Sales stalled in Europe? A buyer’s diagnosis.
If your brand sells in Europe but stopped growing, the product is rarely the problem. Usually it is too many SKUs, prices that are too low online, or nobody presenting the brand to buyers. Most of this can be fixed.
As a buyer, I saw this many times. A brand starts well. Amazon picks up, a distributor signs, a few shops list it. A year or two later the numbers go flat, and nobody can say why.
It feels like the market is full. From the buying side, the reason is usually simpler: the brand stopped giving buyers a reason to order more. Below is the check I would do with you.
Six reasons growth stops.
You will probably see two or three of them in your business. That is normal. They often come together.
- Too many SKUs. Forty products in a price list, copied from the global catalogue. Buyers pick two, the rest do not sell, and the distributor stops pushing the brand.
- Prices online are too low. If your product is cheaper on a marketplace than a shop can sell it, no buyer wants to add it. Shops that already list it let it run out.
- Nobody pushes the brand. A distributor sells what sells easily. If nobody from your side presents the brand to buyers, it stays a line in a price list.
- Only one channel. A brand that sells only on Amazon has no shelf presence and little to show a retail buyer.
- No proof for the buyer. Buyers want to see that a product sells somewhere else first. Without sales numbers, reviews or a reference shop, the answer is usually “later”.
- Packaging and service are not ready for Germany. English-only boxes, strange translations, and no clear process for defects and returns. If the shop has to guess, the shop carries the risk.
When I was buying, a supplier who brought sell-through data from other retailers got a real conversation. A supplier who brought a new catalogue got a polite “send it by email”.
Symptom, likely cause, first step.
Start with the line that sounds most like you.
You cannot see sell-out, brand is not pushed
Ask for sell-out by customer for the last 12 months. If they cannot give it, you know the problem.
Online prices too low, or range too wide
Compare your online prices with the shelf price. Cut the range to the SKUs that really sell.
One channel, no proof for a buyer
Put your marketplace data on one page: units, reviews, return rate.
Nobody presents the brand locally
Meet three to five important retailers in person, with samples.
Packaging, content or service not localised
Read the return reasons one by one. Fix box and manual before you push volume.
Online prices falling, partners losing money
Set a clear price for each channel and agree it with your sellers.
Online prices decide if retail keeps you.
As a buyer, I compared online prices before every listing talk. If a product was sold online below my shelf price, I could lose money or lose the customer. Neither makes a buyer order more.
Many brands do not know who sells their product so cheaply. Find out first. A clear price for each channel helps growth more than any new SKU.
What stops growth
Five sellers online, five prices. The cheapest sets the price for everyone. Shops stop reordering.
What allows growth
A clear price per channel, a short range, and partners who can make money with it.
Look, cut, present.
- Days 1 to 30: get the real numbers. Sell-out by customer, online prices by channel, return reasons. Most brands only know their sell-in, what they shipped. That does not show what really happens in the shops.
- Days 31 to 60: cut and fix. Keep only the products that sell. Fix the prices. Fix packaging and German content for those few products only.
- Days 61 to 90: go and present. Take the short range and your numbers to a small list of buyers and partners, in person if you can. Agree clear targets with your distributor, or start looking for a partner who will work for them.
I sat in many annual reviews where a brand lost shelf space and nobody from the brand was there. Being in the room with the right numbers changes a lot.
Stalled does not mean finished.
A brand that already sells in Europe has history, data and partners. That is a better starting point than it feels like. When I look at a stalled brand today, I ask the same questions I asked as Head of Purchasing: where does it really sell, at what price, and who is pushing it? If you want an honest outside view, I am happy to look at yours.
Marco PenningFounder, LUMVEO · Hamburg
Take the 2-minute check ↓Where is your growth stuck? Eight questions, two minutes.
Tell me where you sell today and what is in the way. I read every check myself and reply personally.
Short answers.
Is a stalled distributor always the distributor’s fault?
No. Often the brand sends too many SKUs, has unstable online prices or gives no marketing support. Look at both sides before you change partners. A new distributor with the same setup will stop in the same place.
Should we lower prices to restart growth?
Usually not as the first step. Lower prices often make the online price problem worse and cost your partners margin. Fix range, price policy and presentation first.
How fast can sales recover?
It depends on the cause. Price and range problems can improve within a season. New retail listings take longer, because buyers plan their range months ahead. Plan for a year.
We only sell on Amazon. Is retail realistic?
Yes, if your product has a clear place on the shelf and you can show that it sells. Your marketplace data is good proof. What is usually missing is someone who takes it to the buyer.
This is my experience and view from the buying side, not legal or financial advice.