You've cleared regulatory hurdles, finalized packaging, and locked in your pricing. Now comes the hardest part: getting your product onto shelves and into consumers' hands. Distribution in Asia is where most market entry plans fall apart—not because companies lack resources, but because they prioritize the wrong things in the critical first 90 days.
Here's what actually matters when you're building a distribution network from scratch.
Days 1-30: Map the terrain, don't chase coverage
Most brands enter a new market thinking they need national coverage immediately. They sign with distributors promising "5,000 retail outlets" or "coverage across 50 provinces." Then they wonder why velocity is terrible and inventory is sitting in warehouses.
The better approach: Identify 3-5 high-priority clusters—specific neighborhoods, cities, or retail formats where your brand can win—and focus there first. In Thailand, this might be premium supermarkets in Bangkok. In Vietnam, it could be convenience stores in District 1, 3, and 7 of Ho Chi Minh City. In Indonesia, maybe modern trade in Jabodetabek.
Distribution success in Asia is not about breadth—it's about depth. Own a neighborhood before you chase a nation.
During this phase, your job is reconnaissance:
- Visit retail: Walk stores in your target clusters. Note shelf placement, pricing, promotional activity, and competitive presence.
- Talk to store owners: Ask what sells, what doesn't, and why. Understand payment terms, return policies, and promotional expectations.
- Map distributor territories: Figure out who actually covers your target clusters. The "national distributor" might subcontract to regional players who do the real work.
Don't sign a distribution agreement yet. Gather intelligence first.
Days 30-60: Choose distributors for incentive alignment, not scale
Here's the uncomfortable truth: the biggest distributor is rarely the best partner for a new brand. Large distributors have hundreds of SKUs, established cash cows, and sales teams incentivized to push high-volume products. You're the new guy. You're unproven. You're low priority.
What to look for instead:
- Complementary portfolio: A distributor handling 15-25 brands in adjacent categories (not direct competitors) who sees your brand as portfolio expansion, not just another SKU.
- Proof of new brand launches: Ask for case studies of other international brands they've launched in the past 2 years. Talk to those brands. Did the distributor actually deliver, or did they deprioritize after 6 months?
- Skin in the game: Distributors who co-invest in marketing, merchandising, or inventory carry are signaling real commitment. If they're not willing to put capital at risk, they don't believe in your brand.
In this phase, conduct formal distributor diligence:
- Request financials and credit references
- Visit their warehouses and observe operations
- Ride along with their sales team for a day
- Check their relationships with key retail accounts
Once you've identified 2-3 qualified candidates, negotiate terms. But don't go exclusive immediately—pilot first.
Days 60-90: Launch small, measure ruthlessly
Pilot your distribution in the clusters you identified in the first 30 days. Set clear success metrics:
- Velocity: Units sold per outlet per week (not just total volume)
- Distribution depth: Percentage of target outlets carrying your product
- Reorder rate: Are stores ordering again after the first shipment?
- Shelf placement: Are you visible, or hidden on bottom shelves?
Distribution agreements should have performance clauses. If velocity targets aren't hit in 90 days, you need the flexibility to pivot—not be locked into a 3-year exclusive.
During this phase, you're learning what actually drives sales:
- Pricing: Is your retail price competitive? Are distributor margins sustainable?
- Promotions: What promotional mechanics work? Buy-one-get-one? Sampling? Price-off?
- Sales support: Does the distributor's team understand your value proposition? Can they articulate why a retailer should stock your product?
Be on the ground during this phase. Visit stores weekly. Observe merchandising. Talk to sales reps. Gather feedback from retailers and consumers. This is not the time to manage remotely from a regional office—you need to see what's working and what's not in real time.
After 90 days: Decide whether to scale, pivot, or pause
At the end of 90 days, you should have enough data to make a clear call:
Scale: If velocity is strong, reorder rates are high, and your distributor is delivering, expand to adjacent clusters. Add more outlets, not more cities. Densify before you broaden.
Pivot: If the product is moving but the distributor is underperforming, find a better partner. If the product isn't moving despite solid distribution, revisit your pricing, positioning, or promotional strategy.
Pause: If neither distribution nor product-market fit is working, don't throw good money after bad. Reassess your market entry strategy. Sometimes the right move is to pull back, fix the fundamentals, and relaunch later.
The distribution mistakes brands keep making
After working on dozens of market entries across Asia, I see the same errors repeatedly:
- Chasing national coverage too early: Spreading thin across 100 cities instead of winning in 3.
- Signing long-term exclusive agreements before proving the model: Locking into 3-year contracts with untested partners.
- Ignoring velocity metrics: Celebrating "1,000 outlets" while velocity is 0.5 units per store per week.
- Managing remotely: Assuming the distributor will "handle it" without ongoing brand support and oversight.
Distribution in Asia requires patience, focus, and relentless execution. The brands that win here don't try to be everywhere at once—they dominate specific clusters, build proof points, and scale systematically.
The first 90 days set the trajectory for the next 3 years. Get them right.