Cross-Border Marketplace Launch
A playbook for taking a US brand into UK and South African marketplaces. It covers listing localisation, compliance, fulfilment and pricing.
01. The challenge
Teams repeated the same decisions for each market, including localisation, VAT, compliance, fulfilment and pricing. Starting from scratch delayed launches and made it harder to reuse what the previous launch had taught them.
02. The approach
I turned the process I had used across US, UK and South African marketplaces into a playbook a team can run. It starts with market selection, then adapts search terms, sizing and imagery. Compliance and fulfilment decisions come before listings go live. Pricing uses the costs of landing and selling the product in that market.
03. What I built
A 90-day plan for market selection, localisation, compliance, fulfilment and pricing, with an owner and completion criteria for each step
Market-specific checklists for search behaviour, units, sizing, imagery and claims
A pricing model that includes freight, duties, VAT, marketplace fees and currency conversion
A comparison of compliance and fulfilment requirements, including when to use FBA, a third-party logistics provider or local stock
04. The outcome
The playbook has supported launches into three markets across three continents. Teams reuse the checklist and update it with what they learn from each launch.
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