Identifies common practices to be aware of when selling in this market, e.g., whether all sales material need to be in the local language.
Last Published: 5/29/2019
The factors that determine where importers place their orders are almost entirely commercial and are similar to those encountered in the United States. Competitive factors such as price, quality, promptness of delivery, and availability of service determine the success of a supplier in Finland. It is important to consider both geographical and sectoral coverage when appointing an agent or distributor in Finland. Due to the small size of the market, it is common for one agent or distributor to be appointed to cover the entire country, either for a given sector (in the case of highly specialized goods), or for all sectors (for more general-use goods). In many cases local distributors or agents may decline to take on representation of a new product line due to expected competition or lack of demand. In such cases, a new-to-market company wishing to enter the Finnish market may wish to establish its own sales office.

Many Finnish firms, from major established multinationals to early-stage startups, are eager to partner with American firms and to engineer Made-in-USA innovations into their solutions. These Finnish firms often intend to take their solutions global, bringing their American partnerships and Made-in-USA technologies with them. American firms that approach the Finnish market with this in mind often find that the value of their presence in the Finnish market is work far more than the Finnish market alone.

 
Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.


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Finland Trade Development and Promotion