If you want to sell your product in a country, you mostly need a wholesaler that can also act as your importer.
It strongly depends on your expectations of such an importer how easy you can find him.
If you just want to outsource the formalities and some logistics, you will easily find a party. If you look for an importer that will also find retailers or direct customers for your product, this may be more difficult.
If you want to have your product in retail or B2B sales channels, you may have to find an importer or wholesaler first. They will do important steps like:
It is always a good start to orient yourself on the bigger players in the market. However, for your product and positioning other channels may be better. So it is wise to orient yourself first on structure of the market and your options. Also check what your competition does!
Almost every country or trade block in the world has its own detailing on the international HS-code list. With our report you strongly reduce the risk on misclassifications, delays and higher custom duties than expected.
Tell us what you want to ship and where to and we ask you all relevant questions to get to the most likely code.
If you have a consumer product that you can’t sell directly from your home country to your end customer, you need at least one step in between. This can be a distributor, a big retailer directly, or it can be a large web shop. Each of them can function as an importer of record too. Let’s look at the pro’s and con’s of each option.
We always put a lot of emphasis on drafting a good distributor pitch. Even if you already have great sales materials for your end-users, this often does not make clear what the benefits are for a potential agent, distributor or retailer to work with you.
When you approach potential sales channels with your standard documentation, chances are high that they are holding of. If you make it crystal clear what are the benefits for them, like in the example presentation, you will get a much higher response rate.
Please note that it helps to put concrete data in your presentation. You may think it is sensitive, but just know the secret is in how you achieve the rotation or the low returns level, not in the data itself. So share it here, in order to get the right attention.
Alfred Griffioen, founder of Exporteers
In the past 15 years me and my colleagues have approached hundreds of agents, distributors, importers and retailers worldwide for brand owners aiming to sell their products abroad. In 2012 a call was enough to get a meeting. Today, you first have to send your pitch — and then hope that someone will answer.
The distributors needed to reach your clients already work with your competitors. They have invested in marketing, stock and sales, and they are making money. Asking them to switch to you means asking them to start all over again.
My experience is that if you only send a website or product catalogue, answers are rare. Numbers make the difference. Show expected volumes, margins, sales effort and investment. Show that there is a business case for them, not just for you.