In the Press: Business Point or the art of corporate gift

At the end of each year or every event that marks the life of a company, it seeks to offer gifts. This is where Business Point intervenes.

Business Point is a young Mauritian company specialized in corporate gifts and promotional products. It was founded in 2010. Its goal is to customize all kinds of objects on which you can print a logo. This can be a simple cap, a T-shirt or a pen to file on a desk.

Marketing the products to be distributed in a communications campaign aimed at advertising for the company whose logo appears on the gift. At seminars or conferences, Business Point also provides briefcase or notebook with the name printed on the organizer.

Business Point is responsible for all phases of the order to delivery. "We first meet the client to determine their needs. We do not just sell our products, we also consider what they are looking for based on a budget, the type of products desired and then analyzes the request", said Irfaan Coowar, Director of Business Point.

Negotiable Price

As explained by the latter, Business Point is not only the sale of products, the new company also offers advice to its customers. This is especially true when a company wants to give presents to its directors or its best customers. M. Coowar's team is then ready to find the gem like a luxury pen in a wooden box.

Once the order is entered, Business Point is responsible for finding the objects in question. If available in Mauritius, for practical, economical and to encourage local businesses, the production is done locally. However, if products are not available locally, the Business Point team will look to foreign suppliers. Most of these companies are located in different Asian countries.

The customer must then pay a deposit of 50% of the total bill. However, for good business purposes, loyal customers can pay on delivery. Irfaan Coowar says that at Business Point, there is no fixed price but they are negotiated depending on quantity ordered.

Business Point oversees production. Sometimes the products are manufactured abroad like plastic pens, and the client company logo is printed in Mauritius as the young Company Director believes that companies specialized in this operation perform very well in Mauritius. "For the posters and calendars, for example, we work with local businesses that are very competitive," says the latter.

Business Point has three employees in addition to its Director. They are a manager, a graphic designer and a customer service advisor. Soon the young company will employ a project coordinator. Until last July, the company was based at the home of the Company Director and Founder. Since then, Business Point has set up its new quarters in a showroom in Beau-Bassin.

Already on a Facebook page and a blog, the company plans to create a complete website to present and promote its products but more importantly start to e-commerce. The aim of Irfaan Coowar is to export its products in countries of the region and the world. The young company is aiming for an annual turnover of Rs 1 million and will not stop in such a good way.

Irfaan Coowar, ambitious young entrepreneur

Irfaan Coowar studied finance in Malaysia for three years. Back in Mauritius in 2010, he wanted to invest in a company. He became interested in the franchise concept. Nevertheless he realises fast that the amount required is too high. He then concentrates on the "Business to Business (B2B)."

"In 2010 I found out in Mauritius that there was a lot of scope in marketing. However the number of advertising agencies was already significant and, in the area of the visual, they all work on traditional media such as billboards and newspapers. So I wanted something different but no less professional", he said.

That's when the idea about advertising on corporate gifts came. The latter then returned to Malaysia and met business people experienced in this area. He worked on his business plan and launched a market study. Business Point was born a few months later.

Original Article [French] posted in Le Defi - Economie : http://bit.ly/ocSJdp
Interview by Patrice Donzelot, Mauritius, September 2011