A Touch of Cape Breton Christmas in America
More than 50 people in two communities are helping to grace thousands of New England homes this holiday season with the freshness and beauty of the Cape Breton Highlands.
The employees of Cabot Trail Wreath Exporters Ltd. are busy crafting Christmas wreaths, "kissing balls," and evergreen centre-pieces from freshly harvested Highland brush. The holiday decorations are being snapped up by customers at stores in the northeastern United States, a result of some one-on-one deal- making made possible by Nova Scotia Economic Development's trade missions to New England.
"Without hesitation, all Nova Scotia companies should take advantage of this opportunity to explore the feasibility of marketing their products and services to the American Atlantic seaboard probably the largest market in the world," said Len Brown, managing director of Cabot Trail Wreath Exporters Ltd.
It's the success and enthusiasm of companies like Cabot Trail Wreath Exporters that are behind the department's commitment to trade missions, with an emphasis on eastern United States. The most recent, to Boston and Washington, took place this past week and involved 17 companies in the high-technology sector.
"We truly value the trade relationship we've developed with Americans, " said Economic Development Minister Gordon Balser, who led this latest mission. "Our focus on the United States is helping to introduce local companies to the tremendous advantages of doing business south of the border."
Nova Scotia exports increased by 8.2 per cent last year. That's almost twice the increase of the previous two years combined and ahead of the national average.
Cabot Trail Wreath Exporters took part in two trade missions to Boston in the fall and followed up with a business trip of its own in November. The result has been a wreath-making boon for two dozen employees at its operation in Belle Cote, on the Cabot Trail's west side, and for another 28 employees at the company's North Sydney site.
In all, they're fashioning 18,000 Christmas wreaths, 5,000 kissing balls (glorified versions of the humble mistletoe) and 2,000 table centre-pieces destined to decorate homes and offices across New England this holiday season. The wreaths range in sizes from the modest door variety to the arm-span-wide building adornment.
"Not too shabby for a small company that's gone to Boston," said Mr. Brown. "In my opinion, if you have a good quality product, you can sell it anywhere with a bit of legwork and some good marketing. We have a top-quality product, so what the provincial trade mission program offered us was the opportunity to go into New England and make some business connections. Our expectations regarding market expansion were far exceeded."
Nova Scotia already has a strong holiday presence in New England, delivering the giant evergreen lit each year with much fanfare at Boston's Prudential Center. The tree is a traditional thank-you from the people of Nova Scotia for New Englanders' help following the devastating Halifax Explosion of 1917.
"The Christmas connection is already there; what smart businesses like Cabot Trail Wreath Exporters are doing is building on that connection and capitalizing on the Nova Scotia brand," said Mr. Balser.
This year, Economic Development has led 11 trade missions to New England, a quarter of the total. The 91 companies that participated prior to this past week's mission have generated more than $106 million in projected sales. Each New England mission has cost on average $11,000.
A businessman for some 35 years, Mr. Brown describes himself as "old school" and says he believes nothing can match the personal touch when doing business being able to look a customer in the eye and concluding the deal with a firm handshake.
Personal contact can also reveal other potential profit-making enterprises not visible from afar, he said. For example, one immediate benefit of the trade mission was identifying kissing balls and centre-pieces not just wreaths as hot items south of the border this season.
Mr. Brown is quick to give praise to Economic Development consultants and staff at its Boston office. He urged fellow businesses to consider making the investment in transportation and accommodation required to take part in a trade mission, so they too can assess firsthand the business potential of the economic boom in New England.