Practical thinking from inside the work.
Practical guides for established brands building UK and European sales channels: choosing distributors, coordinating retail, connecting Amazon and Shopify, and making fulfilment work.
How to approach UK electronics and DIY buyers with a consumer-tech product
How overseas consumer-tech and smart-home brands can approach UK electronics and DIY buyers, prepare demos, agree trading terms and earn a repeat order.
Read article →European marketplaces by country: where should your brand launch?
Compare European marketplaces, shopper usage and market size, then shortlist the right countries and channels for your brand's expansion.
Read article →China to UK and EU: smart-tech landed costs and channel margins
Calculate smart-tech landed costs from China in USD, GBP and EUR, including air freight, customs duty, import VAT, retail margins and MDF.
Read article →UK retail market entry: electronics, DIY and online retailers
Compare UK electronics, DIY and online retailers, with sourced scale figures and practical market-entry priorities for overseas brands.
Read article →UK and European market entry: building a local presence before hiring a team
How I connect local representation, exhibitions, PR contacts and distribution partners to help established brands plan UK and European expansion.
Read article →UK and European market entry: is retail the right route for your brand?
Assess retail market fit, MDF, channel margins and sell-out before a UK or European launch, with lessons from Smanos and Harvey Norman.
Read article →eCommerce Expo 2026: easier market entry, harder reasons to buy
Rafael Frankow reflects on fulfilment, AI product discovery and customer retention after eCommerce Expo and Technology for Marketing 2026.
Read article →Amazon, Shopify and retail: how to plan shared stock with a European 3PL
A practical stock-allocation and fulfilment framework for established brands connecting Amazon, Shopify and retail with a European logistics partner.
Read article →Account manager vs business developer: what is the real difference?
What I learned moving from established distribution into European market entry, export sales and brand development—and why managing demand is different from creating it.
Read article →How I built an AI outreach engine without being a developer
What I learned turning commercial knowledge into a human-controlled AI system for B2B research, personalised email and campaign tracking.
Read article →Beyond automation: scaling knowledge work with AI deputies
Why domain judgement, context and selective AI deputisation matter more than automating everything, with examples from research, outreach and decisions.
Read article →Short-term rental technology landscape 2026: 133 companies mapped
My independent map and commercial analysis of 133 short-term rental technology companies across PMS, distribution, operations, access and guest experience.
Read article →Why I research the market before making European sales introductions
How I combine product, pricing, competitor, integration and channel research to build a focused European market-development plan before outreach begins.
Read article →Amazon, distributor or retail? How I decide the right UK market-entry route
A practical framework for product brands choosing between Amazon, distribution, direct retail and a hybrid route into the UK.
Read article →Why Amazon success can make European retail expansion harder
How marketplace pricing, stock ownership and channel design can obstruct distributors and retailers – and how brands can avoid that conflict.
Read article →Why appointing a European distributor is only the beginning
What brands must do after signing a distributor to create focus, account activity, stock availability and measurable commercial progress.
Read article →