Ex-Pure Fishing manager to global brands: I can help you enter Europe
“What if I could reach brands before they start their European journey, walk them through the process, identify their key regions, give them the product knowledge they need to be successful, and make them market ready?”
Nathan Leney is a man on a mission. The former Pure Fishing Brand and Product Manager says there is a disconnect between what international brands want to achieve in Europe and what they accomplish on the ground.
Leney believes there is a better way of introducing your brands to the European market and securing the best partners in your target territories, and he is ready to prove it.
Last year, Leney (above) left his role working across Pure Fishing’s top European brands to launch Outdoor Eye, an agency dedicated to helping global brands become ‘Europe ready’ and to driving up their sales once their distribution networks are in place.
But what does he believe is broken under the current system? What exactly is Outdoor Eye fixing? Leney explains it like this: “At Pure Fishing we had departments to cover all aspects of the product launch cycle – compliance, packaging, shipping, supply chain, design and product development. Understanding these inputs was part of my job. Either I knew the answer or I knew who to consult. This enabled me to develop and launch the right products, for the right markets at the right time.
“It made me think, how would a tackle brand from outside of Europe know how to do all of this and be able to execute the launch of its brand successfully?”
His conclusion? It is a deeply problematic process for these non-European businesses, and it is flawed from the very beginning. Says Leney: “I started researching how brands from international locations such as Japan, Korea and USA were launching in Europe. I found that the common route to market was to attend trade shows at high expense and hope that the right distributor would come to their booth with an open cheque book and all the answers.
“However, due to the complexities of launching in Europe, what I found was that brands would come to a trade show the first time, struggle to engage with the local market, find that their product line-up wasn’t right and that their packaging was far from compliant. They would then return home, disheartened, out of pocket and frustrated. They would then return for a second or third year making small inroads each time but at great expense – travel, hotels, floor space, the list goes on.
“The lightbulb moment was to be their man on the ground from the very start. To hold their hand through the whole process from product development to signing up distributors. So, Outdoor Eye was born.”
Leney is a product man at heart, but says compliance is the growing challenge in the modern business world. Having someone guiding you through the complexities of the changing regulations in Europe is now paramount. “The biggest changes I saw at Pure Fishing were around compliance and regulation,” he says. “The depth of compliance for even the smallest product was increasing year on year.”
He cites the introduction in France of the TRIMAN regulations on recycling and associated labelling on packaging as a classic example. “At Pure Fishing that was a vast task to implement in a relatively short space of time.
“Also, the lead ban in the Nordics was a complicated but very important task to implement. Finding alternatives to lead, ‘lead free’ callouts on packaging and educating the consumer through innovative marketing were all important factors to ensuring a successful launch.”
Again, it throws up the question. How can a non-European business navigate new rules without someone on the ground? It’s almost impossible, says Leney, who adds that Outdoor Eye goes further still with its services.
Outdoor Eye is also set up to centrally manage your marketing in Europe. Adds Leney: “Brands succeed when the consumer feels like they are part of the journey, the product was made for them, an individual. We know that one of the best ways to ensure this is to create marketing content in the local language and with local talent.
“That’s why we have created a network of content creators and anglers across Europe that excel in making engaging and creative collateral that will showcase brands in the best possible way.”
Leney says Outdoor Eye is now seeking ‘small to medium brands with big aspirations.’ His company is ready to accelerate your success in Europe. Are you ready to discuss the possibilities?
“We want to talk to companies that are successful in their home regions but still humble enough to know that the step overseas is a big one. By that I mean brands that are willing to listen, change and adapt where required.
“All brands have an identity, one that most are not willing to deviate from, but without change there can’t be growth. We can help brands who are just starting to think about their European entry and need a full launch plan or brands that are already in Europe but are struggling to take market share and need help and advice.”