Eight markets, money for three.
Vertexa Retail runs 210 home and lifestyle stores in the Benelux. Its board wanted to grow abroad, but a store-led launch in France two years earlier had closed with a €4M loss.
- 8candidate markets on the board's list
- €4Mlost on the earlier launch in France
- €45Mexpansion budget for three years
Every executive had a favorite country, and none of the options came with comparable numbers. The French experience had also left the board wary of committing to leases before demand was proven.
The brief was to pick the right markets, choose a lower-risk way in and be trading before the next holiday season.
Fewer markets, better odds.
We ran a fast, evidence-based selection with the executive team, then stayed through the launch to keep each country on its 100-day plan.
- 01
Rank the markets
We scored all eight countries on 22 criteria, from category growth to rent levels, and tested the shortlist with 3,000 consumers.
- 02
Design the entry model
Online first and shop-in-shops with two department-store partners, with a single flagship in Munich only once sales passed a set threshold.
- 03
Launch in sequence
Germany, Austria and Sweden opened three months apart, each with a local lead, a 100-day plan and a weekly trading review.