Hangzhou arts and crafts Import and Export Company was established in June 1992, which is a professional design, production and sales of handicrafts’ trading company with the registered capital of 50 million Yuan. The main products of company include pottery, embroidery, woodcarving, and stone material handicraft. After many years of development, the company owned their brand and avoided purely rely on original equipment manufacturing (OEM). The brand of “Andstar” registers the trademark in China in 1999 that have domestic and international trademark registration, in the same year, the company begun to explore oversea market. In 2003, company opened research and development center, according to the current trend in fashion and foreign market demand,the designed products combine with a variety of material, shape, color and the processing technology, emphasize the function of beautiful appearance and practical use, make the brand possess lasting and strong vitality and creativity. In 2012, company entered into top 500 Enterprise in China and being China's most influential exporter in art and crafts.
Handicrafts belong to the non-necessities of life and the consumption group directed mainly at the middle class and well off family, thus the marketing position of company is targeted at wealthy consumers. The average annual income in the United States are more than $30000, its consumption ability is strongest in the world, in addition, thus the United States has always the company's main export market on arts and crafts. Before 2003, Company's handicraft exports by "Chinese arts and crafts import and export corporation", or the purchasing agents to buy the products through domestic trade fairs, the company seldom to go abroad to sell products, that result in the style of products haven't changed much for many years, company lack of the cognition to the U.S. market, so they failure to product handicrafts in accordance with the requirements of the international market and the American consumer preference. In the United States, the company mainly sold the products by Chinese businessman on a small scale and the influence of products is limited in the US market. However, along with the development of the company in recent years, the company maintained a long-term trade cooperation relations with more than 10 major international group and 40 multinational chain businesses, such as Wal-Mart Stores, McDonald's and so on, the orders from the United States accounted for more than 70% of the company's all orders.
But since 2009 the economic situation of United State have changed dramatically, the large quantity of original demand for products fell sharply that lead to the U.S. importers cut back on their handicraft purchases from company. The products designed for American market are almost stopped, such as company’s best selling products that have characteristic of Indian culture, company have stopped to develop this series of new products after the financial crisis. At the same time, the US importer asked for cut throat prices on exports that severely cut the company's export earnings, because of unprofitable, company had to give up some of the customers and retain only part of strong customers. Company adjusts business strategy to the Russia market where the light industry is less developed.
As a potential investment market, Russia is regarded as the last piece of the market to be developed by western countries. Russia has many advantages in the aspect of introducing foreign investment:there are big market capacity, increasingly consumer demand,