‘Slandering Match’ Refused

Press, Volume CV, Issue 30976, 4 February 1966, Page 1

‘Slandering Match’ Refused

“We know very well that we could have a jolly good slandering match, in general, but it would not get us anywhere,” said the leader of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce trade mission (Mr H. Baskerville) in Christchurch yesterday, referring to criticism of British products, services, and prices in New Zealand.

“The thing to do is to get down to specific cases of bad service from Great Britain. “If that is done, members of the mission from the business houses will check this matter through the chamber of commerce organisation in Great Britain.” Mr Baskerville’s remarks were made after the presi-

dent of the Canterbury Manufacturers’ Association (Mr C. W. Mace) had spoken at a reception for the Birmingham visitors in the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce hall. “Isn’t it a wonderful thing on both sides of the world to have a sense of humour so that we can have a crack at one another,” Mr Baskerville said. “You have demonstrated by direct speaking that you are not decrepit. And neither are we.” Mr Mace, a few minutes earlier, said that although many British companies did a first-class job in selling to New Zealand, many had poor catalogues and little sales data available, compared with, say, the United States or Australia.

“Many try to sell machinery worth thousands of pounds from a single duplicated sheet,” said Mr Mace. “This is not as uncommon as you might imagine. “Many are very slow in answering correspondence.

One took five months to reply about some equipment worth about £75,000. There were four letters from New Zealand, plus letters and telephone calls from the New Zealand firm’s London buyers, before a reply was finally obtained.”

Some British designs, he said, were behind those of the United States, Australia, and the Continent.

Often no British spares were readily available, said Mr Mace.

“Agents are often not kept informed on the product to make a final sale. .And some agents are not taking an active interest in your products to make a sale.” British suppliers, said Mr Mace, should do what they could to give better deliveries.

“Remember the shipping time factor, which acts against you,” Mr Mace said. “Often British exporters wait to book space until large machinery orders are com-

pleted, and this results in shipping delays. “About eight months ago we got a delivery promise of four months on a machine worth about £6OOO. So, having met the managing director a few months earlier, I wrote to see if he could improve delivery, only to be told that it would now be seven months.”

The photograph below was taken at Christchurch airport yesterday. It shows, from left to right, the British Trade Commissioner for the South Island (Mr P. C. Burdett), the deputyleader of the Birmingham mission (Mr E. J. Turner), Mr Mace shaking hands with Mr Baskerville, the president of the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce (Mr B. J. Drake), and the senior assistant secretary of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce (Mr J. K. Warburton).