Retail Toolkit
New market entry checklist: the 60 items to clear before you open
A working checklist for entering a new Asian market, grouped by legal, tax, supply chain, people, commercial and launch, with the sequence that avoids dead time.
Guide 4 of 9 · 10 min read · Updated 9 August 2026
Market entry stalls in predictable places: an entity that cannot import, a licence that arrives after the lease starts, or a payment method that is not live when the store opens. This checklist is ordered so the long-lead items start first.
Work through it in the order given; each block assumes the one before it has started.
Legal and entity (start first, longest lead)
- Confirm foreign ownership limits for your activity, including retail versus wholesale distinctions.
- Choose the entity type and register it; confirm minimum capital requirements.
- Check whether an import or distribution licence is separate from the trading licence.
- Register trademarks before any public announcement.
- Confirm the entity can open a bank account and receive card settlement locally.
Tax and finance
- Register for consumption tax or VAT and confirm the invoicing format required.
- Confirm import duty rates and whether ASEAN preferential origin applies.
- Set the transfer pricing basis for intercompany supply before the first shipment.
- Agree withholding tax treatment for royalties and service fees.
- Appoint local statutory audit and payroll providers.
Supply chain
- Appoint a customs broker and run a test import before the commercial shipment.
- Confirm product registration or labelling requirements per category.
- Contract warehouse capacity with a start date ahead of first delivery.
- Select last-mile carriers and complete integration testing.
- Define the returns address and the reverse process before launch, not after.
People and premises
- Confirm work permit rules for any expatriate roles and start applications early.
- Draft employment contracts to local statutory standards, including notice and severance.
- Sign the lease only after the licence path is confirmed.
- Book fit-out with landlord approval of drawings, allowing for permit time.
- Hire and train the store team with at least two weeks before opening.
Commercial and launch
- Localise pricing and confirm tax-inclusive display convention.
- Enable local payment methods, including wallets and instalment options where expected.
- Localise the site language, address format and size conventions.
- Register the local marketplace or platform storefront if in scope.
- Set a launch measurement plan: traffic, conversion, basket, first-attempt delivery success.
First 90 days
- Weekly trading review from week one with the country team.
- Recalibrate the forecast after eight weeks of real data.
- Review customs clearance times and adjust cover accordingly.
- Formal go or no-go review on the second-store decision at day 90.
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