Find international distributors & retail sales channels

In this article you will find more information on the retail market and guidance on how to convince retailers and distributors to work with you.

How to start? With distributors, retailers or online?

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 (who also acts as wholesaler or importer), a big retailer directly, or it can be a large web shop. Let’s look at the pro’s and con’s of each option.

Distributors

• Distributors are used to import, store and physically distribute a product.
• They normally don’t invest in promoting your product to consumers.
•  They are the best chance to get your product in the market so that you can gather sales data.

Large retailers

• Retailers are very risk averse, may ask for a listing fee before  they put your product on the shelves.
• They can help you promote your product in their stores and in their magazines, but will also ask a fee for this.
• They are the quickest route to the mass market, if you can convince them.

Online

• Specialised web shops may have a greater interest in your product than general web shops.
• They can experiment more easily with pricing and ways of promoting.
• Volumes may be lower, but working with web shops is still a good way to collect reviews and get brand awareness.

For fast moving consumer goods everybody want to work with the main retailers, but it may be a better strategy to find a distributor first who can help you to get your products in smaller chains or individual stores, and then help you to get to the big names. Or to start online.

Key question of any distribution partner: how much will I earn?

Distributors, retailers and web shops are risk averse, they know the portfolio they have and tend to be happy with it. They can’t just add a product or service to their range, since it will cannibalize on others:

• A retailer has to take another product from the shelf to make space.
• A web shop only can push about 20 products on the home screen, the rest is in the ‘long tail’.
• A wholesaler with representatives will only offer his retail clients a limited choice to increase the chances on a sales transaction. If they push your product, they need to stop pushing another one.

This means that you have to clearly show a potential channel partner the benefits of working with you. Often brand owners or manufacturers see it as the task of the distribution partner to search for the possibilities in the market for their product and to make the marketing plan. This may work if you are a famous brand in a neighbouring country, but not if you are unknown in a market.

Convince foreign distributors with numbers, not with stories

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.

How to draft your distributor pitch?

You should 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.