Company History
Thank you for your interest in our company and the services we provide. We are commonly referred to as an Export Management Company (EMC) or Export Trading Company (ETC). Our only business is Export Sales and we are therefore able to focus 100% on the needs and requirements associated with international customers and export shipments.
Our specialty is service to the “International Hobby Industry”, and our company was begun by our founder Mr. Bernard W. Davis, back in 1954. I am proud to say that “Bernie”, as he was known by his friends and family, was also my father. Our company name was originally HOBBYCRAFT EXPORTS, a division of NATIONAL MODEL DISTRIBUTORS.
National Model Distributors was a U.S. domestic distributor owned by my uncle, Alvin G. Davis, who was also a past President of the Hobby Industry Association of America (HIAA) and very active in the Hobby Industry for many years. My uncle and father split up the businesses in 1963, and my father then incorporated INTERNATIONAL HOBBYCRAFT COMPANY, INC., as his own business. I joined the firm in 1974 and took over as the President and owner of the company in 1982, after my father had passed away.
As an EMC/ETC we offer our services to manufacturers within the "Hobby & Craft Industry", which as stated above is our specialty. Many manufacturers have found it more economical to use the services of a professional EMC/ETC to help them to jump-start and develop their international sales. We actually become the exclusive Export Sales Department for the manufacturers that we represent. We work for the manufacturers, who continue to control and approve all decisions regarding their product line and export policies. International Hobbycraft Company (IHC) simply acts on behalf of the manufacturer to help them market and develop their international sales.
IHC participates in various trade shows around the world including the largest single exhibition, which is the Nurnberg Toy Fair in Germany, where we maintain a 100 sq. meter (1100 sq. ft.) stand to highlight the latest product releases from the manufacturers that we represent.
We constantly travel around the globe visiting distributors in order to develop and maintain ongoing relationships while looking for new opportunities. We feel that it is our job to try and visit as many of the international distributors as possible, and to know as much as possible about each of them, their operations and their capabilities within their respective markets. Over the years we have gathered a tremendous amount of vital information and experience within the international hobby industry which places us in a good position to provide solid facts and evaluations to the manufacturers and distributors that we work with.
We have developed a good reputation around the world for honesty and due diligence. Experienced buyers around the globe know IHC and the fact that they can trust our firm to offer them good quality products, from reliable manufacturers. They know that we stand behind every product we represent and each transaction; to make sure they receive the best possible service and aftermarket support. Manufacturers and distributors that we work with (both past and present) are our best testimonial to the service we provide and how we have helped them to grow their business.
We work manufacturers on an exclusive representation basis, usually covering all or most international markets outside of the country that the supplier is located in. As stated above, we become the Export Sales Department, on behalf of the factory, with responsibility for overseeing and developing international sales. Manufacturers pay us a relatively small commission which does not affect their export selling price and in fact often helps them to lower their export prices, since we save them the expense of having to maintain their own “in-house” Export Department.
Please click on the button labeled “SUPPLIERS REPRESENTED”, at the top of our home page, for a list of the manufacturers that we presently represent. Click on the supplier’s logo to see a page with a drop-down list of the countries where we have established an authorized distributor for each respective manufacturer. Our website also allows you to view our stand at the last Nürnberg Toy Fair in Germany, by clicking on the button labeled “Nürnberg Photos”.
All orders are drop shipped directly from the warehouse of each of the respective manufacturers to a freight forwarder’s facility. Most manufacturers in the U.S. Hobby Industry offer prepaid freight to the port of export, as long as their minimum order value has been met. We encourage the use of freight forwarders at the U.S. port city closest to the ultimate consignees destination, in order to keep ocean freight rates to a minimum (i.e. New York/New Jersey for European freight, Miami for Central and South American freight and Los Angeles for Pacific bound freight)
When distributors order from more than one of the manufacturers that we represent, we arrange for the consolidation of merchandise at the freight forwarder’s facility. As part of our service we can help arrange the shipping on behalf of the distributor. We can work with one of the many freight forwarders that we are familiar with, or we can use a freight forwarder designated by the distributor. Either way we use the fact that we ship hundreds of orders each year, worth millions of dollars, to consistently put pressure on the freight forwarders and steamship lines for the best possible rates. Our goal is to save both the manufacturers we represent and the distributors we service time and money.
In closing I would like to once again thank you for visiting our website and taking the time to learn a little more about our operations. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us accordingly.
Best regards,
INTERNATIONAL HOBBYCRAFT CO.
President/CEO