Wholesale We have been Robbed! - Ancient Wisdom - Giftware and Aromatherapy Supplier

Greetings from Spain

I'm shocked. A shipment of AW products has been stolen.. details below.

August in Spain.. it's the first time I have been here at this time of year. It's crammed with tourists like a normal year.. and the roads are full of people who can't seem to drive, overcome by sunstroke, unsure of which side of the road to drive, getting confused and has to be said probably a little tipsy.. a trip to the supermarket is an adventure.. Within ten minutes I have seen so many near misses, a car going the wrong way round a roundabout, someone attempting to join the motorway in the wrong direction, people parking in random locations. Now I know why the locals leave for August..

Last week I was telling you that despite all the problems these days of shipping and importing products, we are still determined to make beautiful things happen. If you missed it you can catch up here..

Just when I thought importing couldn't get any harder than it is... it did..

Container no. AWC-74 has had a difficult time.. from the loading being cancelled several times, to delays at export customs, to extended time at sea.. not to mention the crazy shipping fees, some $12,000 more than pre-pandemic. Then getting from Felixstowe to Sheffield.. you have probably read there is a shortage of drivers.. more delays..
The driver - who does not apparently speak English - ran out of time on his tachometer and didn't make it to the truckstop. Had to stay in a layby off the A14.. while napping somebody with a bolt cropper broke the seal and made off with a load of cartons from the back of the container. Yes.. I agree with you, and the Police are investigating

Normally every inch of space is used, so you can see quite a few cartons missing.

This has never happened before, in twenty years of importing we never had anything stolen in transit from a container. Google Map ref.

What has been stolen is mostly Aromatherapy Soywax Candles.. quite a few. It seems like 90 cartons (cartons are small but high value) Some - Mini Ceramic Baths for Gifts and eight cartons of - Natural Soap Bags from Rami and Sisal.

In total about £10,000 of products.

So..

STOLEN!! If you get offered any of these items cheap.. Please let us know!!

That is not the only problem.. I spoke to Coco in China this morning.. Another problem. The giant port of Ningbo is in lockdown, apparently a single case of covid is enough to close the port.

Ningbo Port News

There is not much news about this in Western Media yet.. but I found this on DW.

Coco says we have two containers in there, one queuing to get in, and one about to be loaded on a ship. The numbers are huge.. millions of containers go through Ningbo every month, the effect could be vast - much worse than the Suez canal blockage.

No news yet how long it will last.. but hopefully days not weeks.. meanwhile they will invoice us storage charges.

In other news.. I have had a few emails from customers, suggesting I travel less to help save the planet. I want to address this.. yes of course I agree with that. Already I plan to stay in Indonesia for two or three months, if and when it is possible to enter the country.

In 2018 (I keep a log) and I'm not proud of this, I took 57 flights, often staying a few days dashing to the next place and frantically trying to do hundreds of jobs in a crazy merry-go-round. This has to stop.

Also, some customers say we should be buying more locally. Well we are doing that as well, as much as possible. You can't get more local than our own aromatics factory.. New products this week include Clay Face Masks. We have many more products in the pipeline. Recent (more local) products include candles from Poland and amazing high quality Loofahs from Egypt. Tea blends from Spain (which I love). We are working hard on all fronts to find you products that sell well and keep your customers happy.

Yes it's hard work these days.. but we still love it.

Take care, stay safe and hope you are enjoying the summer.

David