The global tariffs war ignited by the United States has made “everyone lose”, a Hong Kong-based German businessman said on Saturday.
Florian Simmendinger, chief executive of Soundbrenner, which specializes in developing smart music watches like wearable, vibrating metronomes for global musicians, said he’s annoyed by the recent tariff tit-for-tats.
Soundbrenner, which recorded sales of $3 million last year, with about half of its revenue coming from the US market, may have to raise prices for US customers if the high tariffs remain, he said.
“We’re selling to the entire world, from the United States to China, Europe and Australia,” said Simmendinger, who credited the company’s success to its choosing Hong Kong as its base.
A major advantage is the special administrative region’s proximity to technology powerhouse Shenzhen that guarantees a strong supply chain for the company’s manufacturing operations, he said.
Soundbrenner began operating in the SAR in 2015.
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The entrepreneur recalled that when he launched his career, he had thought of starting his business in his homeland, Germany. But, since the components for the products are produced in Asia, it would take about a month to transport them to Germany.
After meeting an investor from Hong Kong, Simmendinger said he found that Shenzhen offered a complete ecosystem for manufacturing, and the city’s Huaqiangbei electronics hub, as one of the world’s largest electronics markets, had almost all the components he needed.
Compared to the lengthy manufacturing process in other regions, Shenzhen’s suppliers take only two weeks for assembly if all the components are in stock. As for ordering samples of a different color, the product can be received in one or two weeks, he said.
After visiting Shenzhen on site, Simmendinger decided to set up shop in Hong Kong as Shenzhen can be conveniently reached by high-speed rail, and the city has adopted measures to support small and medium-sized companies, as well as global talents.
He said English, as one of Hong Kong’s main languages, has helped him remove the language barrier, making it easier to build up a marketing team with high copy writing skills, and obtain marketing materials for the global market.
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Simmendinger said his company has benefited from the Acceleration Program at Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, adding there’s plenty of support for startups in the SAR.
“HKSTP is a great institution where if you have a great idea and can show you’re on a great track record, you can secure funding and gain access to talent and investors.” he said.
The company’s decision to use Hong Kong as its base has also helped it to tap the Chinese mainland market which he described as one of the biggest in the world.
Simmendinger said he’s also able to establish an international team as a result of Hong Kong’s appeal to diversified talents.
He said his personal experience in the past decade has dispelled many fallacies about China, including unfounded claims of “human rights abuses”.
“I would be happy to send my children to China in summer to work on the assembly line to enable them to obtain some basic skills. It’s just a normal factory like some of the top German factories I’ve seen,” he said.
