How to find a distributor for your product in a new country

Write down your requirement: "a company in [country] that buys [product], holds stock and sells to [retailers or workshops]". The Facilities row of the scorecard in Step 3 checks the stock part. This is the partner the ICC Model Distributorship Contract is written for: a company that buys and resells, or an importer that organises distribution in its own country.

Use the word "distributor", not "agent", in your messages and in the contract. trade.gov notes that in some countries the word agent implies power of attorney, so the contract must state whether the company is a legal agent.

Check the number of companies that already import your product in the country you are considering. The counts below come from import records filed in the United States and the United Kingdom. These are company-level customs records from a commercial trade-data provider. They count importers on record, and distributors are only part of that number. The same records also include retailers that import directly and other trade buyers.

For household plastics, the United Kingdom records show 130 importers of plastic household goods (HS 392490), with 2,137 shipments. They show 86 importers of rubber gloves (HS 401519), with 917 shipments.

The records also show where the shipments came from. India supplied about 85% of United Kingdom stainless steel kitchenware shipments on record and about 75% in the United States. For auto parts, India supplied about 96% of shipments in the United Kingdom and about 47% in the United States. Vietnam supplied about 60% of United Kingdom plastic household goods shipments. These are shares of shipments. They do not show which buyers are distributors. Use them for pricing: where one origin supplies most shipments, buyers will compare your quote with that source, so prepare your price, lead time and certificates against it.

Only the United States and the United Kingdom are shown here because both are import-record markets. See how these counts are made. For another product, open the importer directory, which lists every tracked product and market.

• Trade fair exhibitor lists. Get the exhibitor list of the main fair for your sector and ask for meetings before the fair opens, not on the stand.
• AUMA. The association of the German trade fair industry has a search of more than 3,500 trade fairs on auma.de. You can search by title, year, sector, country or city. Find the fair for your sector, then open that fair's exhibitor list.
• Sector association member lists. CBI's page on finding buyers in Europe has a section on visiting the websites of sector associations. If an association of wholesalers or distributors in your sector publishes its members, every name on that list is already in the trade.
• Business directories. Europages and Kompass are two examples. CBI's page advises being selective when using databases. Check which company types each directory lets you filter for before you spend time on it.
• A buyer search. On Reevi's Find Buyers page, you describe the product and the country. It returns named companies that already buy, sell or use the product, each with a reason it fits. These results are not verified distributors, so you still screen them in Step 3.

The Commercial Service publishes a checklist on trade.gov called "Choosing a Foreign Representative". It is written for exporters in the United States, but the questions work for any manufacturer, and it says to tailor them to your product and country. Below, the checklist is turned into a one-page scorecard. Send the questions before a video call, then score each answer 0, 1 or 2. For the first contact, see the first email to an importer.

Also ask each company for its own view of the market for your product. trade.gov notes that the answer shows how much the company knows about your industry, and it also gives you market research.

Send your own pack with the questions. trade.gov lists your pricing structure, the profit potential of the product, payment terms, product regulations, competitors, sales aids and promotional material, advertising, sales and service training, and your ability to deliver on schedule. Add your company history and photos of the factory. Aim for two or three companies that score well and carry no competing line you cannot accept.

Before you send terms, run the registry and sanctions checks described in how to verify a foreign buyer. The trade.gov page "Evaluate Foreign Representatives" advises getting at least two business and credit reports from different sources. Start with your own bank: trade.gov notes that banks can get credit information through their correspondent banks or branches abroad.

Reevi's free Check a Lead tool gives a basic report on the company's identity, buy potential and risk signals.

trade.gov also suggests seeing the offices and warehouse once a company has passed your first checks, and meeting its sales team. If you cannot travel, meet them at a trade fair or by video call. Move on only when the company is registered and active and two credit sources agree.

1. Territory and exclusivity. Define the territory. trade.gov notes that some countries' laws may prohibit limiting a distributor to a territory.
2. Term. trade.gov says the term is usually one year, with automatic annual renewal unless either side gives written notice.
3. Performance. Set a minimum sales volume and an expected rate of increase.
4. Termination. List the causes that count as "just cause". trade.gov says that writing them in the contract usually strengthens your position. It also notes that notice periods of 30, 60 or 90 days are common, that three months meets the requirements of many countries, and that a registered letter may be needed to prove when you gave notice.
5. Governing law. State which country's law, or which international convention, applies. The distributor's own law may forbid it from giving up its national jurisdiction. trade.gov notes that many companies name the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) or ICC arbitration for disputes. The CISG is about the sale of goods, so ask your lawyer whether it covers the distribution terms or only each order.
6. Compensation on dismissal. Depending on how long the relationship lasted and the market the distributor built, local law may require you to compensate it.
7. Return of property. Trademarks, name registrations and customer records come back to you if the agreement ends.
8. Competing lines. A ban on selling competing products may cause problems under antitrust law in some European countries.
9. Inquiries from outside the territory. trade.gov suggests that the distributor refers these back to you.
10. Language. trade.gov says the contract should usually be in English and in the official language of the distributor's country.

The ICC Model Distributorship Contract, sold on the ICC website, gives you a starting draft. It covers the definition of a distributor, how sale contracts relate to the distribution contract, and antitrust points.

The trade.gov advice above asks for proof before exclusivity but does not say how to get it. A test order with a fixed review date gives you that proof. The 90 days used here is a working choice, not a rule from trade.gov or the ICC. Set a longer period if shipping and getting onto retailers' shelves take more time. Copy this checklist into the agreement or into a signed annex.

• First order: a quantity the distributor expects to sell within 90 days, agreed in writing, on payment terms you can carry. See payment terms for a new export buyer.
• Exclusivity: none yet, or limited to the test period and one named territory.
• Sell-out report, every month: units sold by product, the type of customer that bought them, and stock left.
• Customer names: the retailers or workshops that placed orders.
• Problem log: complaints, returns and price objections.
• Review date: day 90, in both companies' calendars.
• Decision rule, written in advance: the result that earns exclusive rights, for how long and in which territory.

On day 90, compare actual sell-out with the targets the distributor gave you in Step 3. If the stock sold through and a reorder came in, offer exclusivity for a limited period with renewal. If not, the territory is still open for the next name on your list.