PDC’s April trade mission to Japan exposed nine Portland athletic & outdoor and design/maker companies to potential buyers and distributors, with two popup-style trade expos held in Kyoto and Tokyo for Japanese consumers, media, retailers, and buyers to attend and buy products, as well as learn more about the companies and their founders.
Check out photos of the Tokyo event, which drew more than 100 people to the business-to-business portion of the evening and more who attended the consumer portion of the show. Companies made contacts with potential distributors, and at least one Portland participant, Matt Bietz of Quartertwenty, wrote up an order that essentially covered his expenses for the trip – a very satisfying outcome! Several of the businesses also secured one-to-one meetings with large trading companies as well.
Participating companies included:
Nutcase Helmets
Sseko
Wild Outdoor Apparel
Make It Good/Nell and Mary
Walnut Studiolo
Quartertwenty
Grovemade
Skora
Woodblock Chocolate
