What does it take to open a showroom abroad?

You need three fundamental elements: a marketing and lead generation system adapted to the local market (language, advertising channels, buying behavior), a CRM that manages customers regardless of physical location, and a local partner or team for site visits and installations. The most underestimated part is the third: without a solid customer management system, physically opening a store in another country isn't enough to generate results.

Is it better to open a physical showroom or manage expansion remotely?

It depends on the market and the product. For many sectors (windows & doors, solar, renovations) the first step can be remote commercial management — local marketing, CRM and follow-up managed centrally, with site visits and installations entrusted to a local partner or team. This reduces initial risk and allows you to validate the market before investing in a physical location.

Which European countries are best suited for expansion by Italian windows and doors companies?

Spain and Portugal have construction and renovation markets with dynamics similar to Italy and less saturation of competitors specialized in digital marketing for this sector. The UK, France and Germany have more mature and competitive markets, but also higher purchasing power and demand volumes for those who set up well from the start.

What is the most common mistake when an Italian company expands abroad?

Simply translating the website and ad campaigns from Italian, without adapting the message to the search habits and typical objections of the new market. Every country has its own commercial language, its own tax incentives and its own service expectations: a literal translation of Italian materials drastically reduces results compared to a real adaptation.

Opening a Showroom Abroad: Guide

Many Italian windows and doors companies look abroad as a natural opportunity: same industry, skills already in place, and markets where competitors specialized in digital marketing are often less established than in Italy. The problem is almost never the product — it's the commercial system needed to support it in a new market.

Physical showroom or remote management? The wrong question

The first question anyone considering expansion asks is almost always "physical showroom or not?" That's the wrong question to ask first. The right question is: does the local market respond to our product and our way of selling it? You verify this before investing in a physical location, not after.

A model that works well for validating a new market: centralized commercial management (marketing, CRM, follow-up) handled remotely, with site visits and installations entrusted to a partner or small local team. Only after validating that the market responds does it make sense to consider opening a fully structured physical location.

The three elements you actually need

1. Marketing adapted, not translated

The most common mistake is translating the Italian website and ad campaigns word for word. Every market has its own commercial language, its own local tax incentives and its own typical purchase objections. An ad that works in Italian often doesn't convert the same way in Spanish or English, even when perfectly translated — because the way people search and decide changes from country to country.

2. A CRM that manages customers independently of location

The advantage of a centralized CRM system is that customer management — from first contact to post-sale follow-up — doesn't depend on where the company is physically based. The same system that manages a lead in Milan can manage a lead in Barcelona or Lisbon, with automations and pipelines adapted to the local language and channels.

3. A local partner or team for the physical side

Site visits, measurements and installations remain activities that require a presence on the ground. It doesn't have to be the company itself that has a physical location from day one: a structured local partner, coordinated through the same customer management system, makes it possible to operate with quality from the very first contracts.

Which countries to consider first

Not all European markets are equally accessible for an Italian company starting from scratch:

1Spain and Portugal: Construction markets with dynamics similar to Italy, and often fewer competitors specialized in digital marketing for this sector. A good starting point to validate the model before tackling more mature markets.
2United Kingdom: A mature market, with high demand volumes but also greater competition and higher service expectations. Requires clear positioning from the start.
3France and Germany: Large, well-structured markets with strong purchasing power. They require deeper linguistic and regulatory adaptation, but offer greater scale potential for those who set up well.

How we do it

Trein Group currently manages activities in Spain while operating from Italy, using the same marketing and CRM system we use for our Italian clients, adapted to the local language and market. The know-how behind structuring this kind of expansion also comes from the training received at the Ambrosi Partner academy, which allowed us to develop a repeatable method for international customer management — a method that can now also be applied to Portugal, the UK, France and Germany.

Opening a Showroom Abroad: the Guide for Windows & Doors Companies