Case study: Local fixer eases import concerns

Young entrepreneur Michael D’Andrea has achieved what many SME owners would consider a dream start to business, turning over more than $500,000 in the first year of operation.

Mr D’Andrea’s niche business, Office2Go, supplies fast office fit-outs into a booming commercial property market.

After working as a sales manager for a major office furniture manufacturer, the 31-year-old cabinet maker started Office2Go, providing full office fit-outs for up to 30 people within a one- to two-week period.

Opening the doors to the company’s 300 square metre Belmont showroom in February, Mr D’Andrea told WA Business News he has been surprised by how fast the orders started rolling in after only a small email marketing campaign and word-of-mouth referrals.

With strong demand from office developments in the local Belmont area, Office2Go has fitted out small to medium-sized offices across the Perth metropolitan area, as well as a number of regional areas including Busselton, Bunbury and Esperance.

Mr D’Andrea said the business model focused on retailing high quality, imported office furniture, deliberately staying away from manufacturing to ensure competitive pricing.

But while importing furniture from overseas manufacturers made the pieces more affordable, finding the right manufacturer and dealing with differences in business culture and language threw up its own set of challenges.

Mr D’Andrea said he did a lot of travelling throughout South-East Asia, conducting extensive research on Asian furniture manufacturers through trade shows and locally based distributors and agents.

And having worked in the furniture industry for almost 12 years, he was able to identify which facilities were able to supply the highest quality production required for his business.

“I knew what was good quality, and what was the best quality production in that field,” Mr D’Andrea said.

Settling on what he saw as trustworthy providers in China, Malaysia and Taiwan, Mr D’Andrea appointed an Asian-based import/export company to provide assistance in dealing with the manufacturing companies.

He believes it’s vital to have someone to “look after you” in overseas dealings, providing translation services and liaising between retailer and supplier.

And while there were some risks involved, particularly with buying stock before selling it, and paying for goods before receiving them, Mr D’Andrea said most problems could be solved by the establishment of good relationships and having a contact on the ground.

“You need to find someone who’s honest and trustworthy, so that if there is a problem you can go back to them to fix it,” he said.

In addition to its Belmont showroom, Office2Go is planning to establish a second showroom north of the river, and is currently evaluating a site in Osborne Park.

Mr D’Andrea hopes to open the second showroom towards the end of next year.

Following that, the company will look east, potentially setting up a central warehouse to service the east coast to service showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.