Why the decision of Carlson was right. Comment
Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets
Project Report and Thesis contact
www.mbacasestudyanswers.com
ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224
International Business
Case Studies
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
The case focuses on US based electronics
retailer Best Buy Co. China was Best Buy's second international venture, after
its successful operations in the Canadian market. Best Buy ventured into China
by opening a sourcing office in 2003, and at that time it planned to study and
understand the Chinese market and also recruit talented employees locally in
order to open its stores in China. Before it opened its own brand stores, Best
Buy acquired a majority stake in Jiangsu Five Star Appliance Co., (Five Star
Appliance) in May 2006 and began operating 136 Five Star Appliance stores in
eight provinces across the country as part of its 'dual brand' strategy. Best
Buy opened its first 'Best Buy' store in December 2006, in Shanghai. The store
was Best Buy's largest, and was spread across four floors. According to
analysts, The 'Best Buy' store was a new model of electronics stores in China
and was in contrast to other stores in China. The store was brightly lit and
carpeted; the sales assistants at the stores were noncommissioned, and did not hard
sell the products; and customers were provided with ample freedom to test and
try the products. Though analysts were initially skeptical about Best Buy's
prospects in the country, the store received a good response and went on to
become one of the top ten revenue generators for the company. However, the
going did not remain smooth. Best Buy could not open its second 'Best Buy'
store in China as planned due to problems and delays in getting the required
permission. The company also faced problems as it could not find trained
manpower and had to contend with price conscious shoppers. Moreover, it faced
intensified competition from well entrenched Chinese electronics retailers such
as Gome and Suning and also from Western retailers such as WalMart and
Carrefour that sold electronics items in their stores.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Analyze the entry and expansion strategies of Best Buy in China.
Q2.
Discuss the other issues and challenges faced by foreign retailers in China.
Q3.
Explore strategies that Best Buy could adopt to tap the opportunities in the
Chinese retail industry while mitigating the risks of operating in China.
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
The case discusses the entry of the
Germany based electronics retailer Media Market into China and its subsequent
exit from the country. Media Market entered China in 2010 after performing a
feasibility study. Media Market opened a huge store in Shanghai in November
2010 to mark its entry into China. The store, spread over five floors,
displayed and sold a wide range of electronic appliances of various brands. The
products came with price tags attached. The store gained huge popularity and
experienced high traffic. In China, electronic retail stores usually consisted
of vendor representatives who promoted their own products. Customers could
bargain and get the product at a lower price. This led to a highly chaotic
environment in the stores. Media Market refrained from using this model and
positioned itself differently from the local vendors. It did away with the
vendor representatives and had its own salespeople manning the stores. The
salespeople did not interfere with the customers and provided assistance only
when asked for. To keep up the momentum, Media Market planned to open a second
store in Shanghai. It inaugurated this store just a couple of days after the
exit of US based electronics retailer Best Buy from China. Though Media
Market’s first two stores were successful, it could not sustain the momentum.
It could not open stores as rapidly as it planned to. Though customers
appreciated the modern shopping experience at Media Market, they still
preferred to shop at local stores as they could bargain and buy products at a
lower price. Faced with high competition and high costs of operations, Media
Market decided to exit the Chinese market in March 2013.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Discuss the nature of problems faced by retailers like Media Market in emerging
markets like China.
Q2.
Analyze Media Market’s preentry and entry strategies.
Q3.
Examine the reasons that prompted Media Market to exit the market.
Q4.
Analyze the retail industry in China.
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
Family businesses typically have the
luxury of passing the torch down to children after parents retire, but in some
cases, there are no candidates, or the candidates may not be right for the
role. This presents a challenge when it's time to find a successor, especially
if existing employees have assumed that top level promotions would come from
within the family. So the Carlson companies had to put in great effort to find
a replacement, looking both internally and outside of the company, ultimately
finding an internal candidate who would work well with the family but also
offered plenty of experience as an executive in different industries. According
to Beverly Behan of Hay's Group, Carlson should be commended for not only
making the right decision in not hiring the heir apparent, but for handling the
job search in a calm, effective way.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
What strategy was adopted by Carlson in appointing the heir?
Q2.
Why the decision of Carlson was right. Comment..
CASE STUDY (20 Marks)
This case is about the Australia
endeavor of Starbucks Coffee International, one of the largest specialties
coffee chains of the world. In July 2008, the company closed down the majority
of its stores in the island continent citing nonperformance triggered by the
economic meltdown as a key reason
behind the closures. The company said that the closures were a part of the
transformation strategy being undertaken by its founder Howard Schultz to
revive the company's performance. It also clarified that such a step was unique
to Australia and that it would continue to enhance its presence in other
international locations. Starbucks entered the Australian market in July 2000
with its first store being set up in Sydney's business area. Australia was a
market with a sophisticated coffee culture and had numerous local cafés
catering to its demand for premium coffee. Although the lack of ready
acceptance and the presence of various competitors hindered its progress,
Starbucks expanded quickly by opening company owned stores in various towns and
cities of Australia. This it did without much customization of its product,
process, or promotional strategies. Experts felt that Starbucks failed in the
Australian market largely due to its inability to understand the Australian
consumer and culture. Under these circumstances Starbucks had to close majority
of Starbucks stores in Australia in 2008. The decision to close down these
stores came right after the company had recorded a consolidated net loss for
the quarter ended June 29, 2008. It aims at portraying the reasons behind
Starbucks ‘failure to allure the Australian coffee drinker. It also attempts to
understand the company's objective and rationale behind partially withdrawing
from a coffee drinking market while it continued to operate in European and
other international markets.
Answer
the following question.
Q1.
Ascertain the challenges the company is likely to face in the future and
explore future strategies that the retailer can adopt.
Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets
Project Report and Thesis contact
ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224
Comments
Post a Comment