Flight offer helps Scottish companies go global
Scottish Development International (SDI) has announced a series of new export contracts for Scottish food and drink companies as a result of a partnership between SDI and BA to promote the airline’s ‘flights for businesses’ offer.
To date, over 400 Scottish companies have targeted new international markets, increasing exports and winning new business by taking advantage of the BA flight offers.
Run jointly in Scotland by British Airways and SDI, the current offer is open to small and medium sized enterprises and aims to support overseas trade development activity. It consists of a single-use discount voucher, for up to nine employees within any one organisation, providing a reduction of 15% off all cabins and classes on BA flights from the UK anywhere in the world.
Among the companies which have already taken advantage of BA’s offers is Scott Kelman, commercial director of Dean’s of Huntly Ltd.
A trip to the United States enabled Kelman to secure a US importer, meet with existing distributors and carry out further market research. Commenting on the visit, Mr Kelman said: “We were encouraged by SDI to take advantage of this offer, and as a result of this, we were able to identify the US as a key target market and now have a strategy in place for developing sales in the USA. One year later we now have an agreement with an exclusive importer which should lead to sales growth in the next few years.”
Another company that used the BA offer to travel to the USA is Henshelwood’s Fine Foods. A visit to New York resulted in the appointment of a distributor on the east coast of the USA, with a view to increasing export sales in the region. CEO, Robert Henshelwood, said: “Without the support of SDI and BA, we would not have been able to afford such a venture so this offer has been fundamental to our success in exporting in the US.”
Similarly, Simon Briggs, sales director at Loch Fyne Oysters Ltd took up the offer to travel to Hong Kong and Singapore. The trips allowed him to win new business with a variety of hotels, restaurants and supermarkets in both areas and secure new market leads through visiting a number of retail outlets.
Mr Briggs said: “The opportunity to visit existing partners in Hong Kong and Singapore and meet new customers through these partners in both locations was invaluable. It’s vital for companies looking to export to specific markets to actually go out there and find out first-hand how business is conducted in different cultures.
Tony Baker, director of internationalisation, Scottish Development International, said: “It’s fantastic to hear the success stories coming out of this flights offer as it shows the value of actually getting to market and making those face-to-face connections.
“We believe internationalisation is the single biggest opportunity that exists for Scottish companies and one of the biggest factors that could accelerate Scotland’s economic recovery. However, we know that many SMEs find it hard to break into new markets on their own as they overestimate the barriers and underestimate the rewards.
“This generous offer from British Airways significantly reduces the costs faced by Scottish businesses when accessing news markets and allows them to explore new global opportunities and generate new business.”
Enterprise Minister Jim Mather added: “Last year, SDI helped more than 900 companies enter new international markets, while the value of Scottish exports increased by 3.4 per cent to £14.9 billion over the year to September. This is strong evidence of SDI’s helping Scottish companies maintain and improve their worldwide success in global markets.
"Initiatives such as Flights for Business are an important part of this work and I welcome the success it has brought so far. I am sure the scheme will continue to deliver real results as part of extensive work underway across the public sector to nurture economic recovery in Scotland.”
The current offer follows the success of last year’s complimentary BA flights deal which helped many Scottish companies make exploratory trade visits overseas.
The BA flight offers have been running since May 2009 and of the 400 companies that have made use of the offers, 96 per cent were for long haul travel, including 52 per cent (185) to the Americas, 40 per cent (146) to Asia Pacific and the rest to Europe, the Middle and Asia.