Is Your Business Ready For International
Expansion?
“Sell International – Ship Locally”

Look Abroad For Growth
• U.S. brick/mortar retail sales are down; e-commerce up
• U.S. Dollar fluctuations make International look attractive
• Key markets to look at are Canada and Europe/UK
– Large markets and established marketplaces
– Good transportation modalities
– Growing online and e-commerce penetration
• Key questions
– How to sell internationally?
– Risks and rewards of entering these markets
– What to sell in these markets?
– How to build a “business engine” in these markets?
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Where to Sell?
• Follow Internet usage.
• What nations are wired. Source: ComScore “Canada
Opportunities” 4/09
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Retail Metrics for Retail/E-commerce
• Retail around the world (ComScore World Metrics 2009)
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Internet Usage World-Wide
• Consumer Internet usage world-wide
• Source: ComScore “Canada Opportunities” 4/09
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What to sell overseas
• Comscore US Market Q1 ’09
• E-commerce by market
• Parallels global buying patterns
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How to Attract Buyers
• Canada, U.K. and key European markets have established
marketplaces
• Canada and U.K. populations heavily rely on Search
(Source: ComScore “Canada Opportunities” 4/09)
• Take your U.S. best practices on search and apply to local
markets
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Expand Overseas
• Two models for expansion
– Direct shipping
– Move products in bulk to local market and “sell
locally”
• Set goals and roadmap your expansion
• Product selection
• Prepare In advance
• “Sell Internationally – Deliver Locally”
• Testing the market
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Direct Shipping from U.S. is Complex
 Good for merchants with DEEP catalogs that can’t focus
on best sellers
 Expensive shipping & returns nightmares
 Long time delays for buyers and CDT issues on buyer
 You will not “look local” to the buyer
 Save with: Consolidators, zone skipping
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Fortune 500 model
• Goods stored locally
• Save cost and time on import
• Competitive local shipping options
• Fast delivery times
• Less customs, duties and tax implications on buyer
• Local returns handling
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Set Goals
• Past sales review
– What have you sold internationally?
– What buyers did you turn away?
– Focus your international product catalog
• Pick one market and focus
• Focus & local research
– What marketplaces will drive buyers to your website
or listings?
– Any local keywords or “phrases” that describe your
products?
– Pay-Per-Click prices for regional keywords
– Directories and marketplaces to seed your keywords
– Local comparison shopping sites
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Focus on Select Products
• Questions to ask yourself
– How complex is your product catalog?
– What are your top sellers?
– Will your top sellers do well overseas?
• Start small and focused
– Identify the top 5-10 products in your catalog
– Reduce your inventory requirement
– Higher value products that are hard to get
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Get Products Into Market
• Move a small amount of product into the local market
• Move products in bulk through customs
– Trusted “National” customer broker
– Customs, duties and tax
– Know your “fully landed” product cost
• Send to your outsourced order fulfillment provider in the
local market
• Preparation
– Customers, duties and tax
– Business registration (aka “Tax ID”)
– Tax advisor if necessary
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Power of Local Fulfillment
• Focus on growth
• Happy customers
– Known shipping rates
– No surprise Duties
– Faster delivery
– Local Returns
• Scale without hassles
• No infrastructure investment
– Pay for what you use
– Keep cash in your pocket
– Scale or retreat sales as needed
• Build a machine and repeat in new marketplaces
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Small Business Retail Revolution
• 1996 Home business re-invented
• 2000 Instant online store introduced
• 2002 Online payments start getting easier
• 2003 Finding new customers made easy
• 2005 China trade barriers reduced
– Imports by SMBs surge:
5000 containers/day into LA port
– Storage & shipping is still do-it-yourself!
• 2008 Storage and shipping solved
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Elegant Process
Simplifies the Complex
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Fortune 500 model
• Immense cost
savings
• Delight buyers
• Local
– Carriers
– Returns
– Storage
• An engine for
GROWTH
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Resources
• Full write-up of “Go International – Ship Local”
– http://www.practicalecommerce.com/blogs
– http://www.practicalecommerce.com/blogs/post/498-Sell-
International-Deliver-Local-Part-1
– http://www.practicalecommerce.com/blogs/post/498-Sell-
International-Deliver-Local-Part-2
• Shipwire would like to advise your expansion
– http://www.shipwire.com
– info@shipwire.com
– 888-SHIPWIRE
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