...through the years our day to day activities increasingly link us to other people and activities throughout the rest of the world (Surman, 2009). There has been much debate on the effects of globalisation and what businesses and consumers facing them should do. This essay will outline and discuss elements of the paradigm shift of the last thirty years starting with the call for global standardisation and lowest cost orientation for the benefit of the consumer, as expressed by Levitt (1983) in his legendary article “The Globalisation of Markets”. We will then jump forward to the twenty-first century with global brands and glocalisation supported with the following articles: Holt et al (2004) “How Global Brands Compete”, Askegaard and Kjeldgaard’s (2006) “The Glocalisation of Youth Culture” and Surman’s (2009) “The Global Consumer”. Discourse around what companies operating on the global level should and shouldn’t do always ends up being centered on the consumer. What the consumer wants/needs, what they will buy and why they buy it, what implications does buying the product have for them. Levitt (1983) states that consumers are driven by the lowest price, though accounting for the importance of quality. Products are bought in the first place because of their functional benefits and ability to increase discretionary time. Companies must work under the belief that the customer doesn’t know what he/she really wants therefore such market research and customisation is pointless, inefficient...
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...According to Walters (1986) standardization is the implementation of a similar or uniform marketing programme or process across national borders. The standardization strategy indicates the use of a unique market or the homogenization of international products. In few cases standardisation have a 100% uniformity as many organisations have different levels of standardisation and standardise segments of the marketing mix. Levitt (1983) states that the “Global competitor will seek constantly to standardize his offering everywhere… He will never assume that the customer is a king who knows his own wishes.” However, standardisation should not be looked at from only the point of the marketing mix but also the management of an organisation. Sorenson and Weichmann (1975) stated “the intellectual method for approaching a marketing problem, for analysing that problem, and for synthesizing information in order to arrive at a decision, can absolutely be standardized on an international basis." This belief have been supported by many other studies for example, regarding the promotion of multinationals Dunn (1976) suggest “"the methodology of planning is one area where standardization seems to work." Several advantages of standardisation is developed by Carpano and Chrisman (1995), Walters...
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...this might be transferable to foreign markets. Use examples to illustrate your argument Culture * What is meant by culture and how can Hofstede’s cultural typologies and Hall’s contexts help Western marketers better understand foreign market cultures? Use examples of specific counties and/or regions to help illustrate your answer. * What is culture? Is it important for international marketers to take account of or is globalisation going to make it a thing of the past Standardisation/ adaptation * Highlight the distinguishing differences between localisation and adaption of products and analyse the advantages and disadvantages associated with standardised global product strategies. Using examples to help illustrate your answer, critically evaluate when each of these approaches may be most appropriate. * “As markets are becoming borderless, marketing strategies that fail to recognise the similarities among markets can be at a competitive disadvantage” (Levitt 1983). Critically evaluate the arguments for and against adopting a standardised approach to global marketing with particular emphasis...
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...is Glandore Wine from the Hunter Valley. The report will focus on exporting this product into the Chinese market. There should be a strong focus on building brand reputation and maintaining long-term business relationships. There are multiple entry types into foreign markets yet Chinese regulations limit the mode of entry. The recommended mode of entry for Glandore wines is a Joint Venture. The decision between product standardisation and customisation is an important aspect of strategic decision-making. It is recommended that Glandore does not customise their core product of wine, however it is recommended that other product attributes are customised to appeal to the Chinese market. When promoting Glandore wine in the Chinese market there should be use of advertising, public relations, sales promotion and personal selling. Table of Contents Executive Summary ……………………………..…. 2 1. Introduction ………………………………………………... 4 2. 2.1 Market Entry………………………………………………4 2.2 Recommendations ………………………………………5 3. 3.1 Product Standardisation and Customisation ……..…..7 3.2 Recommendations…………………………………….….7 4. Promotion in China 4.1 Push Strategies……………………………………….…. 8 4.2 Pull Strategies………………………………………….… 9 5. Conclusion…………………………………………………….10 6. Reference List…………………………………………………11 1. Introduction Middle-class affluence in China is beginning to fuel changes in consumption, which creates market opportunities for higher end products. Exporting...
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...and Standardised approach to the world 199 ˚ Asa Thelander Department of Communication Studies, Lund University, Helsingborg, Sweden Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyse the marketing strategy in China of the furnishing retailer IKEA in the context of standardisation and adaptation of marketing activities. IKEA’s strategy in China is compared to its corporate strategy throughout the rest of the world. Design/methodology/approach – The four P classifications are used as a framework to compare the central marketing strategies of IKEA with marketing strategies used in China. The paper builds on both primary and secondary data. Interviews with senior managers at IKEA are conducted and studies on business and retailing in China are used. Findings – The marketing strategies used by IKEA in China are found to be different from the standardised strategies it uses throughout the rest of the world. Several of the changed strategies are central to the business concept of IKEA. Research limitations/implications – The present paper shows the challenges for a standardised marketing concept and its implications. Originality/value – The paper provides, in the context of the standardisation and adaptation of marketing activities, a more nuanced and up-to-date picture of the strategies used by IKEA compared to previous studies. Keywords Retail management, Marketing strategy, Standardization, China Paper type Research paper 1. Introduction Retail internationalisation...
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...com/locate/jretconser Standardized marketing strategies in retailing? IKEA’s marketing strategies in Sweden, the UK and China ˚ Steve Burt a, Ulf Johansson b,n, Asa Thelander c a University of Stirling, Institute for Retail Studies, Stirling Management School, Stirling FK9 4LA, Scotland, UK Department of Business Administration, Lund University, P.O. Box 7080, SE-220 07 Lund, Sweden c Department of Communication Studies, Lund University, Campus Helsingborg, PO Box 882, SE-251 08 Helsingborg, Sweden b a r t i c l e in fo Available online 29 September 2010 Keywords: IKEA Retail internationalisation Retail marketing mix Standardisation Sweden the UK China abstract IKEA is often cited as an example of a ‘global’ retailer which pursues a similar ‘standardized’ approach in every market. This paper systematically assesses the degree of standardisation (and adaptation) of four commonly identified retail marketing mix activities – merchandise, location and store format, the selling and service environment, and market communication – within three countries. These countries – Sweden, the UK and China – represent different cultural settings and are markets in which IKEA has been operating for different lengths of time. The data upon which the comparison is based was generated from personal interviews, in-country consumer research, company documentation and third party commentaries. The conclusions drawn suggest that whilst IKEA operates a standardized concept, degrees of adaptation...
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...potential benefits of economies of scale, adapt their offerings to a particular market (which may facilitate increased market specific penetration), or adopt an integrated approach utilising both approaches simultaneously (Vrontis’ AdaptStand approach). There has been much literature written regarding the external and often uncontrollable factors which may impact upon a firms positioning strategy; this paper looks at these externalities and the internal controllables in order to derive a ‘best fit’ strategic and tactical approach. Moreover, this paper looks at the strategic international positioning of Coca-Cola by utilising a number of models. Keywords: Coca-Cola, global, international, strategy, positioning, adaptation, standardisation, AdaptStand, AdaptStandation, international, marketing, Introduction If we consider business to be akin to war, then perhaps there is no better starting point than the writings of Sun Tzu [circa 400-320 B.C.]. ‘The Art of War’ is the oldest formalised writing focusing on the concepts and principles of warfare and military strategy. Written over two millennia ago, it is still valid in the modern world, not only in military terms, but also in business. “Generally, he who occupies the field of battle first and awaits his enemy is at ease, and he who comes later to the scene and rushes into the fight is weary....
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...Introduction: The basic purpose of accounting is to prepare financial information for internal and external users. Accounting standards play a key role in financial reporting and help users to make informed decisions. Levitt (1998) highlighted the importance of accounting standards as ‘educated investors need relevant, useful information to make their investment decisions’ and he emphasises that this can be achieved by high quality accounting standards. Up to 1970s, there was no uniform system for the preparation of financial statements and different companies used different policies, principles and bases according to their needs. This practice led to inconsistency between the financial statements of different entities or same entities prepared by different people, and made their comparison very difficult for different users. Dyson (2011) highlights this situation as ‘what was particularly puzzling to the public was that at the beginning of the week one set of accountants could decide that a company had made a profit and then by the end of that week another set of accountants would decide that it had actually made a loss’. This prompted the accountancy profession to regulate the accounting information and develop uniform principles and procedures which are today known as accounting standards. Accounting standards are statements of standard accounting practice issued by such body or bodies as may be prescribed by regulations (CA 2006, S464(1)). In the UK Financial Reporting...
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...Standardized marketing strategies in retailing? IKEA’s marketing strategies in China, Sweden and the UK Steve Burt University of Stirling Department of Marketing, Institute for Retail Studies STIRLING FK9 4LA, Scotland, the UK. Ulf Johansson* *Contact author Department of Business Administration Lund University P. O. Box 7080 SE-220 07 Lund, Sweden e-mail:ulf.johansson@fek.lu.se Åsa Thelander Department of Communication Studies Lund Universitety, Campus Helsingborg, P O Box 882 SE-251 08 Helsingborg, Sweden Paper accepted for presentation at the 1st Nordic Retail and Wholesale Conference in Stockholm (Norrtälje), 6-7/11, 2008 Abstract IKEA is rumored to be a very standardized retailer, i.e., a certain set of marketing strategies is used that are the same around the world. This indeed sets IKEA, operating on markets in Europe, US as well as Asia and Australia, apart among international retailers. Often the theoretical conclusions in international marketing literature, as well as empirical evidence, argue convincingly for the more adaptation (to different markets) in different national markets. But is IKEA so standardized in marketing strategies? So far there are quite few, and very dated, empirical studies of IKEA marketing strategies (yet many refer to IKEA as having a standardized marketing strategy). Here marketing activites are conceptualized to concern: Merchandise - putting together an assortment of products (e.g., national and retailer brands, pricing and pricing...
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...between standardisation and customisation. Standardisation means that companies learn to operate as if the world were one large market – ignoring regional and superficial differences (Levitt). To speak specifically, executives aim to sale the global products what are the best-value product with high quality, best technology and low prices in different national markets. Its mission is modernity and its mode, price competition, even when it sells top-of-the-line, high-end products. It knows about the one great thing all nations. Moreover, the strategy of standardization not only responds to worldwide homogenized markets but also expands those markets with aggressive low pricing. Furthermore, the standardisation pays more attention on the extras such as status, brand image and promotion. And the total cost of designing is lower than that of customization. While, compared to customization, it focuses on understanding customers. To be speak specifically, depending on the cultural diversity, the executives pay more attention on realizing the choice criteria of customers, the purchase ways of customers, the purchase frequency. Its mission is to design the different products based on the different needs of different national customers. It knows a lot about a great many countries and congenially adapts to supposed differences. Moreover, due to the different designs, it need to pay more cost on product design. | |Standardisation ...
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...Ted Baker is a Global clothing retailer, which was established by Ray Kelvin in Glasgow, Scotland 1988. At the start, Ted Baker sold men’s shirts. In the subsequent years, Ted Baker established itself as a global lifestyle brand that continued to develop and attain significant growth and development. Ted Baker has operations in Europe, Middle East, North America, and Australasia. Ted Baker has managed to gain a high geographical cover even in depressing economic periods. In 2014, Ted Baker had expanded into 35 countries and had expanded its range of products from a single product – men’s shirts – to womenwear, Lingerie and childrenwear among other offerings. This essay will critically evaluate the factors behind the rise and increasing globalisation of the Ted Baker retail brand. In its efforts to become a global firm, Ted Baker sought to expand its product offerings from men’s shirts specialisation to womenswear, accessories, sleepwear, and children wear (Holland, 2013). The product portfolio expansion is essential in improving the firm’s profitability as new customers are targeted across the firm’s markets. To depict the growth of the retail brand, the expansion is observed as an aspect of product development that involves selling new products to the existing markets (Lamb, Hair, and McDaniel, 2010). However, the product portfolio expansion is also supportive of a market development strategy and diversification strategy since Ted Baker further sought to sell its products (existing...
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...DOES CULTURE MATTER? BY SHRUTI BALABHADRA DM16144 In the yearly part of the 21st century Thomas L. Friedman published the bestseller “The World is Flat: A brief History of the 21st century” which was an international hit. The author stated that the world has become a flat and levelled field with respect to commerce thus in turn giving equal opportunity to competitors across the globe. Further, it stated that we have reached a time where geographical, cultural and historical divisions have become insignificant in terms of a trade culture. Friedman stated ten “Flatteners” that have levelled the global map: * The Berlin wall collapse: the downfall of communism was a primary breakthrough in terms of freedom of trade, content creation and an opportunity for the world to connect with each other. * Netscape: when the company went public, it gave rise to a new era of digitization where anyone could access and information form any part of the world. * “Workflow software”: the rise of new programming languages and machines resulted in the rise of a global platform for new multinational collaborations. Also called as the “Genesis Moment of the flat world”, it gave rise to the rest of the global flatteners. * Uploading: people were uploading and working together on online assignments from different parts of the world. * Outsourcing: this has helped companies in mass distribution where services and other activities like manufacturing have been segregated for better...
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...| | |Entry Proposal for IKEA | |International market entry to Puerto Rico | | | |International Retailing | |Tuesday 12th March 2013 | | | |Zoe Cole | |Aoife Hughes | |Tinuola Omoyele | | | | | Contents Terms of Reference / Executive Summary 2 Introduction 3 Main Body / Findings 4 References 10 Terms of Reference / Executive Summary In this report, we propose IKEA expand its international market into San Juan, Puerto Rico, South America as mode of entry. The purpose of this report is to make a case for the expansion of IKEA into a new market. The reason we chose Puerto Rico is because the research has already been completed for such a move, and only narrowly missed out to the Dominican Republic as a new destination...
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...The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at http://www.emerald-library.com/ft McDonald's: ``think global, act local'' ± the marketing mix Principal Lecturer, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK Keywords Globalization, Marketing mix, Marketing management, Fast-food industry, Marketing, Franchising Abstract Focuses on the marketing mix of McDonald's. Highlights how the company combines internationalisation and globalisation elements according to various fast food markets. Using the effect of strategical and tactical models, the case illustrates the effect of McDonald's on the global environment and how they adapt to local communities. Describes future franchise plans for McDonald's. McDonald's: ``think global, act local'' 97 Claudio Vignali Introduction McDonald's background Two brothers, Richard and Maurice McDonald founded McDonald's in 1937. The brothers developed food processing and assembly line techniques at a tiny drive-in restaurant east of Pasadena, California. In 1954, Ray Kroc, a milk-shake mixer salesman, saw an opportunity in this market and negotiated a franchise deal giving him exclusive rights to franchise McDonald's in the USA. Mr Kroc offered a McDonald's franchise for $950 at a time when other franchising companies sold restaurant and ice-cream franchises for up to $50,000. Mr Kroc also took a service fee of 1.9 per cent of sales for himself plus a royalty of 0.5 per cent of sales went to the McDonald brothers...
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...Business and Marketing Strategy Q1: Assessment of environmental issues affecting Coca Cola Provide a detailed assessment of the environmental issues affecting Coca Cola global business and marketing strategy. Given guidance in terms of opportunities or threats they may pose for the company in the future. Lo; illustrate how marketing decisions are affected by various forces in the external business environment “WATER is to Coca-Cola as clean energy is to BP.” So declares Jeff Seabright, Coca-Cola's manager of environmental affairs, when asked about the firm's new global water strategy. The fizzy-drinks maker unveiled that strategy as part of its annual environmental report, released this week. “We need to manage this issue or it will manage us,” says Mr Seabright. At first sight, the analogy with oil may seem odd, but it is not so far-fetched. Big Oil has long been the target of activists clamouring for action on global warming. BP stole a march on its oily brethren by accepting that climate change is a real problem, making smallish investments in clean energy, and grandly proclaiming itself “beyond petroleum”. Coca-Cola has also been targeted by activists, but over the issue of water rather than energy. The firm has been hit hardest in India. First, experts from Delhi's Centre for Science and Environment, a green think-tank, tested various soft drinks and determined that they contained high levels of pesticide. It turned out that Coca-Cola was not the cause of the problem...
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