Arnoud from Xinzuo.com

While studying Econometrics in Groningen, Arnoud wanted to start something for himself. He started building webshops and selling powerbanks, but soon started looking for products that interested him personally. The many blunt knives in the kitchen drawer of his dorm gave him the idea to start selling Damascus steel knives on Bol.com. And the cooperation he entered into for that purpose with the Chinese knife brand Xinzuo was such a success that Arnoud decided to focus entirely on this brand. He is now the official distributor of Xinzuo in the Netherlands and Belgium.

'I ordered and tested a number of knives at the time, including those from Xinzuo,' says Arnoud. 'These were superior to the alternatives in every way: they were beautifully finished knives that stayed sharp for a long time. Moreover, they were knives made of Damascus steel with beautiful Damascus patterns, which at that time had hardly penetrated the Dutch market. That made it completely attractive.

'Growth is well underway'

Since October 2023, the branded web shop has been live. And growth is well underway, according to Arnoud. 'Meanwhile, knives and kitchen accessories are sold daily and the webshop scores very well, with an average rating of 9.8 from more than 80 reviews.' The target group consists, on the one hand, of professional chefs looking for quality and affordability. On the other hand, the shop targets starters who want to furnish their new home with stylish, professional kitchen tools. 'But quality kitchen knives are actually a good investment for anyone who likes to cook. And that's a lot of people. In addition, our knives are often given as gifts.'

Working together for faster growth

Xinzuo Netherlands is part of the global brand Xinzuo, a Chinese company with more than 500 employees. Arnoud's company is for now still a sole proprietorship. 'I do get help from friends and family when needed. Recently, I started working with a fulfillment partner and a marketing agency to grow the webshop faster. All orders go through the fulfillment center, but if customization is involved I often do it myself anyway. Even if there is a return once, it goes through me.' 'Otherwise, my workday ranges from customer service, purchasing, communication with the supplier, processing purchase orders and communication with the fulfillment center and the marketing agency, to keeping an eye on the effectiveness of SEA and social ads and offers. A lot of time also goes into preparing campaigns and events. Not to mention, of course, the administration. The next step is to hire a part-time, or hopefully even full-time, employee.'

Preconceptions

Arnoud still sometimes encounters prejudices about the quality of Chinese products. 'When people think of a unique and high-quality knife, they quickly think of Japanese knives. Japanese blacksmiths are known for the enormous amount of time and attention they devote to crafting knives, resulting in handmade masterpieces. The combination of high-quality Japanese steel (because Japan is also known for this) and the craftsmanship of the blacksmiths is what makes these knives so popular.' 'However, the Japanese knife market cannot handle global demand, which is not good for availability and prices. The Chinese knife market can handle demand and produces more cheaply, but suffers from the many fake brands and false claims like 'made in Japan,' so consumers don't trust Chinese brands.'

Authentic craftsmanship

'But actually Xinzuo's knives are well comparable to Japanese knives,' Arnoud explains. 'Our knives are made in YangJiang. That is the knife city of China, where knives have been produced for over 1,400 years. The knowledge and craftsmanship present there are just as impressive as in Japan. Xinzuo combines this craftsmanship with quality steel from around the world (such as ZDP189 and SRS13 steel from Japan). That makes Xinzuo's knives comparable to Japanese knives.' 'Its quality is confirmed internationally by well-known chefs and connoisseurs of knives such as ChefPanko and The Bamboo Guy. In addition, the knives are used in a number of starred Italian restaurants. Because production costs are lower in China than in Japan, we can offer an incredibly strong and also affordable range compared to our competitors.'

Recognizing quality

'Judging a knife is difficult at first glance,' says Arnoud. 'Moreover, what works well is very personal. How good a knife actually is, you only notice after intensive use, although professionals can of course recognize this more quickly. The most important part of a knife is the steel used. The steel determines how heavy, strong and flexible the knife is, how sharp it can get, how long it stays sharp and how easy it is to sharpen.'

'Customers don't know if they can trust an unfamiliar webshop'

People who visit the webshop usually don't know the Xinzuo brand yet. And they don't know if they can trust an unknown webshop. That was the main reason for Arnoud to join WebwinkelKeur. 'It confirms to customers that my webshop adheres to the relevant regulations. In addition, reliable reviews verify the quality of the webshop. Without the trustmark and these reviews, many customers would drop out.'

Happy customers

Every time he receives a notification about a new review, he opens it enthusiastically. 'I really enjoy reading when customers are happy with the products, the website, the service provided and shipping speed. I haven't had a negative review yet, but this would obviously trigger me to solve problems immediately.' The review requests are sent automatically and verified by Webwinkelkeur. 'In addition, I make every effort to help customers optimally with their purchase. If a customer is not satisfied, neither am I. I always think with the customer until he or she is satisfied. And if they are not, I prefer to give the purchase price back. I notice that customers appreciate this approach enormously and therefore often leave an (extra positive) review.'

Everything possible for satisfied customers

Arnoud tries to have everything in order and to do things just a little better than his competitors. When a customer has a special request, I pull out all the stops to make it happen. For example, it sometimes happens that a customer wants to buy a combination of knives as a set while we do not offer them that way. I then open several packages, put the set together neatly and offer it at an appropriate set price.' 'Here I have quite a lot of work in terms of administration and replacing the packaging, but that doesn't matter if the customer is happy with it. Another example is a customer who recently asked me to pack the products. To this I went to get wrapping paper and bows and made something beautiful. The customer did not expect this and let me know in a review that they were very happy with it.'

Wide range

What is Arnoud most proud of? The fact that I set up the webshop in a relatively short time and can already offer a wide assortment of more than 300 unique items. The webshop is doing extremely well, with more than 1,000 orders so far and only satisfied customers. The best thing about running this webshop is that, so far, customers are always extremely happy with what they get. The positive feedback that comes from this motivates me enormously to keep doing it this way.

In time, a physical store

And what are the plans for the future? 'In January I am going to participate in Horecava, a trade fair for the hospitality industry. I hope to convince many hospitality entrepreneurs of Xinzuo there. This could give an enormous boost to the growth of the brand in the Netherlands. After that, I want to hire someone as soon as possible, so that Xinzuo Netherlands can grow even faster. In the longer term, I think it would be great to open a physical store. A store where people can spontaneously walk in to see and try out our knives. That would really be an end goal!

Check out Xinzuo's membership page here.

Photo above by NIKI Photogrphr.