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Case study · International
Launching an international site in under six months
One of several international launches
Sector
Retail
Size
UK brand selling direct to consumers
Duration
Under six months
Service
The situation
A UK direct-to-consumer brand saw strong demand from an overseas market and wanted to be trading there quickly. A commercial deadline had already been set, leaving only a few months from go-ahead to launch.
The brand already ran several international sites, but each previous launch had taken far longer than planned. The risk was not the website: it was tax registration, payments, duties, fulfilment and local regulation, each of which needed decisions months before go-live.
The decision that mattered
The key choice was between building a fully separate store for the new market or extending the existing platform with a localised storefront. A separate store offered more flexibility but would not have hit the deadline.
The brand chose to extend its existing platform, accepting a few compromises in local features in exchange for a launch date it could trust, with a plan to revisit those features after launch.
The DEQIO Method in action
The launch criteria were fixed first: what had to be true on day one, and what could wait. Every open question on tax, payments and fulfilment was given an owner and a date.
What we did
■ Owned the international sites as product owner, with one plan covering the website, operations and compliance.
■ Front-loaded the slow decisions: tax registration, payment providers, duties and returns were settled in the first weeks.
■ Agreed a local fulfilment approach and customer service cover before the site build finished.
■ Ran launch governance with clear go-live criteria, then reviewed results against the plan after launch.
The outcome
Under 6
months from go-ahead to launch
Several
international sites in total
1
platform reused for the new market
The site launched on time, within six months of the go-ahead, and became one of several international sites the brand ran. The playbook built for it was reused for later launches, making each one faster and more predictable than the last.
What it means for you
If you are planning a new market, start with the decisions that take longest, not the website. Those decide your launch date.
Key lesson
“The website is the easy part. Tax, payments and fulfilment decide your launch date.”
Facing something similar?
See International Launch.