HIGHLIGHTS
- Zipfox, a new platform officially launched in February 2022, is designed to connect businesses with manufacturers in Mexico.
- The times are very favorable, as the need to find alternatives to the supply from China is increasing.
- For now, the key objective of Zipfox is to establish a reliable market.
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Raine Mahdi, CEO of Zipfox, and his team spent three years looking for manufacturers in Mexico to get them on the platform. As a result, when Zipfox officially launched in February 2022, it has already had 200 factories.
According to Mahdi, manufacturers in Mexico have enthusiastically greeted the platform. Everything is thoroughly vetted to eliminate unscrupulous distributors and middlemen. “Once they are eligible, we will send them an invitation to join. We plan to add a factory-direct inspection through a third-party inspection agency”, he revealed.
In contrast to the manufacturers, buyers can easily join the platform with no fees and don’t have to endure such intense scrutiny.
About the inspiration, after more than a decade of importing goods, Raine Mahdi has decided to build a platform to solve the problems he has faced, such as dealing with unreliable suppliers, and traders posing as manufacturers.
Outstanding advantages in difficult times
Zipfox’s CEO said that the times are very favorable, as the need to find alternatives to the supply in China is constantly increasing: “Most companies are now trying to find more manufacturers outside of China. Even so, when you search for suppliers on Alibaba, the results are 99% of companies based in China.”
“Even in the best condition, shipping time from China is five to six times longer than from Mexico. By some estimates, sourcing in Mexico can reduce shipping costs by up to 75%. Moreover, the tax rate up to 25% on some Chinese goods makes this platform even more attractive in the eyes of businesses with sourcing needs”, he added.
Not only that, but Raine Mahdi also points out that Mexico can be a strong source for certain types of products, such as household electrical appliances: “We have a lot of clothes, housewares, furniture, industrial products suitable for the construction industry, which currently have strong demand. There is a lot of demand for electronics in the world, but currently not much on the Zipfox platform.”
Rick Watson, CEO of the e-commerce consulting firm RMW Commerce Consulting, also agrees that Zipfox is a great idea that will attract a lot of interest and a fair amount of trial orders.
Moving towards future expansion
For Zipfox, the emphasis in the coming months will be to broaden the spectrum of goods produced by participating manufacturers, as well as to go deeper into product categories. Before the end of 2022, Mr. Mahdi intends to spread the manufacturer base into Central and South America, followed by Africa and Europe. It will eventually include Chinese manufacturers, but for now, the key is to establish a trusted market.
Gia Don
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