ALL ARTICLES AND INSIGHTS
Explore strategy, markets, and business perspectives.
The Hub Question: Ship From the US, or Build in Asia?
As US brands expand across multiple Asian markets, relying on a US-based supply chain can create growing pressure on cash flow, inventory and replenishment speed. This article examines whether a regional hub in Singapore could offer a more flexible alternative, exploring the impact on freight costs, inventory holding, tax exposure and market responsiveness. It also considers how brands can build regional capabilities gradually, moving from inventory storage to packing and potentially manufacturing as their business scales.
Who Owns Your Customer in Asia?
Marketplace growth can generate strong sales, but it does not always build lasting customer ownership. Explore how dependence on platforms such as Shopee, Lazada and Amazon can limit customer relationships, access to data and long-term brand equity—and why brands expanding across Asia need a balanced channel strategy that builds both sales and customer ownership.
The Right Product, the Wrong Channel: How Distribution Structure Changes Your Market Competitiveness
A product with great market potential and strong production costs can still fail if the channel economics do not align. While e-commerce eliminates traditional retail margins, platform fees, pick-and-pack, and last-mile delivery can erode profitability just as fast. The critical decision is identifying which route to market preserves your unit economics.
The Distributor Margin Trap: Why a Good Deal Can Become an Expensive Product
A distributor agreement that looks attractive on paper can make a product too expensive to compete in the market. Discover how distributor margins, retailer mark-ups, import costs and other value chain expenses affect final retail pricing—and why brands must assess the entire commercial structure before agreeing to distribution terms.
Your U.S Price Doesn't Travel
Using a US retail price as the starting point for Asian expansion can lead to costly pricing mistakes. Explore how import duties, consumption taxes and channel commissions shape local pricing, affect margins and influence market entry decisions across Asia.
Your FOB Cost Is Only the Beginning: What Really Determines Your Product’s Final Retail Price
Understanding your FOB cost is only the first step in pricing for international markets. Discover how freight, duties, distribution margins, taxes and other costs shape your product’s final retail price—and why a competitive factory price does not always translate into a competitive market position.
A Tier 1 Market Can Fail Its Value Chain Test for Reasons Unrelated to Demand
A market can look attractive on demand and still fail the value chain test for your lead SKU, while a smaller market passes. Duty, tax and channel structure decide what the same cost becomes. Which of your Tier 1 markets have you tested?
Your FOB Price Is Not Your Retail Price: Understanding Where the Margin Goes
Population and current market size are the easiest numbers to find, and the easiest to over-trust. Using sports nutrition across India, Japan, South Korea and China, this article shows why headline size misleads, and what a better first screen asks instead.
Your Offline and Online Prices Are Not Comparable Until the Brand Margin Is in Both
Offline and online prices can be calculated with the same discipline and still not be comparable. The difference may sit in where the brand’s own margin enters the model. Which channel looks cheaper once both builds carry the same definition?
A Lower FOB Cost Can Worsen Your Viability Ratio While Improving Your Price
Lower your FOB cost and the shelf price falls, yet the viability ratio can slip. The reason sits in which layers of the chain move with cost and which do not. What is your ratio actually telling you?
A 38% Distributor Margin Is Not a Number Until You Know What It Is a Percentage Of
Two distributors quote the same 38% margin. Applied to different bases, the shelf price differs by several dollars and the viability reading can change category. Before comparing proposals, what exactly is the percentage a percentage of?
What Share of the Shelf Price Does Your FOB Cost Still Represent?
A product can be strong, a distributor willing and demand genuine, yet the shelf price can still be uncompetitive. What share of the final price does your FOB cost represent in a new market, and who decides the rest?