Approaching UK manufacturers...what am I doing wrong?
Hello everyone! I originally posted in a different subreddit but perhaps my question is best suited here. I am trying to source goods manufactured in the UK, am getting nowhere and wonder if anyone can shed some light on where I may be going wrong.
I started a company in the UK a while back and was purchasing through UK brokers(who buy in from Asia and mainland Europe). I have a growing customer base and have been trying to directly source goods manufactured in the UK for months, the production capabilities exist. I know the market and did additional research, identified good candidates to approach, offered 100% upfront terms(of course), everything I could think of, but...nothing. Barely even an acknowledgement of my enquiry.
I've been clear that I understand there will be additional costs associated with UK manufacturing, my customers do too. That's not an issue.
My competitors all source offshore, and I really wanted to at least offer a 'made in Britain' option to our customers, but UK manufacturers aren't engaging at all.
On the other hand, contacting a Chinese manufacturer gets a same day response.
What's going on? Perhaps the UK manufacturers don't believe there is any point quoting the work? What can I do to reassure them?
Thanks!