Bharat Mandot Of Stelcore Group On The Hidden Costs Of Taking Indian Brands Global

Stelcore Group chairman Bharat Mandot explains why real global expansion depends on winning repeat customers, and not just the first sale

Mandot breaks down why market size and diaspora presence are the wrong filters for picking a market, and why using both marketplaces and owned D2C works better than choosing just one

He shares the financial checks founders skip: a 60-65% domestic gross margin before going global

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What’s driving the next phase of India’s export story? It’s no longer just manufacturing capacity or shipping lanes, but the infrastructure that quietly powers cross-border commerce.

For years, most Indian brands treated international expansion as an afterthought. They usually entered overseas markets only after receiving inquiries from abroad, shipping a few orders through online marketplaces, or seeing unexpected demand from the Indian diaspora. Very few were built with global customers in mind from day one.

The playbook is now changing. Founders are thinking about international markets from day one, planning for pricing, product compliance, tax structures, fulfilment and localisation well before their first overseas sale.

This shift is showing up in the numbers. India’s cross-border........

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