What to know before you take your direct sales company abroad.
By Sarah Ravits
As store and online retailers continue to push the envelope in terms of functionality and speed, a service standard experienced anywhere is very soon expected everywhere.
Expanding overseas presents unique challenges, but also great potential for growth. “Once you reach a certain stage and want to expand the company, it’s the logical next step,” says Janet Weil, general counsel and senior vice president of compliance and legal affairs at Texas-based WorldVentures.
Moving north from the United States into Canada is often considered the first, and most practical, step. Lewis Retik, a partner in Ottawa-based law firm Gowling WLG, says this is because the two are physically close and share similar cultures. “If you look at the two countries, there’s a very significant economic integration, perhaps more than in any other two countries,” he says. If products sell well in the United States, “there’s a reasonable chance they will sell well in Canada.”
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