“Medal holder” is a family business founded by Kęstutis Bartkus and his wife Gintarė. The company is engaged in the creation of wooden medal holders, photo frames, Trophies and awards, cultivates a unique style, and maintains and constantly expands the circle of regular customers. Still the most popular are the various personalized wooden products that the company can offer without any hassle. Various customer visions are realized from wood. According to the interviewee, it was precisely after seeing that they could complete orders quickly, and smoothly, but with no less quality, that the creators of the company “Medal holder” realized that it was time to start expanding.
“The realization came naturally, after feeling that there is some kind of system, we can orderly execute orders on time and with high quality. Also, this year’s Christmas orders were processed without stress and chaos. And when you see that you fulfill all the Christmas orders on time and there is still room for new ones, then the idea of expansion starts and materializes,” says G. Bartkienė.
In addition, the woman adds that the Lithuanian market is no longer enough for some cherished ideas and available potential, so in order to develop, one naturally has to look abroad.
“Of course, since I weigh everything, check, and calculate, I see that our production and human resources are not fully utilized. We also exude a desire to implement bold ideas for which the Lithuanian market is too small,” the interviewee assures.
Work required
G. Bartkienė says that when she started considering foreign markets, she had to decide which countries to choose. Not only that, it was necessary to find out what the buying traditions of those countries are, how communication issues differ, and similar aspects. It takes a lot of time, but without prior preparation, blindly jumping into new waters is simply hopeless. However, the interlocutor assures that new markets also provide new opportunities, so it is not scary at all, but rather very interesting and useful, so this year “Medinis debešelis” hopes to reach all the largest foreign markets.
“This year we are thinking of entering all major international platforms. Main markets: America, Germany, Scandinavia. The choice is such because we have a number of products that we produced based on the style of those countries, and the purchasing power of these countries is much higher than in Lithuania – for the same product, you pay 1.5-3 times more”, G. Bartkienė mentions the advantages and plans.
According to the interviewee, expansion abroad is not a very simple matter. In order for this to happen successfully and bring the desired benefits, it is necessary to know well the markets in which it will be traded and to create the right assortment, perfectly presenting it to the buyers according to the specific needs of that country.
“The most difficult thing is segmentation, choosing the products we want to sell, as well as understanding and discovering which can be successful. Since we are entering quite different markets, such as America and Scandinavia, our product photography and styling must also be different. So we pay a lot of attention to that,” says G. Bartkienė.
Necessary investments
It is probably obvious to most that any business development requires both financial and human resources. Expansion in foreign markets is no exception, therefore, in order to take the first steps there, you need to invest a lot of time in searching for information and a lot of money to hire the right specialists.
“We see that we will get to other markets faster by hiring specialists, rather than learning and doing it ourselves.” G. Bartkienė.
“Business development costs a lot. Of course, it depends on the extent to which you do it. Since until now we have traded using the Facebook platform and a little through other trading places, and in the several years of our existence we have already produced many different products, so it costs us money to prepare products in different languages, create a website, and do different types of photo sessions,” the interviewer reveals.
The woman draws attention to the important choice of their company to hire specialists who can help enter a new market. Yes, according to her, the work will be more efficient, saving your time and achieving the maximum result. “We see that we will get to other markets faster by hiring specialists than by learning and doing it ourselves. Well, hiring specialists also costs quite a lot”, G. Bartkienė mentions development costs.
A few tips
The founder of the company “Novadeka” singles out four essential points from her personal experience that should be considered by everyone planning business development in foreign markets.
1. Before starting development, you must be sure that you are able to produce a quality product, as well as produce it quickly and on time.
2. Product segmentation according to markets and customers must be prepared. Also, the preparation of visual, descriptive material must correspond to the market habits and style of the country to which it is expanding.
3. If there are opportunities, it is better to hire specialists than to try to be a jack-of-all-trades yourself. Unequivocally, the result will be much faster and better.
4. There should be no rush to enjoy the earnings, better reinvest them carefully.