Our local teams plan & execute
Alliance experts helps you to develop your market entry strategy on the go. We scan the market, launch your product and grow your sales, constantly monitoring the responses and improving your approach.
Italy is one of the larger economies in Europe, but also a country with very different regions, ranging from rich to poor. Italy has a rich cultural heritage, with Rome being one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in Europe. The country’s official language is Italian, but there are regions where German, French, and Slovene are primarily used.
As of 2024, Italy’s population is estimated at approximately 58.78 million. The country has been experiencing a population decline since its peak in 2017, with a negative growth rate due to a higher death rate than birth rate and negative net migration.
Italy is known for its diverse industrial sectors, ranging from fashion and luxury goods to automotive and machinery. It’s a significant player in the European and global economy.
The major urban centers include Rome, Milan, Naples, Turin, and Palermo. Italy is characterized by an uneven population density, with dense populations in the Po Valley and metropolitan areas of Naples and Rome.
Rome is the capital, but most of the economic activity is in the North, mainly focused around Milan. Depending on your product one of these cities (or both) should be your starting point. From there you can approach the other cities. In Italy there are a lot of medium-sized family businesses, so it can be difficult to find one distributor for the whole country.
Finding an agent or distributor requires good knowledge of the Italian language and a good understanding of the culture. Without this it will be difficult to get access to the market.
The Italian online market has some unique characteristics that set it apart from other markets. Here are some of the key factors:
In general, there are two ways if you want to sell your products online in this market:
If you look at the most used third-party sales platforms, these are Italian versions of international websites and there is no incumbent party. But where other ‘foreigners’ have been able to make the step to the Italian market, with the right investments it should also be possible for you.
We work with local teams, who already know the market, speak the language and know the business culture.
We can compare different markets and as we can help you in all of them, we only favor the market that may work out best for you.
We help you avoid cultural misunderstandings, compliance issues, and other risks associated with entering a new market.
The best way to learn about a market is to start reaching out and adjust your sales pitch on-the-go. This is what we do in our Scan-Launch-Grow approach.
1st month
We dive into your product and what sales strategy has worked for you in other countries. We show you offering to various potential distributors or customers to collect feedback. And we review your competition so that we can determine the best market entry strategy.
2nd month
Together with you we develop a first pitch for your target group. We extend our long-list of potential targets further and start reaching out, getting to the right decision makers and pitching your product. And we discuss the results with you, in order to optimise your strategy further.
3rd and next months
We keep searching for new distributor candidates or clients and reach out to them. We also follow-up on previous contacts we had and on leads that you bring in. We introduce you to interested parties, but we can also support in meetings or close deals on your behalf. Every month we review our results.
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