How to find distributors in the Czech Republic
Post date: Aug 22, 2013 2:29:47 PM
A guide to finding distributors in the Czech Republic
Manufacturers who want to extend their marketing system reach the point where they understand that significant expansion will be posssible mainly when they begin to export the product; in fact a manufacturer who exports his goods increases the potential of selling his products by hundreds of per cent and the profits grow accordingly.
The Czech Republic as an international marketing target
Many manufacturers who consider entering the European market and/or expanding within the European market find the Czech Republic an interesting target because of the cheap operating costs relative to the EU and the Czech Republic’s central location in the European continent which enbles strategic expansion to neighbouring countries such as Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Germany, and Austria. Introducing a product to the Czech market is not at all simple; however companies which have managed to do so report a very loyal market and consumers who do not exchange their product for another one readily.
Making the decision to extend the company’s marketing environment to the Czech Republic has to come from a strategic analysis of the target sub-markets you aim at: examining the relative advantage of the specific product in the Czech market, whether from the point of view of technological innovation, or price, etc. If the product does not exist at all in the local market it is a good idea to examine the degree of feasibility of success in the Czech Republic. For this process, consulting experts who are familiar with the target country – the Czech Republic –is recommended.
Entering the Czech market
After analyzing the initial data and reaching conclusions on whether to go ahead, a decision has to be made as to how to do so. There are a number of possibilities:
Opening a branch / office of the company in the Czech Republic. For more information, click the link: Opening a company or a business in the Czech Republic
Setting up a designated website for the Czech public; marketing and sales throught the Internet.
Finding and employing an agent for the company who will market the company’s procucts to the local market.
Finding a distributor who specializes in the local market and in the field of the company’s products.
There are a large number of possibilities in international trade, and there is really no comprehensive answer suited to all products. Every product has its marketing mix and in every country the accepted procedures are different; it may be that a method that works very well in the Israeli market will not work in the European market and vice versa.
In this article we will expand on the points worth focusing on in order to make an informed decision in the field of marketing in the Czech Republic.
Local distributors in the Czech Republic
There are a number of types of distributors in the Czech Republic; in this article we will focus on the two main ones.
An exclusive distributor – a distributor who receives the exclusive right to distribute the supplier’s or the manufacturer’s products in the Czech Republic. On the whole the distributor will be the supplier’s or the manufacturer’s authorized distributor. Exclusivity will be decided on for a defined period.
A regular distributor – A regular distributor is a distributor who serves a number of suppliers at the same time. This distributor will usually will be a distributing company with many contacts in the Czech Republic who is able to manage and operate a number of distribution channels at the same time.
Do you want to grant exclusivity or not?
Supposedly, every manufacturer will aspire to join forces with a non-exclusive distributor, in order to increase his sales possibilities and enable other distributors to sell his products. However there are additional points which it is important to take into account when deciding whether to give exclusivity or not.
The big distribution companies who have the contacts and are best able to promote your product will in many cases demand exclusivity at the start of negotiations.
In order to receive exclusivity and retain it, the distributor has to commit to a particular quantity of purchases, which encourages him to make more efforts to sell the product.
A distributor will aspire to receive exclusivity for a long period, as sometimes he invests many marketing and financial efforts in order to introduce the product into the market and his efforts bear fruit only after a long period.
On the other hand, in the distribution agreement the manufacturer will aspire to reduce the period of exclusivity in order to enable other distributors to market his products.
The stages in looking for and finding a distributor for your products
The process of finding a distributor:
Making a decision as to whether to market abroad.
Defining a target country.
Defining fields of activity for the distributors - not every distributor can distribute every product There are also specialities in fields of distribution. It is important to know that a distributor of food products doesn’t understand anything about electronic products and his network of contacts accords with his specialization
Looking for reliable sources of information – accurate, high quality information is very important; is the Czech distributor you are looking for really as big as he seems from his website? Is his network of contacts in the Czech Republic sufficiently widespread? Does he have recommendations? Who checked them? It is important to remember that not every database supplies reliable information and it’s a good idea to meet with the distributor in his office in order to get an impression of him and his qualities. We can easily supply you with such a service, among other things, saving you a lot of money and a considerable investment of time.
You can consult us on this subject in one of the ways detailed on the contact page.
The differences between an agent and a distributor
In this table we have gathered for you the ten main differences between an agent who works for the Czech company and a local Czech distributor. In this way you can choose your preferred method of marketing.
The details in the table are not conclusive; conditions can change according to specific agreements signed with the relevant distributors.