Sales have been growing rapidly for Beauty Products International (BPI) of Malibu, Calif., a two-man export trading company founded 19 months ago.

After being involved in several business ventures together, partners James K. Yoder and Kent Post believed that the time was fight to form a company focused completely on international sales and marketing. Without any previous export experience, Yoder and Post attended an export seminar organized by the Los Angeles District Office of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration.We learned about the tools we needed to operate in foreign markets as well as the multitude of services and programs offered by the Department of Commerce,” Yoder said. Working closely with district office trade specialist Carlos Valderama, BPI employed such services, as Commercial News U.S.A., the monthly magazine for overseas agents that promotes the products and services of U.S. firms, the Agent Distributor Service (ADS) and the World Traders Data Report (WTDR) credit services.

“BPI can trace half of its overseas customers back to U.S. Commerce Department services,” Yoder claimed.

In May, 1987, at the suggestion of Valderama, BPI participated in the Rep/Com Trade Show in Mexico City, just one of the many trade shows organized by the Commerce Department to help U.S. companies locate sales agents. It took BPI over a year to satisfy the requirements for selling imported cosmetics in Mexico; this month, they received approval and an initial order from the Mexican agent they signed during Rep/Com 87. BPI expects this lead to produce at least $300,000 in annual sales. BPI anticipates it will derive a substantial portion of its sales in Japan, where it has developed a novel approach. Yoder said, “We have just completed a 30-day pilot program for nail enamel and lipstick in 50 outlets of a major Japanese retaller. The deal took over a year to negotiate and is geared toward moving all types of products in the future.”

This approach will pay off by April 1989. With the test marketing already concluded as one of the most successful pilot programs in the store’s history, the retailer has committed to placing BPI products in 3,000 of its retail outlets.

Persistence and innovation also was required of BPI in Korea. After filing numerous documents to gain approval for their cosmetics, they have completed transactions in Korea totaling $80,000 this year.

BPI emphasizes the development of intemal and external structures which facilitate efficient and competitive movement of goods and services. It approaches every product with long range and stable sales growth as the objective and places key importance on accommodating the specific requirements of each market.

Initially representing cosmetics from one U.S. manufacturer, BPI is moving quickly into a broad range of consumer products. As of this month, BPI represents five U.S. manufacturers and is working with agents and distributors in 14 countries. The firm expects to double both these figures by the end of 1989