# /case-studies/industrial-tooling-brand  —  A professional tooling brand · Industrial Tooling
# https://o1.eu/case-studies/industrial-tooling-brand
# Operator One — Merchant of Record for European marketplaces.

## Summary
A professional tooling brand opened a direct marketplace channel in two countries without disturbing its dealer network.

## Result
No conflict — dealer pricing and agreements untouched

## At a glance
- No conflict: dealer pricing and agreements untouched
- 2 countries: DE · FR
- Trade channels: a general marketplace and a trade vertical
- Premium range: high-ticket professional equipment

## Markets live
DE, FR

## Marketplaces live on
Amazon, Leroy Merlin

## Challenge
The brand sells professional tooling through a dealer network, but its buyers increasingly start their search on marketplaces and the brand had no compliant way to meet them there. Selling direct itself would have meant new entities, VAT and compliance in each country, and a channel conflict with the dealers the business depends on.

## What changed under Operator One
- Operator One became Merchant of Record, selling under its own entity, so the direct channel sits beside the dealer network rather than inside it.
- Dealer pricing and dealer agreements were left untouched, so nothing about the existing business had to be renegotiated.
- The compact premium range is presented in proper German and French rather than machine-translated listings.
- A trade vertical runs alongside the general marketplace, reaching buyers of professional equipment where they already shop.
- The brand keeps ownership of its inventory and sets its own pricing strategy throughout.

## Outcome
The brand has a direct marketplace channel in Germany and France, opened without changing a single dealer agreement.

## Who this applies to
If a dealer network is the reason you have stayed off marketplaces, the structure matters more than the tactics. Book a call to see how a direct channel can sit beside your existing one.

## Story
A direct channel that sits beside the dealers the brand makes professional industrial tooling: magnetic drilling machines, annular cutters and fabrication equipment. It is high-ticket kit, sold to people who use it for a living, and it reaches them through a dealer network. The problem That network is the business, and it works. The difficulty is that the people who buy this equipment increasingly start their search on marketplaces, whether or not the brand is there. Being absent does not preserve the dealer channel, it just means somebody else answers the search. Selling direct looked expensive in two ways. The obvious one was structural: new entities, VAT registrations and compliance in each country. The more serious one was commercial. A brand that starts selling direct on its own account is competing with the dealers it depends on, and that is a conversation most manufacturers would rather not have. What Operator One put in place Operator One became the Merchant of Record, which in this case is the whole point. O1 sells under its own entity, as its own legal counterparty, so the direct channel sits beside the dealer network rather than inside it. Dealer pricing and dealer agreements were left exactly as they were, and nothing about the existing business had to be renegotiated to open the new one. On the commercial side, the compact premium range is presented in proper German and French rather than machine-translated listings, which matters for technical equipment where the specification is the sale. A trade vertical runs alongside the general marketplace, reaching professional buyers where they already shop for this kind of tooling. Where the brand stands now A direct marketplace channel in Germany and France. Dealer pricing and dealer agreements untouched. Official listings in the local language of each market. Reach across both a general marketplace and a trade vertical. Who this applies to If a dealer network is the reason you have stayed off marketplaces, the structure matters more than the tactics. Book a call to see how a direct channel can sit beside your existing one.