A manufacturer of white goods from Southern Europe wanted to enter the German market. Initial efforts through a multi-brand-representative were not deemed successful given the estimated market volume in Germany.

The client approached us to assess options and to help implement these options. We offered a project structure which included the following steps

1.    Initial assessment of the product and its position
2.    Market entry strategy together with a branding strategy and respective marketing material
3.    Sales channel strategy
4.    The initial steps of implementation.

As a first step we investigated  the product and its competitive environment in depth. The market was clearly divided into two segments (Discount and Premium), with differing competitive situations.

Based on this initial analysis we suggested a market entry strategy, deciding firstly to introduce a limited product range to the German market. Alongside the entry strategy we developed a branding strategy and, together with a partner, developed respective marketing materials.

Now that we were able to demonstrate the product range better, we conducted interviews with representatives of various sales channels resulting in a very clear view of which sales channels promised to be most successful (and accessible).

After getting approval for the entry strategy and the sales channel strategy, we helped the client to set-up the sales channels. Legal issues were resolved by a partner. In order to assist the client, we provided an interims manager for the first month who hired additional staff. After this initial period, operations were fully handed over to the client.