One point of contact for your French-Lithuanian project
From the first market study to a lasting foothold for your brand: six services, a precise written brief, an agreed timeline, and a trilingual team in Vilnius.
The journey
Four stages, from first look to lasting foothold
Every market-entry project follows the same logic. You can join at any stage: we shape the assignment around where you are today.
- 01Explore
Understand the market before committing a single euro.
- 02Prospect
Test your offer and meet the right people.
- 03Establish
Set up the company, find your advisers, settle in.
- 04Grow
Build the brand's reputation and make it last.
01 · Explore
Understand the market before you invest in it
Two complementary services: a documented market study, and a field immersion so you can see for yourself.
Market research
8 to 10 weeksThe findings let you assess your commercial potential and set your growth strategy. The level of detail is set out in a precise written brief, drawn up with one of our experts.
Our four lines of enquiry
Production, imports, players in the market, the sector's economic weight and its short- and medium-term outlook.
Current and future demand, consumer trends and how market expectations are shifting.
Analysis of the rules that apply to your product or service in the target market.
First-hand information gathered from a panel of partners, customers and competitors.
What you gain
- Understand where the market is heading, short and medium term
- Confirm the commercial opportunity for your offer
- Adapt your positioning to local expectations
- Define your market-entry strategy
- Build a business plan backed by evidence
- Reduce your financial risk
- Information gathered directly in the field
- A consolidated analysis of the market
- A report setting out our practical recommendations
Learning Expedition
2 to 5 days on siteA professional immersion in the heart of an ecosystem: site visits and conversations with a sector's key players. The schedule is flexible and the trip can cover one sector or several. Exploring other ecosystems energises teams and makes change easier to lead.
What you gain
- Meet the sector's experts and business leaders
- Pick up on innovations and spot the trends
- Draw on the best practices you see on the ground
- Identify new business opportunities
- Full logistical organisation on site
- Introductions across the Lithuanian ecosystem, public and private
- Our team alongside you throughout the trip
Lead time: from 2 weeks to 5 months, depending on how complex the brief is.
02 · Prospect
Test your offer and meet your future customers
Five services, from a simple list of qualified contacts to a full programme of business meetings on the ground.
Offer testing
4 to 8 weeksMeasure how attractive your products and services really are to a targeted panel of local companies, before you commit sales resources.
- 01Complete sales pack
We build your presentation pack, and can translate your documentation.
- 02Calibrated targeting
We identify and qualify the partners most relevant to you.
- 03Direct approach
Our project managers contact the prospects themselves, in the local language.
- 04Pitch and assessment
We present your offer to the targets and measure their genuine interest.
- 05Feedback summary
A structured account of every conversation, company by company.
- 06Review and recommendations
An assessment of the exercise and our advice on the next steps.
Key contacts
2 to 3 weeksA qualified contact list, built to your specification and checked one by one, so you can start prospecting without losing time.
- 01Built to your brief
To your criteria: sector, job titles, company size, geography.
- 02Where we source it
Chamber members, trade federations, associations and local institutions.
- 03Checked contact by contact
Every contact is verified by our project managers before delivery.
What you gain
- Save a great deal of research time
- Work from a genuinely qualified list
- Start prospecting straight away
- Keep control of your development budget
Prospecting mission
3 to 8 weeksA programme of business meetings arranged for you over two or three days, with distributors, importers and agents interested in your offer.
- 01Meeting schedule
A two- or three-day programme with qualified potential customers or partners.
- 02Support on the ground
A project manager or interpreter goes with you, with a market briefing and cultural pointers.
- 03Debrief and next steps
A thorough review at the end of the mission to decide what comes next.
Exhibiting at a trade fair
Register 4 to 8 months aheadWe handle your participation in Lithuanian trade fairs, from registration through to welcoming your prospects on the stand.
Fair registration, booking and fitting out the space, formalities with the organiser.
Writing and translating your materials into Lithuanian, announcing your presence to target buyers, coverage in the Chamber's newsletter and channels, personal invitations to your prospects.
Advice on which products to show and how to adapt your pitch to the local market.
Our team present throughout the fair, interpreting, and follow-up on the contacts made.
Translation & interpreting
1 to 2 weeksTranslation of your commercial, legal and technical documents, and interpreting at your meetings, in Lithuanian, French and English, in both directions.
What you gain
- Text that is right on substance and on commercial tone
- Your industry's terminology respected
- Meetings that flow, without misunderstandings
03 · Establish
Set up your company and settle in Vilnius
Experts who make time for you, a company that gets incorporated, an address in the heart of the capital.
Expert roadshow
2 to 4 weeks to arrangeOver one or two days, a series of meetings with the city's established experts: banks, investment funds, accountants, tax advisers and lawyers. A project manager attends every meeting with you.
What you gain
- Finalise your business plan with local figures
- Validate your project legally and fiscally
- Identify sources of funding
- The best experts in the city, chosen to fit your project
- Careful follow-up between meetings
- A project manager at your side throughout
Subsidiary set-up
8 to 12 weeksFrom choosing the legal form to opening the bank account, we handle the whole process. Timings can vary with the authorities involved and your sector.
- 01Choosing the structure
Advice on the legal form best suited to your project.
- 02Incorporation
Setting up the local entity: subsidiary or branch.
- 03Registration
Registering the company with the Lithuanian authorities.
- 04Protecting the name
Protecting the company name and filing a trade mark where needed.
- 05Bank account
Support in opening your business account.
- 06Subsidiary or branch?
We help you decide, based on your tax position, your liability and your investment horizon.
Business Center & registered address
A. Goštauto g. 8, VilniusA business address in the heart of Vilnius, with whichever level of service you choose. Every option is designed to keep fixed costs to a minimum.
A business address without renting offices, with mail forwarding.
An equipped desk in the business center, on top of the address and mail service.
A private office for your team, available on request.
- High-speed internet
- Copier, scanner and printer
- Access to the meeting rooms
- Access to Chamber events
- Introductions to the local network of experts
- Direct line to the permanent team
Some packages include accommodation and supervision for your V.I.E. Discover the V.I.E programme
04 · Grow
Build your brand's reputation and make it last
Drawing on our knowledge of the Lithuanian market, our team helps you communicate better locally.
Marketing materials
3 to 6 monthsSeven services to bring your communications into line with Lithuanian business conventions.
Design and production of documents, flyers, business cards and catalogues.
Your promotional text translated and written by native speakers.
Adapting your existing site, or building a mini-site for the local market.
Documents that respect Lithuanian customs and business culture.
Tools built for the specifics of the target market.
Event organisation and access to the Chamber's local network.
Turnkey events
3 to 4 monthsProduct launch, conference, seminar, promotional cocktail, gala dinner: we take the event on from end to end, from choosing the format to welcoming the guests.
Breakfast, lunch, cocktail, dinner, conference or symposium, to suit your goal and your audience.
Venue, catering, hosts, video, sound, lighting, entertainment and simultaneous interpreting.
Our network of Lithuanian caterers, hotels and restaurants, at the best negotiated rates.
A list targeted by sector, invitation copy, email campaign and follow-ups.
- Our team welcomes the guests
- We coordinate the suppliers on site
- We follow up the contacts made during the event
Press relations
2 to 3 monthsIn some markets, being known through the media makes all the difference. We carry your message to the Lithuanian press.
In French, Lithuanian and/or English, written for what local newsrooms expect.
Sent to every relevant media outlet in the target country.
Journalist-by-journalist follow-up and targeted reminders.
Venue, logistics, catering, press desk and coverage tracking.
05 · VAT refund
Reclaim French VAT on your business expenses
UCCIFE, the union of French chambers of commerce abroad, in partnership with the CCFL, handles your refund claims under the 8th and 13th European Directives.
Read this before putting your file together. Copies of invoices are not accepted by the French tax authorities, even certified ones. Only originals qualify for a refund.
Which expenses is VAT recoverable on?
Recoverable
- Space rental: trade fairs, exhibitions, conferences, seminars, events
- Decoration, hosts, translation
- Telephone and electricity
- Transport of goods or machinery
- Food and drink
- 80 % of the VAT on fuel
- Furniture rental (article 259 A, French Tax Code)
- Advertising and promotion services (article 259 B, French Tax Code)
Not recoverable
- Hotels and accommodation
- Passenger car hire
- Air and rail tickets
- Taxis
- Gifts
The four documents to send us
A complete file speeds up processing by the authorities considerably.
- 01The original invoices
Showing the French VAT amount. For large amounts, include the bank payment record.
- 02Two original mandates
On your company letterhead, written in French and signed by the legal representative.
- 03Certificate of incorporation
Original, proving your company is registered in its home country.
- 04Bank details
So the Chamber can transfer the refund to you once obtained.
06 · IT support
Technical support that is reliable, fast and secure
For companies and individuals alike: your systems running without a hitch, so you can concentrate on your business.
Professional installation, configuration and tailored solutions for your working environment.
Fast identification and resolution of incidents, to keep downtime short.
Systems kept secure, fast and up to date.
Complete removal of threats and lasting protection for your data.
Installing, tuning and replacing equipment for reliable connectivity.
Reserved for Gold members: guaranteed business continuity and immediate remote resolution. See the membership packages
Let's talk about your project
Tell us what you need, and we come back to you within 48 hours
Every assignment starts with a written brief drawn up with one of our experts. No off-the-shelf quotes: a scope, a timeline and a price, built around your project.
