‘Little Britain’ attitude scuppers overseas trade

8 July 2012

                                                            

A prevailing “Little Britain mentality” is the real obstacle preventing many UK firms from selling their products and services abroad, according to the boss of a Yorkshire firm successfully exporting its innovative cleaning and disinfection products.

Murray Angus, managing director of the Proton Group (pictured), believes many companies simply don’t have a vision of how to tackle potential exports. And some are worried they may be letting down domestic customers.

“I’ve spoken to many senior executives of other UK companies, across a wide range of markets, and it never fails to amaze me how negative they are when it comes to considering overseas opportunities.

“Some of these organisations offer excellent products and services, which are often innovative. However, there seems to be a perception in the UK that our products are not well regarded and that there are too many obstacles, which I’ve found to be untrue. UK products, support and services are generally highly regarded and trusted. We also have one major advantage – English is considered the business language in many countries abroad.

“I’ve often spoken to other UK executives about the virtues of export sales, but I sometimes get the impression from their reaction, that I may as well be asking them to fly to the moon!”

Mr Angus says along with a lack of awareness of possibilities there is also a lingering fear that British products simply aren’t robust enough to sell abroad. The Proton Group has recently concentrated on selling to Western Europe and has developed a successful base in Denmark and Scandinavia. It also sells in the United States and the Middle East.

It aims to export a fifth of its products within the next four years.

“We’ve got a negative perception of our own worth,” he adds. “And there’s concern especially in smaller companies that management time might be diverted.

“Yet companies which do export stand a better chance of staying in business. A lot of companies have tried exporting but it hasn’t materialized in a realistic time scale for them. Exporting is a bit of a slow burn to start with and needs dedication. It’s taken us 12 months to get established in Denmark.”

                                                         
           Chamber International - Case Study Proton Group