Gobi is launching their online shop www.us.gobicashmere.com today at 09:00 AM (New York time). Accordingly, we interviewed Ariunaa Batchuluun, director of Foreign Trade (the USA and Asia) of the GOBI cashmere corporation.

Today is a very important day for Gobi cashmere. I would like to start the interview with huge congratulations on your launch into a new market.

Thank you very much. Yes, indeed it is an important day for Gobi cashmere. We are launching our Gobi cashmere USA online store www.us.gobicashmere.com today at 09:00 AM New York time. We are excited to bring our products even closer to our current and future customers in the United States.

I’m curious about the special launch surprises. Are you going to have anything special for the launching?

Of course, there will be some surprises. Very special ones indeed. We are staring “Feel the real cashmere” campaign for the Gobi cashmere USA launch. As Gobi cashmere is comparingly new brand to the majority of the cashmere lovers in the USA, we would like them to buy the first items for a surprisingly reasonable price and feel the touch of real cashmere.

All Gobi cashmere products are on sale up to -70% for limited-time. Purchasing 100% cashmere garments at this price upon the chilly, cold season and right before the holiday season is a rare opportunity for sure. As we want people to buy and feel our product, for the first 500 purchases we will give 100% pure cashmere socks for free.

Gobi cashmere products have already appeared in the USA market as I understand. What are the special features of this launch?

Gobi has been exporting cashmere products to the USA for quite some time. But it was franchise sales. Today we are finally opening our official subsidiary company in Los Angeles. The company office will be based in LA and will run an online shop in the USA. For the long run, we are aiming to be able to operate throughout the South and North American continents. E-Commerce is a huge platform which is growing at an unprecedented rate all over the world. Thus, we are going to operate an online shop as well.

Does that mean a customer anywhere in the USA can order Gobi products and get it delivered to their home?

Yes. Gobi products will be delivered to anywhere in the USA within 24-48 hours. Of course, as we all know, the USA has big territories, for states such as Alaska and Hawaii it will take a bit longer. Time is indeed valuable in the modern world and online shopping is growing rapidly worldwide. Especially in the case of America, the country with 51 states, the online shopping and delivery system are extremely developed. We will offer the best quality delivery service and advanced technological options as well.

Online shopping is a huge market. How much growth do you expect in the sales volume?

We aim to sell one million products through online shopping in the USA within one year. It might sound big and ambitious comparing to our previous sales volume, but we see the potential to reach our goal with our prior focus on the market and being an active player in the industry. Our colleagues and all Gobi family are working hard to reach this goal.

There could be a question if cashmere is highly demanded in the USA as the weather is relatively warm in some areas of the USA.

When it comes to cashmere products, we used to imagine warm cashmere sweaters, hats, and scarves that are usually worn during the winter. But that is quite traditional and more likely outdated imagination, if I may say. New concept that Gobi cashmere offers to the customers is to feel cozy, comfortable in your high-quality soft cashmere garment, regardless of the weather condition or which season it is. We produce all types of cashmere clothing items that are suitable to wear in any season and during any types of occasions.

Which products are predicted to be the most popular ones on the USA market? How do you see your target groups?

Looking at the American and European consumerism, they are usually interested in knit products such as cashmere sweaters, accessories and cashmere shawls, etc. GOBI has become the world’s number one coat company in terms of 100% cashmere production volume. Gobi factory is capable to produce 160’000 pieces of coats per year. Our cashmere coats are 2-3 times lighter than the traditional wool coats and they are very warm and cozy. Cashmere coats, cashmere sweaters, main knit and woven accessories are the main products we are highlighting at this stage. Gobi Cashmere is offering high quality guaranteed, available in unisex option, free size cashmere products to the USA market for all genders, ages, and body types. We are aiming to the customers who wants to use high quality, luxurious products with affordable price. 100% organic, hand combed, locally sourced and locally made cashmere products will be offered with very reasonable price in various types of designs and options.

Big markets like America requires special attention to fashion design?

Our main design team consists of the most talented Mongolian designers who have years of experience in the cashmere industry that knows the textile. In addition to that, in order keep up with the latest world fashion trends and standard, and enrich our brand design solutions, we collaborate with international highly skilled fashion designers from Italy, Germany, and Spain. We regularly participate in the fashion shows and the annual fashion events in Italy, to get the inspiration and to keep ourselves ahead of modern trends.

Is Gobi cashmere becoming the first Mongolian company that solely focuses on online shopping?

In terms of the production volume and target market range, yes. Today we are launching www.us.gobicashmere.com. We already operate other online shops in different markets. www.gobicashmere.com is operating successfully in the European market. We have www.gobi.ru in Russia and www.taobao.gobicashmere.com in China.

If we see the products volume, design variety, target market size, Gobi is becoming the first Mongolian cashmere brand that is going into the eCommerce platform. Hence, we see this as a matter of honor to pioneer to introduce a Mongolian cashmere brand in the world eCommerce platform at this extended level. We hope this will draw a fine path for other Mongolian brands to the world market as well.

The USA is in the process of approving the Third Neighbor Trade Act for Mongolia. There is no doubt that this will help facilitate the cashmere sector. There is a criticism that the cashmere sector is a small matter to discuss?

Agricultural products, production, and export are of great importance to our country. In a related context, our sector’s officials presented this law to the USA and now they are working closely with the Congressmen, who initiated this law, as well. We put great importance to this and support the idea very much as we are the oldest cashmere manufacturer in Mongolia and the main player owns the 85% of domestic market share. The agricultural sector is very important to Mongolia as we have more than 800,000 households as a country level, and 220,000 of them are herder families. Their daily income is solely dependent on livestock and agricultural products. Numerous amounts of people starting from the herders to the factory workers and employees and their families benefit from the cashmere industry value chain.

How about some issues related to the cashmere and how you collect it?

When we learn the matter from the scientific perspective and talking with herders, goats do not damage the pastureland alone as it is shown in the media. From a different perspective, it is important to understand that taking the cashmere out of the goats is a help to the goats. During the long harsh winter of Mongolia, goats grow long fiber as the undercoat. When the harsh winter ends, it gets loose between the hair and to put the goats at ease, herders hand-comb it off every spring. It helps them to endure the hot summer and prevents to grow external parasites under their hair as well. Therefore, we can say taking out the cashmere from the goats by hand is the traditional method of prevention. Mongolian traditional nomadic way of coexisting with livestock gives the special feature of differentiation to cashmere sourced from Mongolian land, in terms of care for the goats and cruelty-free way of treatment.

Shall we end our interview by giving information on how the agricultural sector benefits the economy and what are those benefits?

Another reason why we are specifying this sector is that the main developing sectors such as mining and construction are male-dominated. But on the other hand, this causes unemployment for women and single mothers and increase the demand for women to work. There are more than 3-4 people behind single mothers including children and parents. Our industry could be seen as a female-dominated work environment. Our factory has over 2,800 employees, and more than 75% of them are women. Hence, American congresswomen are putting great importance in this matter as well. One of the few sectors of Mongolia that that is capable of improving the women’s livelihood and increasing the women’s employment is our sector and this is why we are supported by the Trade Act as well. Also, I’d like to point out that exporting value-added products that are made in Mongolia than exporting large quantities of raw materials that could not make it to products, is a huge contribution to the economy.

Thank you for sharing the news with our readers. Wish you and your team good luck for the big launch and the further endeavors!

Thank you very much.