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Mexico trade memo

---

This leaked memo written by a senior staff member at Garson and Shaw indicates a proposal by Garson and Shaw and U'SAgain in Texas to sell used clothes collected in the US to traders for shipment to Mexico.

A Tvind Alert advisor writes: You have one heck of a good source to get you a document like that.  Amazing.  It seems like a report
of a sales and marketing trip by a G & S rep.   I
think it is several years old because I know lots of
the companies listed but lots of info is outdated.
One thing is cleat to me -  whoever wrote that report
is smart, organized and knows the business very well.
There is nothing at all illegal about what they are
doing. more. . 

---

Memo

From: bill houghton [mailto:Bill@GarsonShaw.com]
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 8:52 AM
To: Maurizio Onorato; lisa@garsonshaw.com; ann@garsonshaw.com;
mattias@usagain.com; maryory@garsonshaw.com; anya@garsonshaw.com; bill
houghton

Subject: TEXAS Business

MEETINGS

 

Anabels Used clothing

 Pedro Florez seemed interested nut mistrusting.  Maurizio should call. He definitely buys credential weekly

 

La Principal

Offshoot of  tres Dimensions- more of a retail/wholesale

 

Tres Hermanos

Big but no luck kind of a retail/wholesale

 

La Familia

New customer, loaded Boston 7/17, if quality OK they will try Chicago or continue with Boston.  I worked around the prepayment issue by taking 2 checks. 

 

Chicago Trading

Small, works credential into 100lb bales for sale to Mexicans.  Will visit Chicago then likely by loose loads.

 

La Esmeralda

Moving to a bigger warehouse in August.  Making money buying a load a week.  Buys from us and Fab tech, St Louis load looked really bad.  I agreed to credit him 5 bales he is satisfied that was the first bad load in 25-30.  Went for lunch

 

Tex-Mex

Small thrift, could buy credential, maryory should call

 

Los Amigos

Met with Lucas's brother.  We shared a few war stories but they have lots of stock and business is slow

 

La central

Juan Frausto is one of the nicest people in the business.  Big operation. They way they differentiate themselves from the competition is they allow the Mexicans to store finished goods in a 24 hour warehouse until a window opens at the border.  They are Customer oriented.  Will try more us again with terms like St. Louis.  For some reason the are very mistrusting of us again but they re fine with planet aid.  as the relationship and trust grow we can ship more usagain. Adrian, the owner is the main reason they won't buy USAGAIN.  we should continue to sell usagain on credit until we overcome.  i think once the collection has been "ok'd" we can proceed as usual suggesting to them new loads to try.  They are ambitious and willing to try anything that won't land them in jail.  For

 Example we re going to try a load of mixed rags from ATS wholesale.  They can buy a load a week if it's the right quality.

 

 

La Bodeguita

Large Grader.  Not a typical border wholesale to Mexicans.  They grade 50K rags per day for africa/india etc buy from Goodwill san antonio for 17 years.  Interested to test my quality.  Coking 2 loads once from chicago at .21 one from Boston at .23 if we build a realtionship we wil have to negotiate better pricing.

 

 

P&P Ropa Usada

small mexican wholesale family business, identified P&P during phone campain before trip.  Maryory actually closed sale before I traveled.  They have only opend two balwes but they looked ok.  If the load is OK we can expect them to buy once a month.

 

 

Thalias Ropa Usada

Maurizio talked to Mario and Mario will think about it.  Maurzio should call with a special trial offer.

 

Texbi

New business not open yet.  I met the owner painting the building.  Maurizio should call this guy and have him  start his business with our goods.  He will be a small mexican wholesale

 

 

Rames Ropa Usada

Fransisco was not available,  I have visited 3 times in 2 years and have never met this guy.  Huge warehouse close to STC.

 

New Hope Trading

Small wholesale In Mcallen.  Spanish speaking, Maryory should call.

 

Brendys Ropa Usada

Lupita buys mixed rags

 

 

South Texas Clothing

Karla was out so I left card, basically made a curtesy call

 

 

M&D Used clothing

Diana was nice and buys a little credential. Maryory should call

 

 

Tres Dimensiones

Rosy & Victor, need to keep up with these guys they would but eventually on credit or pay by check to me when merchendise arrives.  I think if I'm persistant they will try us.  Big company

 

Global Textile Exchange

small mexican wholesale.  I should email info rmartinez230@roadrunner      

 

 

ACTIVE ACCOUNTS

 

La Central 3 loads weekly

La Esmeralda 3 loads per month

La Familia 1 load per week

P&P Ropa Usada 1 load per month

 

HOT COOKING

La Bodeguita- verbal confirmation for 2 loads next week (Boston,Chicago) potential for 2 loads weekly

 

MARKET ANALYSIS

 

Some of the old timers say the border is dead. I think it is fashionable to say times are tough these days.  I suspect things are not as hot as they were 5 years ago, but we are building our own customer base with some of the newer companies.  I think the old companies have their own suppliers they are loyal to and if business is not unusually heavy they have trained themselves to think and say they dont want to try new things.  Testing a new supplier is very risky.  There are buyers in this market.  I believe there is more business at the border and a new approach might help us tap into new business.

 

OBJECTIONS

 

-Prepayment

-Expensive to do experiments with new merchandise

-Pricing is too high

-Our quality is NOT consistent

-Bad packaging. (I learned this week a 500 bale would allow a wholesaler to sell a truckload twice as fast!) WOW

 

 

Some new ideas

 

We need to be able to overcome these objections.

I think we should make it easy for people to test our merchandise.  I propose we rent warehouse space and send loads to McAllen on credit to Garson & Shaw.  The salesman can make serious sales calls with actual samples.  They can invite buyers to the warehouse.  This should be part of a 1-month campaign to find as many new buyers as we can at the border.  We could start with 20 bales.  I dont propose we start a full time wholesale but I think that when we get our goods into the hands of the buyers they will feel safe prepaying for truckloads.  A one-month presence gives a salesperson more credibility.  After 5 visits to follow up, and the goods are in the buyers hands risk free, they will stop saying no.

 

I think we can rent space with one of our friends at the border for 1500 a month and gain full use to their forklift.  We could rent a box truck for 1500 a month also for sure.  20 bales would cost us 4000 bucks that we could probably talk one of our suppliers to give us credit on.  We would give some of these away and sell some of them to recoup some costs. Maybe we could introduce cap sacks to this market.  The mentality of the wholesalers is they want goods they can sell fast.  I learned smaller bales sell faster because for a Mexican family 280 dollars is just out of reach for a family.  160 they can manage, they can buy the small bale, work it and buy another.

I have a warehouse in mind to do such a partnership. They are not a credential sellers but they are in the business.  We could develop business for them  by sending goods to him after we leave.  Once the clients know there are Pacas at Del Mar he could become a wholesale customer himself.

 

 

We need to listen to the customers.  If they want a 500 lb credential bale thats what we should make.

 

Parallel to that we need to build a brand the Mexicans will recognize and demand from the wholesalers.  The wholesales will order what the Mexicans want.  We should wrap all of our Texas bales in RED plastic wrap so there is no question that the merchandise they are working is USAGAIN.

 

---

This leaked memo written by a senior staff member at Garson and Shaw indicates a proposal by Garson and Shaw and U'SAgain in Texas to sell used clothes collected in the US to traders for shipment to Mexico.

A Tvind Alert advisor writes: You have one heck of a good source to get you a document like that.  Amazing.  It seems like a report
of a sales and marketing trip by a G & S rep.   I
think it is several years old because I know lots of
the companies listed but lots of info is outdated.
One thing is cleat to me -  whoever wrote that report
is smart, organized and knows the business very well.
There is nothing at all illegal about what they are
doing. more. . 

Memo

From: bill houghton [mailto:Bill@GarsonShaw.com]
Sent: Monday, July 21, 2003 8:52 AM
To: Maurizio Onorato; lisa@garsonshaw.com; ann@garsonshaw.com;
mattias@usagain.com; maryory@garsonshaw.com; anya@garsonshaw.com; bill
houghton

Subject: TEXAS Business

MEETINGS

 

Anabels Used clothing

 Pedro Florez seemed interested nut mistrusting.  Maurizio should call. He definitely buys credential weekly

 

La Principal

Offshoot of  tres Dimensions- more of a retail/wholesale

 

Tres Hermanos

Big but no luck kind of a retail/wholesale

 

La Familia

New customer, loaded Boston 7/17, if quality OK they will try Chicago or continue with Boston.  I worked around the prepayment issue by taking 2 checks. 

 

Chicago Trading

Small, works credential into 100lb bales for sale to Mexicans.  Will visit Chicago then likely by loose loads.

 

La Esmeralda

Moving to a bigger warehouse in August.  Making money buying a load a week.  Buys from us and Fab tech, St Louis load looked really bad.  I agreed to credit him 5 bales he is satisfied that was the first bad load in 25-30.  Went for lunch

 

Tex-Mex

Small thrift, could buy credential, maryory should call

 

Los Amigos

Met with Lucas's brother.  We shared a few war stories but they have lots of stock and business is slow

 

La central

Juan Frausto is one of the nicest people in the business.  Big operation. They way they differentiate themselves from the competition is they allow the Mexicans to store finished goods in a 24 hour warehouse until a window opens at the border.  They are Customer oriented.  Will try more us again with terms like St. Louis.  For some reason the are very mistrusting of us again but they re fine with planet aid.  as the relationship and trust grow we can ship more usagain. Adrian, the owner is the main reason they won't buy USAGAIN.  we should continue to sell usagain on credit until we overcome.  i think once the collection has been "ok'd" we can proceed as usual suggesting to them new loads to try.  They are ambitious and willing to try anything that won't land them in jail.  For

 Example we re going to try a load of mixed rags from ATS wholesale.  They can buy a load a week if it's the right quality.

 

 

La Bodeguita

Large Grader.  Not a typical border wholesale to Mexicans.  They grade 50K rags per day for africa/india etc buy from Goodwill san antonio for 17 years.  Interested to test my quality.  Coking 2 loads once from chicago at .21 one from Boston at .23 if we build a realtionship we wil have to negotiate better pricing.

 

 

P&P Ropa Usada

small mexican wholesale family business, identified P&P during phone campain before trip.  Maryory actually closed sale before I traveled.  They have only opend two balwes but they looked ok.  If the load is OK we can expect them to buy once a month.

 

 

Thalias Ropa Usada

Maurizio talked to Mario and Mario will think about it.  Maurzio should call with a special trial offer.

 

Texbi

New business not open yet.  I met the owner painting the building.  Maurizio should call this guy and have him  start his business with our goods.  He will be a small mexican wholesale

 

 

Rames Ropa Usada

Fransisco was not available,  I have visited 3 times in 2 years and have never met this guy.  Huge warehouse close to STC.

 

New Hope Trading

Small wholesale In Mcallen.  Spanish speaking, Maryory should call.

 

Brendys Ropa Usada

Lupita buys mixed rags

 

 

South Texas Clothing

Karla was out so I left card, basically made a curtesy call

 

 

M&D Used clothing

Diana was nice and buys a little credential. Maryory should call

 

 

Tres Dimensiones

Rosy & Victor, need to keep up with these guys they would but eventually on credit or pay by check to me when merchendise arrives.  I think if I'm persistant they will try us.  Big company

 

Global Textile Exchange

small mexican wholesale.  I should email info rmartinez230@roadrunner      

 

 

ACTIVE ACCOUNTS

 

La Central 3 loads weekly

La Esmeralda 3 loads per month

La Familia 1 load per week

P&P Ropa Usada 1 load per month

 

HOT COOKING

La Bodeguita- verbal confirmation for 2 loads next week (Boston,Chicago) potential for 2 loads weekly

 

 

Some of the old timers say the border is dead. I think it is fashionable to say times are tough these days.  I suspect things are not as hot as they were 5 years ago, but we are building our own customer base with some of the newer companies.  I think the old companies have their own suppliers they are loyal to and if business is not unusually heavy they have trained themselves to think and say they dont want to try new things.  Testing a new supplier is very risky.  There are buyers in this market.  I believe there is more business at the border and a new approach might help us tap into new business.

 

 

-Prepayment

-Expensive to do experiments with new merchandise

-Pricing is too high

-Our quality is NOT consistent

-Bad packaging. (I learned this week a 500 bale would allow a wholesaler to sell a truckload twice as fast!) WOW

 

 

Some new ideas

 

We need to be able to overcome these objections.

I think we should make it easy for people to test our merchandise.  I propose we rent warehouse space and send loads to McAllen on credit to Garson & Shaw.  The salesman can make serious sales calls with actual samples.  They can invite buyers to the warehouse.  This should be part of a 1-month campaign to find as many new buyers as we can at the border.  We could start with 20 bales.  I dont propose we start a full time wholesale but I think that when we get our goods into the hands of the buyers they will feel safe prepaying for truckloads.  A one-month presence gives a salesperson more credibility.  After 5 visits to follow up, and the goods are in the buyers hands risk free, they will stop saying no.

 

I think we can rent space with one of our friends at the border for 1500 a month and gain full use to their forklift.  We could rent a box truck for 1500 a month also for sure.  20 bales would cost us 4000 bucks that we could probably talk one of our suppliers to give us credit on.  We would give some of these away and sell some of them to recoup some costs. Maybe we could introduce cap sacks to this market.  The mentality of the wholesalers is they want goods they can sell fast.  I learned smaller bales sell faster because for a Mexican family 280 dollars is just out of reach for a family.  160 they can manage, they can buy the small bale, work it and buy another.

I have a warehouse in mind to do such a partnership. They are not a credential sellers but they are in the business.  We could develop business for them  by sending goods to him after we leave.  Once the clients know there are Pacas at Del Mar he could become a wholesale customer himself.

 

 

We need to listen to the customers.  If they want a 500 lb credential bale thats what we should make.

 

Parallel to that we need to build a brand the Mexicans will recognize and demand from the wholesalers.  The wholesales will order what the Mexicans want.  We should wrap all of our Texas bales in RED plastic wrap so there is no question that the merchandise they are working is USAGAIN.

 

La Familia

HOT COOKING

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