking to invest overseas and developing an online tool to enable companies to submit non-tariff barriers they face.
The UK’s government website says that businesses “will most likely benefit from up to £50 billion worth of export finance and insurance support from UKEF,” and promoting this benefit in overseas markets to help the UK business consortia win contracts.
Commenting on the Department for International Trade’s Exporting Strategy Rob Hattrell, vice president of eBay UK said: “There is a huge demand for British-designed and British-manufactured products. 93% of the 200,000 British firms who operate on eBay.co.uk exported to 5 or more countries last year, many of them outside the EU, and this number continues to grow. These firms benefit from access to helpful tools and tailored advice from our seller team to help take their products into new markets.”
“We welcome the International Trade Secretary’s vision to make Britain a bigger exporting superpower by putting small businesses at the heart of its exporting strategy. They have the flexibility to respond to the changing markets of the future.”
Four exporting tips from eBay
This announcement comes as eBay presented four export approaches that can help retailers shape their post-Brexit strategies.
Take advantage of Britain
The UK has an excellent reputation around the world when it comes to retail. UK brands and businesses are held in high esteem, so use this to your advantage. Make it clear where you’re based and capitalise on selling the best of British – for example, British fashion is in particular demand.
Streamline payment
Distance is no object with globalised exporting, but if customers can’t pay for their goods quickly, they won’t buy from you. Make sure you accept international payment methods such as credit cards and payment platforms like PayPal.
Be ship-shape
Consumers are looking for speedy delivery, low cost, and reliable shipping services. eBay sellers can enrol for free into the Global Shipping Programme; international postage charges and any applicable customs charges are automatically shown on listings and paid by buyers. Parcels can simply be posted to the UK Shipping Centre using your usual postage service along with a tracking code, and parcels can then be tracked by both buyer and seller.
Leverage language
In the European market, language translation and local online platforms are crucial to engaging foreign audiences. eBay’s International Growth Programme, in partnership with translation service WebInterpret, is one way to translate listings into other languages. While shared languages, such as the US, Australia and Canada make entering these markets easier, remember to consider how consumers abroad search for your products – replace colour with colour, for example.
The anti-Brexit response
Julian Dunkerton, founder of Superdry, is reported to have given a £1m donation to the People’s Vote Campaign as he said to The Guardian last week that he saw “a genuine chance to turn [Brexit] around” with this contribution.
Earlier this year, he left the company after seeing it expand to more than 500 retail outlets, he claimed that: “If Brexit had happened 20 years earlier, Superdry would never have become the global success that it did. We would have struggled to cope with negotiating customs and tariffs. Perhaps even more importantly, Europe was our staging post because inside the single market we had no fear of opening a store in France, Germany, Belgium or anywhere else.”
Image credit: Fotolia
