International Market Entry · Ontario, Canada → United Kingdom, Germany & France
From £0 to £2.2m across three new markets in 12 months
A Canadian architectural-components business wanted to establish a route into the UK and wider Europe. We rejected a conventional distributor model, built a project-partner network across the UK, Germany and France, and helped generate approximately £2.2m of new-market turnover within 12 months.
Client / sector
Euro Architectural Components — Architectural components — railing, fence & glass systems
Location
Ontario, Canada
Market
United Kingdom, Germany & France
Service provided
European Market Entry, UK Market Entry, Sales Strategy, Business Development, Project Generation
The challenge
Euro Architectural Components (Euro EAC) is an established Canadian business supplying architectural components across railing, fence and glass applications, with its head office and warehouse in Woodbridge, Ontario. In the UK and its target European markets, however, it was starting from nothing: effectively £0 of turnover.
There was no established UK route to market, no meaningful brand presence in the target markets, no project-partner network and no pipeline in the UK, Germany or France. The plan was UK first, then Germany and France.
The commercial challenge was therefore not finding leads. It was creating a functioning European route to market from a standing start.
The objective
Establish the United Kingdom as the first European entry market and build a working route into it.
Determine the right commercial model for the product and the way its projects are actually bought.
Build a partner network capable of accessing projects and supporting customers locally.
Extend the same model into Germany and France once the UK route was developing.
What we did
01
UK market-entry strategy
Established the UK as the first European entry market, defined the commercial route into it and began building the relationships needed to create real opportunities rather than a contact list.
02
Route-to-market design
Assessed distributor, direct-sales and partner-led options. A conventional distributor model was not selected as the primary route. Rather than forcing a standard distributor template into the market, we developed a project-partner approach better aligned with how the products would actually reach projects and customers.
03
Project-partner development
Identified, approached and developed suitable project partners across the target territories — businesses able to access projects, support customer requirements, hold local relationships and convert opportunities into revenue.
04
UK market development
Built commercial presence and activity in the United Kingdom from effectively zero, developing project opportunities and relationships directly rather than waiting for enquiries.
05
Germany & France expansion
Once the UK route had begun to develop, the same commercial model was extended into Germany and France, with project-partner relationships established and opportunities developed in both markets.
06
Project and business development
Ongoing commercial development across all three markets: partner development, project generation, commercial conversations, pipeline creation and conversion of opportunities into revenue.
The outcome
£0 → £2.2m
New-market turnover in 12 months
12 months
Growth period
3
New markets — UK, Germany & France
Project partners
Route to market established
New-market turnover grew from £0 to approximately £2.2m within approximately 12 months. That figure relates to turnover generated by the new UK and European market-development activity, not total corporate turnover.
Three markets — the UK, Germany and France — were opened through a project-partner model rather than conventional distribution.
Euro EAC moved from effectively zero brand presence in the target markets to an established commercial presence, with partners, projects and revenue being generated.
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Whether you're trying to generate more opportunities, strengthen your sales operation or enter a new market, start by understanding what's currently holding growth back.