ExportRim visited Zhongyang, a Sino-Canada transport company based in Vancouver, Canada. In 2016, Zhongyang began serving the local companies and communities to provide prompt and reliable Sino-Canada logistics services. The company has grown steadily over the past few years, and has set up transport hubs in Toronto and Calgary. At the same time, the company launched its overseas shopping service.

Interview Questions

What services does Zhongyang offer?

In the past several years, Zhongyang has built different services, including standard logistics, goods transport, and clearance.

The shipping service to China is a key part of our business and we ensure all deliveries can be safely made to the end destination. Zhongyang has also made arrangements for a Free-Trade-Zone (FTZ) bonded warehouse, which is essential for eCommerce in which an order is fulfilled quickly soon after it is received. In addition, cross-border direct parcel shipping to customers in China is available.

Zhongyang is a processing hub for domestic parcels to Hong Kong as well.

We also offer importation transport service, which includes border clearance for both personal goods and commercial trading. Zhongyang also has eCommerce support for local markets, including Amazon FBA connecting service, 3rd party warehouse, and eCommerce order fulfillment service.

What are the types of exported goods? What are the best selling Canadian consumer products?

The goods processed by Zhongyang include many consumer products such as food, daily necessities, health supplements, skincare, apparel, and sports apparel and equipment. The selection for these in Canada are abundant. We realized that some of the brands are quite lowkey and do not have much reputation in Asia Pacific. Customers that know Canada well or have lived in Canada would purchase a number of lessor known brands and give to us to ship.

Is it difficult for Canadian companies to break into the Greater China market?

In our opinion, there are some challenges, as the Canadian market is much smaller than its neighbor US market, and in some way the development and scale is restricted. However, many Canadian brands, such as Lululemon, Canada Goose, and Jamieson, etc, sold well in the US and other markets, which allowed them to build a reputation. That has helped these brands to break into and smoothly grow in the China market.

Are there any types of products you think that have good potential in the Chinese market?

I believe health products, activewear and sports products have a bright future in the Chinese market. Especially after the Beijing Olympics, local Chinese now have developed a deeper interest in winter sports. Canada has many great winter sport products. With opportunity there are also challenges, particularly from the US and European competitors. Canadian firms, if they want to capture market share in China, need to give full effort to promote themselves and develop sustainable supporting business structures. Zhongyang is very willing to help Canadian companies to grow their business and develop a reliable logistics system in China.