Toy World spoke to CEO René Schweitzer to find out about the services which the company offers toy vendors, retailers and licensors.
Spider Global is a newly-formed sourcing, product development and procurement company, which is based in Hong Kong. Although the company only started operating in January, its founders have considerable experience in the toy market, having worked for successful operations such as Vivid and Top-Toy.
Speaking exclusively to Toy World, CEO René Schweitzer commented: “Creative people in small & medium toy companies – or individuals working by themselves – invent new toy ideas constantly. Many of these innovators lack the R&D skills, the factory relationships, the sales network or a presence in Far East. They do not necessarily know how much it could cost to make prototypes, build product moulds and get items tested for international markets.”
It is no secret that the toy industry is prone to revenue hikes and downturns. Hence a flexible cost base is often more desirable than a fixed-cost office set-up for many small to medium toy companies. Engaging a sourcing agency such as Spider Global – with a fee calculated as a percentage of buying volume – provides a viable solution. René told Toy World: “We want to help all these great innovators to execute their ideas and provide a home in Far East that offers a flexible cost base and get their product to market competitively.”
The founders of Spider Global offer diverse backgrounds and relationships in a range of disciplines, including R&D; sourcing and manufacturing; retail buying; finance and IT; sales and entrepreneurship.
The company’s services include shipment scheduling; QA and QC; payables & receivables; product sourcing & vendor selection; negotiations; R&D and a permanent product showroom in Hong Kong.
René commented: “We act like colleagues and internal staff, being the trusted, extended arm into Far East. The team has considerable experience in the toy market: Jonathan Busher and product development engineer Eddie Cheung came from Vivid, while I have over 20 years of experience managing sourcing organisations in the Far East and have been working for the leading Nordic retailer Top-Toy for many years. We are keen to support great product ideas from others and develop our own ideas as well.”
René and the team will be visiting Distoy at the end of the month, or René can be contacted on rene@spiderglobalhk.com
