Marios Iacovou
CEO, Filuet
Brands that enter new markets need a partner with local knowledge and compliance expertise, says Marios Iacovou, CEO of global expansion company, Filuet.
How has the cross-border commerce landscape changed in recent years?
Covid-19 acted as a catalyst for ecommerce global expansion. After Covid-19, the geopolitical events of 2022 and now trade wars have changed. It’s now about compliance, localisation and outsourcing to companies that assist and enable international brands to set up and operate in new markets. Because while a retailer may know where they want to be in a certain market, they don’t know what they need in order to get there.
What challenges can retailers face when entering a new market?
When a retailer fails in a market, it’s usually because they don’t apply localised strategies. They don’t understand the market or local culture. Say, a brand wants to do business in an unfamiliar market like India. We can provide them with end-to-end management. We’ll ensure their products are locally compliant, take care of warehousing and logistics, connect them with local marketplaces and shipping solutions and — by leveraging technology — handle the legal and financial complexities of selling their products and services.
When a retailer fails in a market,
it’s usually because they don’t
apply localised strategies.
What can happen if retailers enter a new market without understanding it?
They’ll encounter difficulties in capturing their fair market share because they won’t have localised experience. Moreover, if they don’t understand compliance, they’ll face regulatory problems and may be forced to exit the market. The alternative is to partner with a company that knows the market, has the systems and personnel in place to handle all operational and compliance issues and can scale services up or down as required.
Why is it important to tap into new solutions without added friction?
Because new solutions and players will constantly appear in the market, including new payment providers or shipping solutions. Our clients don’t have to worry about being left behind by not having the ability to tap into those new players: it’s all taken care of on our unified platform. Similarly, if a brand has to exit the market for any reason, it makes it easy to scale down. So, brands should do what they do best — and outsource the rest.
