CLARIFY · 02
North America Market Entry
We settle where North America opens first.
Advisory, monthly and open-ended · Full programme, six months
Entering North America is hard less because the market is unfamiliar and more because every decision arrives at once, each one holding the others in place.
Which channel first, where the price sits, how logistics are built — none of these settle alone. Move one and the rest move with it. This service is about the order.
You'd use this when
- Entry is agreed, the first channel isn't, and the meetings keep repeating
- A retailer meeting has come up and you are unsure what to bring
- US-first or Canada-first keeps reversing
- A local partner has made an offer and there is no basis for judging it
How the full programme actually runs
Product range, price structure, previous export history. We also confirm what head office has to approve before anything moves.
Start without knowing that and everything stops later.
Channel and region candidates, each with its conditions and lead times. Most lists come down to two or three here.
Material in the form retailers actually read, with pricing, logistics and marketing support settled alongside it.
Meetings get scheduled and terms get reworked against the feedback.
This stretch runs on their calendar, so it is the hardest to predict.
Findings become an executable plan; if ACTIVATE follows, we carry it straight through.
Two ways to do this
Monthly, no commitment. One standing session plus asynchronous questions between them.
Attach it when a decision is due, stop when it isn't.
Right for teams with people to execute but no basis to decide.
Six months as the baseline. From channel selection to the first activation, we carry what sits between.
After that, continue monthly or close it out, as you prefer.
What to know about scheduling
North American retailer category reviews open on a set rhythm. Miss the cycle and the next opening is usually two quarters out.
So an entry timeline is set by their calendar, not by our pace. What comes first depends on what month it is now.
That is the first thing we check.
What you're left with
- 01Channel priorities and the reasoning behind them
- 02One complete set of retailer-facing material
- 03A review of the pricing and logistics structure
- 04The order of execution for the next two quarters
- 05A record of who was approached and what came back, so nobody restarts from zero
What we need from you
- 01Product range and cost structure. A range is enough where it's confidential
- 02Previous international attempts, including the ones that didn't work
- 03Your decision structure. Who approves what
- 04Around two hours a month from one person
What counts as success
We agree the measure before starting. Usually it is a sentence — which channel, when, on what terms — with its first step actually underway.
We don't promise the contract itself. That decision belongs to the other side.
If the shelf is already live, the Retail Presence Diagnostic is faster.
When this isn't the right service
If you already hold a retailer agreement and the shelf is live, the diagnostic is the faster route.
If North American revenue is needed inside three months, this doesn't fit. Approval and inbound lead times alone consume that.
If entry itself is still undecided, take the advisory for a month or two and decide from there.