I think that there is demand for an alternative to BFL because many (myself included) do not like their business practices. If you have a competitive product then I'm sure that somebody would be willing to act as a distributor / retailer to handle the shipping for you (and to earn some money).
The license and permission of selling products to either direct customers or retailers in China are a little more painful to get. But you are right, it should still be taken into account as a possibility. Thanks for your suggestion.
The Bitcoin community would welcome a competing ASIC option to BFL with open arms. If you need proof of this just check out the responses and orders going on in the Enterpoint thread for a product that barely even works. The openbitASIC discussion is another great example of people clamoring for another option. A company that does ASICs right is a company that will win loyal customers. I firmly believe people put up with BFL because the rewards currently outweigh the difficulties. Hell, I even considered purchasing a few Singles myself..
Otherwise, another mining company, regardless of how the hashes are generated, is just another mining company.