Lacoste handed its Chile and Peru business to Mexico's Grupo Axo

Lacoste handed its Chile and Peru business to Grupo Axo last month. Axo is a Mexican operator that manages more than 60 international brands across Latin America, including Gap, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess and The North Face.

Lacoste was not starting from zero. It already had about 10 stores in Chile and four in Peru, along with a presence inside Falabella, Ripley and Paris. It still chose to put the operation in the hands of a regional partner that already knows those markets.

After two decades opening markets across Latin America, this is one of the decisions I see global brands get wrong most often. They build a small direct team, spend two years learning how each retailer buys and lose valuable time while they figure it out. Axo already operates more than 20 brands in Chile and knows the buyers, the retailers and how the market works.

Working through a partner costs margin. Going direct costs time, and in Latin America, time is often more expensive.

A brand can be imported. A relationship with the retail buyer cannot. Whoever holds that relationship usually determines how quickly the brand actually grows.