XL Studio
3 validated go-to-market routes for European expansion. Two weeks.
At a Glance
- Client
- XL Studio, an independent photography, motion design, and VFX studio based in China
- Industry
- Creative Production — Photography, Motion Design & VFX, China
- Package
- Revealed
- Timeline
- January 2026 (~2 weeks)
- Key Result
- 3 validated go-to-market routes for European expansion, delivered in a single comprehensive report
The Challenge
XL Studio’s founder had spent years working as a freelancer and employee inside the traditional agency ecosystem in France before relocating to China, where he built his own studio and grew it through a strong personal network. By 2025, he was considering whether European clients would be interested in his services, but almost a decade had passed since he had left, and he had no visibility into how the market had evolved.
He lacked the time, resources, and starting point to assess the opportunity himself. There was no European web presence, no social channels targeting that market, and no structured way to evaluate whether re-entering Europe was viable, let alone how to do it. The risk was straightforward: either invest blindly or stay on the sideline indefinitely.
The Approach
Realign ran a focused Revealed diagnostic designed to give the founder a clear, evidence-based picture of the European creative production market at the scale of operations he had in mind.
The research covered multiple dimensions:
- Market landscape by country — sizing, demand patterns, and competitive density across key European markets
- Business and pricing models — how studios in Europe structure their offers and what clients expect to pay
- Competitive positioning — where XL Studio’s combination of photography, motion design, and VFX capability would sit relative to local and remote competitors
- Cultural and regulatory considerations — what a China-based studio would need to navigate when working with European clients
- Trade and invoicing — practical implications of billing from China into the EU, including VAT, contracts, and payment flows
- Payment risk — a country-by-country ranking of how reliably clients pay in full and on time
The deliverable was a detailed written report, paired with dedicated conversation time to discuss findings and answer questions. All exchanges were conducted in French, the founder being bilingual.
Two findings stood out. First, it is more straightforward than expected for a Chinese creative services company to do business in Europe — the regulatory and trade barriers are lower than in many other sectors. Second, the European creative production market has not changed dramatically in the past decade in terms of structure. What has changed is competition: economically stronger markets now face pressure from studios in lower-cost European countries that deliver comparable quality at a fraction of the price.
The Results
- 3 distinct go-to-market routes identified: each mapped to the founder’s resources, risk appetite, and business objectives
- Full competitive landscape delivered: a realistic picture of market density, pricing trends, and where new entrants from outside Europe can compete
- Existing experience validated: the founder’s years in the French agency ecosystem proved directly relevant — the market’s fundamentals have remained stable
- Payment risk mapped by country: enabling the founder to prioritise markets not just by opportunity, but by financial reliability
- Decision-ready clarity: while no immediate action was taken, the founder now knows exactly which strategy to deploy when the time is right
Client Testimonial
“The report is brilliant — extremely precise and detailed. It gives me exactly what I need. It reminds me of my freelance years in Paris. Not much seems to have changed since then.
— Founder, XL Studio
What This Means for You
You do not need to commit to a full market-entry plan to make progress. Sometimes the highest-value move is understanding what you are walking into before you take the first step. A Revealed engagement gives you that clarity — grounded in research, not assumptions — so that when you are ready to act, you act with confidence.
Disclosure
Realign is an independent advisory practice. No affiliate links, no sponsored content, no tracking pixels. Case studies are published with explicit written client approval. Opinions and recommendations are based on direct experience.