Finding a distributor abroad: a method in 7 verifiable steps

To find a distributor abroad, first choose the market on the basis of recent data, then draw up a list of candidates from public sources and check each one against dated facts: existence, activity, brands carried, local rules. First contact and negotiation (exclusivity, margin, term) come only after that. Each step below produces evidence that can be reviewed and passed on to management.

What is at stake is the durability of the relationship. Over four quarters, 31,200 companies started exporting goods and 32,800 stopped, out of 123,800 resident exporters (French customs, July 2026).

Three terms recur in this article. A distributor buys, stocks and resells in its own name. An importer clears the goods through customs and often distributes them itself. A commercial agent negotiates on the exporter's behalf for a commission, without buying the stock.

Step 1: which market should you target first?

The choice of country comes before the choice of partner. Three criteria can be checked against dated sources: the demand trend, the presence of other French exporters and the access rules.

For 2026, the WTO forecasts an 8.9% rise in Africa's imports and a 15.4% fall in those of the Middle East (WTO, 8 October 2026). On the supply side, 31,500 French resident exporters already sell to Africa and 13,600 to the Near and Middle East (French customs, July 2026): their presence signals existing channels, but also competition.

Access rules (Step 5) should be examined at this stage, because a country that requires a local agent changes the nature of the search.

Step 2: where can you find candidates?

Trade fairs remain the primary place for discovery. In a survey of 949 professional buyers, 58% said they attend them to find new suppliers (HKTDC, July 2025). Organisers structure these meetings: Gulfood 2026 announced more than 3,500 meetings with more than 1,000 selected buyers, according to the organiser (PotatoPro). Upcoming dates: Big 5 Global in Dubai from 23 to 26 November 2026 (Big 5 Global), WHX Dubai from 25 to 28 January 2027 (World Health Expo), Gulfood from 15 to 19 March 2027 (Austrade).

Exhibitor lists cannot be copied freely: on 15 January 2015 the Court of Justice of the EU ruled that a website's terms of use can prohibit extraction, even from an unprotected database (Pinsent Masons).

Two sources are often overlooked. The Enterprise Europe Network partnering database publishes requests for distributors free of charge (EEN). Public contract award notices name the successful suppliers: in Ukraine, UNOPS medical equipment lots were awarded to Ukrainian companies in 2025-2026 (UNGM), all of them distributors already active with public buyers.

Step 3: which public signals prove a need?

A compatible company is not yet a buyer. Rank each candidate according to three levels of evidence:

1. Compatible company: activity, range and size consistent with your product.
2. Dated public signal: a warehouse opening, a new store, a hotel project moving to a new stage, participation in a trade fair, the hiring of a buyer.
3. Confirmed need: a tender with a reference and a deadline, or a published request for quotation.

Each signal keeps its source and its date. Without a date, there is no way of knowing whether the need is still open.

Step 4: how do you check activity and the brands carried?

Start with the company register: existence, status, declared activity, directors. Access varies. In the United Arab Emirates, the National Economic Register allows free searches (Ministry of Economy) of more than 1.4 million companies, but without bulk export (Zephira).

Next, check the brands already carried, on the website, in the catalogue, on the trade fair stand or in award notices. A direct competitor in the portfolio is a risk of conflict; complementary brands give access to the same customers.

Sanctions screening also covers shareholders. In the United States, an entity owned 50% or more by sanctioned persons is itself blocked (Sphinx). In the United Kingdom, the UK Sanctions List has been the only official list since 28 January 2026 (GOV.UK).

Step 5: does local law require an agent or a distributor?

In several countries, yes. The table summarises the rules found in the sources cited; they change and must be checked again before signing.

In the EU, a commercial agent is entitled at the end of the contract to an indemnity of up to one year's average remuneration (Directive 86/653, Art. 17), which cannot be waived in advance (Art. 19). Since the Trendsetteuse judgment of 4 June 2020, this status does not require the power to change prices (William Fry). In France, which applies the compensation-for-damage regime provided for by the directive, the customary indemnity amounts to two years of commissions (Kohen Avocats, April 2026).

Step 6: how do you make a compliant first contact?

The rule to follow is that of the recipient's country. In France, B2B prospecting email is allowed without prior consent if it concerns the recipient's business and allows them to object (CNIL, June 2026). Germany requires prior consent even between businesses (IHK), as does Italy, including for a legal person (Garante, 7 May 2015). In Saudi Arabia, direct marketing without consent is among the infringements identified since the personal data protection law became fully enforceable in September 2024 (Clyde & Co, March 2026).

Substance matters as much as form: 73% of B2B buyers avoid suppliers that send them irrelevant outreach (Gartner, 9 March 2026). A useful first message cites a dated fact about the distributor, proposes a specific product and states the delivery terms.

Step 7: what should you negotiate: exclusivity, commission, margin?

Published benchmarks are old and few. A 2009 business encyclopaedia puts export intermediaries' commission at around 10% for consumer goods and 12 to 15% for industrial products (SAGE, 2009). On the distribution side, an example published in August 2017 shows a wine bought from the producer for €4 and sold at retail in the United States for about $16.99, at an exchange rate of $1.20 to €1 (Deborah M. Gray): the final price is about 3.5 times the converted ex-cellar price (calculation based on these figures). Rebuild this price ladder all the way to the end customer before setting your own price.

Exclusivity is negotiated, not given away. In the EU, Regulation 2022/720, applicable until 31 May 2034, allows a distributor to be prohibited from making active sales into a territory reserved for up to five exclusive distributors, if the market shares of the supplier and the buyer do not exceed 30%; passive sales in principle remain free (EUR-Lex). Outside the EU, exclusivity can change the partner's legal status, as in Qatar. Tie it to minimum volumes, a short initial term and precise exit clauses.

Finally, keep commissions under control: they are a recognised channel for bribery (The Corner House), and France's Sapin II law requires companies with at least 500 employees and €100 million in turnover to assess their intermediaries (BCLP).