One overseas sales hire: new markets, plus IT and AI
Opportunity (public data)
- World stamping foil exports US$710M; Korea ranks 4th
- France, Brazil, Spain, Mexico: big importers, Korean share only 0.5 to 3%
- A new company: the moment to align website and email with the new name
- Support programmes can cut certification and trade-show costs
Sales
- AI-driven buyer search and scoring, tailored English proposals
- Start with 12 buyer prospects whose existence and business were checked
- Win on certification and 400+ designs
- Follow up existing accounts from month one; first samples within 90 days
IT and AI
- 30 days: website security, HTTPS, company-domain email
- 60 days: English online catalogue, customer records
- 90 days: automated quotes and export documents
- Costs reduced through AI training and other programmes
A US$710M world market; Korea is the 4th-largest exporter
2024 stamping foil exports (US$ million)
Trend
Korea -18%
2023: 46.5 → 2024: 55.4 → 2025: 45.2
China +42%
2023: 17.9 → 2024: 22.6 → 2025: 32.1
Response: compete on OEKO-TEX certification, design range, lead time and sample speed, not on price.
Big importers that buy little from Korea
| Country | Imports (US$M) | From Korea | Approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 41.6 | 0.5% | Open |
| Netherlands | 17.8 | 1.5% | Open |
| Brazil | 29.1 | 1.6% | Open |
| Spain | 24.8 | 2.0% | Open |
| Mexico | 20.5 | 2.9% | Open |
| Poland | 38.4 | 5.0% | Open |
| Germany | 24.9 | 27.7% | Grow |
| Türkiye | 26.8 | 16.0% | Grow |
| India | 43.9 | 13.3% | Grow |
| Italy | 55.2 | 7.3% | Grow |
Source: UN Comtrade, HS 321210 (stamping foils, incl. packaging and print uses), 2023 to 2025 reported trade. Korean share = Korea’s reported exports ÷ the country’s reported imports, approximate. The US and Canada come after understanding the company’s current sales arrangements.
Where to sell: 12 buyer prospects
Distributors, importers and direct users who could buy from us. Existence and line of business were checked on each company’s website (19 Oct 2026). US companies excluded.
| Country | Company | Type | Why they fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | Cold Foil India | Distributor | Wholesales leather animal-print and textile foils; same range |
| India | Colour King Foils | Importer | Imports textile and leather foils |
| Bangladesh | Moriom Tex | Direct user | Runs its own garment foil heat-transfer unit |
| Vietnam | Thanh Quan (TOPINK) | Direct user | Footwear and textile heat-transfer maker; no foil line yet |
| Türkiye | Sanalbayim | Importer | Textile transfer-film importer with a dealer network |
| Germany | Gröner-Schulze | Distributor | B2B wholesaler of textile hot stamping foil |
| Italy | Arcobaleno | Direct user | Leather finishing subcontractor in the Tuscan leather district |
| Spain | EUROTEXT | Distributor | Makes foil adhesives; sells in 30+ countries; bundle option |
| Mexico | SUMICORP | Distributor | Already sells imported foil for synthetic leather |
| Vietnam | An Cường | Decor sheet | PVC/PPET-faced MDF and plywood; 1,250 and 1,260 widths |
| Türkiye | Kastamonu | Decor sheet | PVC/PET foils on MDF; 0.2 to 0.4 mm films |
| Indonesia | LUKSLIEVE | Decor sheet | PET foil laminating line |
Some distributors also sell foil themselves, so the first contact asks whether they would resell ours. Operating status is reconfirmed on first contact, and any company Dongjin already deals with comes off the list.
Who we compete with, and where we meet buyers
Main competitors
- KURZ (Germany), Foilco (UK)
- UES Foils (Türkiye): the closest like-for-like rival in textile, leather and crystal foils
- Microfilm (Italy), 2A Foils (Spain)
- Chinese makers (Hongcai, JinSui and others)
- Decor sheet: LX Hausys, Hyundai L&C, RENOLIT
Trade shows
| Show | Dates | City |
|---|---|---|
| AYSAF | 11 to 13 Nov 2026 | Istanbul |
| Lineapelle | 23 to 25 Feb 2027 | Milan |
| APLF Leather | 31 Mar to 2 Apr 2027 | Hong Kong |
| FESPA Global | 6 to 9 Apr 2027 | Munich |
| interzum (decor) | 11 to 14 May 2027 | Cologne |
| Shoes & Leather VN | 14 to 16 Jul 2027 | Ho Chi Minh City |
From official show websites (FESPA from trade press). Booth costs cut through export-support programmes.
A new company: the right moment to refresh website and email
| Item | Today | After the change |
|---|---|---|
| Site engine | WordPress 4.4.1 (2016 build) | Current version with security updates |
| Multilingual | A plugin no longer supported | A supported multilingual feature |
| Secure connection | Opens over http only | HTTPS; no browser warning for buyers |
| Main email | A web-portal address | Company-domain email for more trust in export deals |
Day 30
Security updates, HTTPS, company email, backup check
Day 60
English online catalogue (search 400+ foils), buyer inquiries and records
Day 90
Draft quotes, invoices and export documents automatically; reorder reminders
Only the public website was checked (19 Oct 2026); no internal systems were accessed. Company data is never edited: exported data is analysed and automated outside.
AI adoption, certification, trade shows: costs cut by support programmes
SME AI training
100%
AI adoption consulting and training, up to KRW 7.83M (Ministry of Employment and Labor; 20+ staff preferred)
Overseas certification
50 to 70%
Ministry of SMEs up to KRW 100M (OEKO-TEX, GRS, REACH); Yangju City 70%, up to KRW 7M
Yangju trade-show support
KRW 3M
Booth and shipping costs reimbursed; bonus points for firms under 5 years old
Source: 2026 notices on Bizinfo (checked 21 Oct 2026). 2027 timing estimated from 2026 notices; eligibility confirmed before applying. I handle eligibility checks, applications and settlement.
Thirteen years of working across borders, brought to this role
13 years in global IT, mostly as Korea’s only IT lead
Netflix (Eyeline Studios), Trip.com, Agoda, P&G, LEGOLAND Korea, CLO Virtual Fashion
Cross-border negotiation and sourcing
LEGOLAND: when supply chains broke, negotiated 120+ devices into free used rental to keep opening day. Trip.com: country-by-country sourcing and lead times across Europe, Middle East and the Americas
Trade and sales foundations
Certified Foreign Exchange Specialist; three years as an SAP CRM implementation consultant; Master’s from UTS Sydney; working Korean and English
Overseas trips, hands-on builds, Yangju
IT support trips and regional IT team meetings in Australia, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. School IT infrastructure in Cambodia with a local ISP contract (2026). Based in Yangju, commuting by car, looking for a long-term role
A long-term role in Yangju, with results you can measure
| Role | Share | First-year targets |
|---|---|---|
| Overseas sales (main) | 70% or more | Contact 100 buyers, sample 20, close the first new contract |
| IT and AI (second) | Up to 30% | HTTPS and company email, English online catalogue, at least one automation |
The target numbers are my starting proposal; we would adjust them together after seeing the real accounts and production capacity.
This page was built with AI in three days (19 to 21 Oct 2026)
To show how I would run overseas sales, here is exactly how this was made. I set the direction and made the calls; research, drafting and checking were done with AI (Claude).
- Market data: queried UN Comtrade trade statistics with AI and calculated imports, exports and Korean share by country.
- Buyer search: an AI research agent went through trade-show exhibitor lists and company websites to find 20 prospects; each site was then re-checked for being live and for the key claims, leaving 12. No company was made up.
- Support programmes: collected original Bizinfo notices with AI and checked amounts, eligibility and timing.
- Product study: read and summarised the product and specification pages of the public website.
- Outputs: presentation decks (Korean and English), submission PDFs, the CV and this web page, all produced with AI and reviewed by me.