Selling in the USA: how you really get into the world's biggest market

The channel: direct, with a showroom where the brand can breathe

The options are well known: e-commerce, a physical shop, distributors, joint ventures. We chose direct, and we opened our first American showroom in New York, on the tenth floor, where nobody parks because everyone gets around by Uber. The brand has to breathe the air of the city. Our first big American job was 180 bathroom units in a Manhattan skyscraper: at first the building manager spelled our name wrong; after seeing the logo every day, he learned to spell it right.

For those without a store nearby, German, American or Australian, we created online design: a script, calls and video calls, the 3D design with the quote, the box of samples sent home, in five languages. At the end the client chooses: they pay a deposit or book an appointment at the showroom.

The price: one price, worldwide

In my sector Italian companies have a price list for Italy, Germany, America, Russia, each with its own multiplier. We have a single price list, like Apple, with a currency converter: if an accessory costs €250, it costs €250 for the American too. VAT included, for him as well, because he is a private buyer; shipping worldwide. Transparency puts you a level above in trust and reliability.

A detail no guide mentions: the codice fiscale, the Italian tax code. A Swiss client didn't know what it was, because it doesn't exist in Switzerland or the United States. We asked our accountant and made the field optional for those countries. These are the small things that decide whether a €20,000 basket is completed or abandoned.

Payment: by card, up front

I have the screenshots: $500 for the design, a €17,000 deposit for a kitchen, $12,000 with the American Express form and a photocopied driving licence, 5,000, 3,900 for a bathroom. People on the other side of the ocean giving you their money for a product they have never seen, with delivery in five or six months. The next day it is in the account. They do it because the card protects them and because with $350,000 of annual spending they become Platinum customers and fly business class on points. If you want to sell to Americans, you accept every card in the world, Diners included.

Where to find clients

In business-to-business two things work, and they are unbeatable: live events and referrals. With the wood and furniture federation we took part in two events in the United States, one in Miami and one in Phoenix: €4,000 to register, 25 appointments, and the sales came from Arizona, including two buildings to furnish. The American architects' association sponsors events at their desks where you present your product to professionals. LinkedIn, for developers: we tried targeting the employees of the companies, it produced no results, and we moved to Facebook with a dedicated page, “increase the value of your multifamily project”.

And the old school: after the first meeting, as soon as I'm back in Italy, a paper letter with my business card, by FedEx. People open a letter more readily than an email. Before the agreed visit, a box of samples on the buyer's desk, which takes up space and doesn't get thrown away. For important clients, at Christmas, a Gucci gift: they unwrap it, they find Italian luxury, they send back a handwritten card.

After-sales: the real cost

We always quote installation and the client chooses: in Italy almost 100% take it, in the United States 30%. The other 70% rely on their own fitter, and that is where the problems start: one destroyed half a kitchen, another the units. The American client trusts you on your word, but if there is a problem they want it solved even if you are in the right. To the client in New York I gave a Gucci scarf and remade the products; to the one in Salt Lake City I sent four cabinet doors by FedEx. My nightmare is a one-star review on Google.

That is why, like Rolex, we raised the list price by 5% and we put that 5% into customer service. A client who buys and has no problems costs nothing; there is always the other one. You get into the United States with the brand, the single price and the credit card, and you stay there with after-sales.

From my book Direct from Milano and my classroom courses. Figures and examples updated to September 2026.