A company that allows US buyers to use an electronic trading platform to purchase overseas merchandise without needing to issue a letter of credit (L/C) has declared its first profit in its seven-year history.

Cyber Merchants Exchange (C-Me) announced in November its first profitable quarter when it posted gross sales of approximately US$1.8 million, with a net profit of approximately US$250,000 for the three-month period ending 30 September 2003.

Not all hi-tech

The company, which specifically targets customers in the clothing sector, has several strings to its bow in addition to its electronic trading platform.

C-Me builds systems for retailers to identify and order merchandise by computer while for non-US manufacturers it provides logistics services such as warehousing, shipping, and billing services.

Unlike some developers of electronic alternatives for L/Cs, C-Me is not purely a technology- or banking-based solutions provider and a large part of its turnover derives from activities not at all associated with electronic trading.

Global sourcing

The company says that more than half its turnover in the last full quarter - over US$1 million - derives from a trade show it puts on twice each year for US buyers to meet hundreds of ready-made garment exhibitors under one roof in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile the company, which describes itself as a global sourcing business for the apparel industry, has representatives in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East who by their physical presence help to facilitate international transactions.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or any of the other partners in DC-PRO.