NE W AF F I LI ATE Pure Relocation takes natural next step As Chinas Pure Relocation becomes the latest Affiliate in the country, Managing Director Dermot Whelan discusses recent challenges and future potential T Pure Relocation Managing Director Dermot Whelan here are always firms entering the market in China and some leaving but it is no different from most other East and Southeast Asian markets in industry participation. The top four market leaders in China are the same as in other regions, such as Thailand or Singapore. There are a couple of tier 2 companies with a regional or multiregional presence, followed by independents like Pure, which is in the third tier. The international segment of the market is shrinking. However, I think there are still opportunities for a company like us to expand partnerships with both corporates in China and partners overseas. Hopefully, our FIDI affiliation will help create some new opportunities for us. There is a parallel domestic moving market servicing local peoples need, but this is not our focus. Demand-wise, the business is still driven by people. The character of the relocation consultant or move manager still trumps the perceived value of the brand they represent or are in competition with. Sense of solidarity I think there is still a sense of solidarity with assignees, a we are in this together attitude. China can present a lot of challenges to foreigners and foreign companies it can also be a hugely rewarding assignment. I get a sense of this from my interactions with our transferees, who get the restraints/restrictions that we must operate under, appreciate the support we give them, and are often pleasantly surprised by the service experience, when compared with that of other service industries. Moving here remains a traditional business. We have adopted digitalisation, but so have most industries. The Some of the team at Pure Location first and last mile of a move often defines customer experience and this hasnt really changed much at all. China has superb physical transportation infrastructure, and the industry has benefited from the efficiencies that has brought. Within the next 10 years, Id say well be using all-electric trucks for intra-city transportation in most major urban areas. The impact of COVID has been and remains significant and the industry here has faced numerous challenges. Crews couldnt travel, customs offices were closed, port operations were affected, transferees could not return to China to pack up and so on. While the situation has stabilised somewhat, there has been an exodus of expats from China, during 2022 especially - where the two-month Shanghai lockdown this year was the catalyst. The zero-COVID policy remains a push factor both in terms of people leaving, and as a huge disincentive to people taking a new assignment. Rolling lockdowns, travel restrictions, cost of travel, quarantine requirements and school closures are among the factors that will mean weak inbound numbers for 2023 and perhaps beyond. Geopolitics and the looming global recession feed into investor sentiment also. Part of the plan We are a team of six at Pure and we have all had at least 10 years moving experience in China. It is a challenging business environment here, and our maturity and experience strengthens us as a company. Our business ethos is to be humble and try to do the right thing by our customers, partners and employees. We were really pleased to win the Harmony Quality award this year, after only our fourth year. We would not have achieved that without our collective experience. We support a couple of organisations that help underprivileged children and young adults with their education/ training. I am old enough to have enjoyed free university education in the UK, so I will try to pay that forward. Joining FIDI is a natural progression for us. Our focus is international moving and FIDI was always part of the plan. I am interested in the FIDI Academy and, while I am not much of a committee guy, we will hopefully be active members of FIDI. The next couple of years will be challenging for most industries. In the medium term, I think China will remain both a key market and important sourcing centre for a lot of multinationals. We are pretty nimble, and as long as we remain focused on our quality, and client and partner relations, then Im positive about the future. 69 FF308 Dec-Jan 23 pp69 New Affiliate.indd 69 05/12/2022 17:16