Discusses the distribution network within the country from how products enter to final destination, including reliability and condition of distribution mechanisms, major distribution centers, ports, etc.
Last Published: 7/17/2019

As a result of different legal frameworks in the entities, there are two distribution areas in BiH: one in the Federation and one in Republika Srpska.  Although some effort has been made to harmonize the entities’ legal systems, there are still significant differences.  Consequently, many manufacturers have developed multiple distribution channels and contracts with multiple distributors to cover both the Federation and Republika Srpska. 
There are three primary types of distribution channels in BiH:

  • For consumer goods

    • Producer to wholesaler to retailer to consumer

  • For industrial goods

    • Producer to industrial user; or

    • Producer to distributor to industrial user

  • For services

    • Service provider to consumer or industrial user


Wholesaling: Wholesalers offer the best channel for providing transportation, product storage, market information, financing, and risk management.  Most wholesalers are independent, full-service merchant wholesalers that import and distribute goods.  There is a significant degree of specialization in the wholesale sector by industry.  Foreign companies control their distribution channels in BiH in a variety of ways. 

Some manufacturers have opened representative offices in order to control distribution channels and supervise/manage marketing efforts.  For example, one major U.S. corporation relies on three distributors and a number of wholesalers to service the market.  The company’s sales offices, located across the country, coordinate marketing efforts.  Several U.S. IT companies cover the market directly and through a network of business partners, usually smaller IT companies.  Finally, some U.S. companies utilize a single distributor that covers the entire country. 

Retailing: The most significant development in the retail market is the appearance of large retailers, many of them foreign-owned, Konzum (Croatian supermarket chain), Mercator (Slovenian supermarket chain), as well as locally-owned retail companies, Bingo, Tropic Centar, and Robot Komerc.  In addition, the continued expansion of the shopping mall concept - including the newest major entrant, the Sarajevo City Center mall opened in 2014 - has changed consumers’ habits.

Prepared by our U.S. Embassies abroad. With its network of 108 offices across the United States and in more than 75 countries, the U.S. Commercial Service of the U.S. Department of Commerce utilizes its global presence and international marketing expertise to help U.S. companies sell their products and services worldwide. Locate the U.S. Commercial Service trade specialist in the U.S. nearest you by visiting http://export.gov/usoffices.