Selling into Norway from the Highlands

Ardvar Outdoor had Norwegian customers before it had any plan for Norway. People found the brand online, ordered from the website in Inverness and paid for shipping and import duty themselves, often at their own front door.

Some of them came back anyway. Many didn’t, and the reviews mentioned the duty more than the jackets.

Three ways in

We compared three ways into the country: a distributor, a shop-in-shop with a specialist retailer, and a small warehouse inside Norway. For each we modelled the set-up cost, the cost per order and what the customer would actually pay at the till.

A distributor was the cheapest way to start, but it would have put a second margin between Ardvar and the customer. The jackets would have reached Norwegian shops priced above the local brands they had to compete with.

The warehouse cost the most to set up and the least per order, because it moved the duty from the customer’s door to Ardvar’s books. Customers would see one price, in kroner, with nothing added on delivery.

Customers abroad compare your price with their own shops, so price it in their currency.

Prices in kroner, stock in Bergen

Ardvar chose a small warehouse in Bergen and two specialist shops, one in Bergen and one in Oslo. Prices were set in kroner from the first day and rounded the way Norwegian shops round them. Priya had worked with both shops before, which saved months of introductions.

Three months after the diagnostic the warehouse was taking orders. The website now shows Norwegian visitors kroner prices and delivery dates from Bergen.

Norway grew from nothing to 14% of Ardvar’s sales in the first year. Sanna Ross, the founder, spends a week there every quarter, mostly listening to the two shops.