It's a Strange World
Fri Jun 19 2020 20:38:00 GMT+0800 (Malaysia Time)
Greetings from Bali
It's day 83.. and still no sign of relaxing the travel restrictions.
I could fly to Spain, there are flights to Jakarta and from there via Istanbul to Malaga. Coco, my wife is in China and it seems like I'm heading the wrong direction. So not over keen.. anyway the flights only start in July so will have to wait a bit. You can read last week newsletter here.
To be honest the thought of taking a rapid test, before flying - navigating several airports and travelling all that way in a mask, doesn't fill me with excitement. My visa in Indonesia expired a long time ago, but the government simply declared that all visa's were automatically extended until further notice... but the website that states this has not been updated since April, so I worry. I have never over stayed a visa in my life, and I don't want to get in trouble. The prisons here are famously bad.
Ringo just called the immigration office.. and..
In the day I'm working with Ringo, we are making amazing products. In the evenings in touch with the UK office, so the days seem to fly past.
In the pharmacy here they sell all sorts of aromatherapy blends - everyone uses them, apply to mosquito bites, achy bones, forehead when you have a headache, can be used for massage oil even. Ringo always has a bottle in his car and I started to take an interest, because this is basically aromatherapy, but local Bali style. The one he uses is called Kutus Kutus, which means 88 in Balinese language, it's made locally - very local to our warehouse and they already have it turns out an EU distributor. Another popular oil is Varash Classic, also produced not so far away... this oil is more expensive but less greasy on the skin. I love it, the aroma, the texture the whole marketing concept that goes with it.
My desk and the oils.
There is actually an ancient Balinese culture of blending local essential oils to make "healing" oils. I tried the Varash oil on my mosquito bites, and was amazed that they healed in a day and stopped itching in seconds.
So this week we made an appointment to see the boss at the office they have in Denpasar..
In the affluent suburb of Renon - all leafy villa's and embassy buildings. There is a park with an impressive statue in the centre, the area around the park is very posh.
The offices of Varash are built to impress, we were left to wait in a reception area with walls painted with mythical scenes, a large flat screen TV showed a sales conference in full swing with a thousand people, a rock band, a professional compare. The reception area reminded me of the incense companies we visit in Bangalore, India. Just a bit too flash.
The staff all in company uniform, young and smiling arrived.. we were taken to a board room for the meeting. The boss was away but a team of executives could help us..
Of course, I realised the set up by then.. Varash is distributed across Indonesia.. by the MLM system.. just like Amway and Herbalife. My heart sank, this was going to be hard work. I explained that we wanted to buy factory direct and have a distribution agreement for Europe. Ringo translated, their English was not that good, they looked blank. So it seems they have never exported the product beyond Indonesia, they didn't need to because Indonesia is a huge market... 260 million people.
I explained the concept of sole distribution, we would give them a decent initial order, say $20,000 and contract to buy a minimum amount over a year. In return we could have the exclusive rights to distribute in Europe, if we failed to meet the minimum they could pass the rights to some other company.. so what do you think guys? Bemused and slightly blank looks.. I think you might need to talk to the boss? Yes, please.. can you organise a meeting?
So now we are waiting for a meeting, but I fear the MLM system is too lucrative and they won't want to do old fashioned trading. But we will see what happens. Meanwhile I'm investigating a few other companies and products.
Meanwhile in the UK, we remain super busy.. Tomas, Katka and the crew have been working like crazy to make a system to cope with the business and with some success, we have been gradually catching up this week, not yet back to next day delivery (it's almost a dream) but now things a buzzing along sweetly.
Oh and yes.. the call to the immigration office.. No problem at the moment all and every visa is automatically extended until further notice... so I can stop worrying. Until when I ask? Even we don't know said the lady at the office.. it's a strange world.
I hope you are keeping safe and well.
More news next week .. probably from Bali.
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