Recently, I was asked for some advice on exporting from Poland to England by the owner of a small Polish company. Although my advice was for a specific business sector, the points are relevant for any company that plans to export to England. I therefore thought that it would be helpful for other new exporters, if I published the advice and comments on my website.

If you are running a small business and are planning to start exporting from Central Europe to England, you must plan carefully, otherwise you could lose money. Here are a few thoughts that I hope might help you:

1. The market in England for almost all products and services is EXTREMELY competitive and price still is an important factor, due to the number of imports from China and other low cost markets.
2. Remember when pricing, that margins taken by intermediaries and retailers in England are very much higher than in Poland. You must therefore find out what are the margins in your particular business sector.
3. In England, most products for babies are sold through very large retailers such as:
   “Mothercare” (http://www.mothercare.com/gp/home.html),
   “Boots” (http://www.boots.com/shop/category_new_template.jsp?classificationid=1030105)
   Independent retailers and the Internet are also important channels of distribution.
4. If you have a really high quality product, then you should look for “niche” or specialist retailers in prosperous locations, whose customers are willing to pay more for quality. These are more likely to be independent retailers and to find them, I suggest that you use such directories as:
   http://www.kellysearch.co.uk
   http://www.yellowpages.co.uk
   These types of directories should also list names and addresses of wholesalers involved in your business sector.
5. The internet is important and just typing into Google UK: “Baby nursery accessories” you can find the following:
   http://www.askbaby.com/bedding-and-linen.htm
   http://www.1stopbabyshop.co.uk/ http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/furniture/bedding.htm
   http://www.amazon.co.uk/Baby-Bedding-Bundle-Cot-Size/dp/B000HZ8TJ2 http://www.thekidswindow.co.uk/furniture/bedding.htm
   http://www.cheekybrats.co.uk/cots.asp
   
   Shopping comparison sites, such as Ciao: http://www.ciao.co.uk/Nursery_Bedding_5302066_3
   provide great information about pricing in UK.
   
   In addition it is always worth looking at eBay (http://www.ebay.co.uk)
   as many different products are now sold through this website.

Finally, be careful working with both suppliers and buyers, some of them can cost you a lot of time and money, without earning any return. Some people will promise a lot, but you only find out later that they do not keep their promises.

Nigel Adams
July 2007

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