Analyze the entry and expansion strategies of Carrefour in South Korea

Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets Project Report and Thesis contact [email protected] www.mbacasestudyanswers.com ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224 International Business Case Studies CASE STUDY (20 Marks) Background checks are an issue faced by many companies, as sensitive information is now more public than ever. Office Drop is no exception, as the company scans paper into digital files, including patient records and minister sermons, most of which require trustworthy employees who can handle documents discreetly. Many companies offer quick, superficial checks, but for Office Drop owner Prasad Thammineni, more information was required. He found a company that would allow research to delve into a number of different sources and perform a more comprehensive search. Other business owners offered somewhat critical opinions of Thammineni's choice, pointing out that instead of Googling to find a background check company, he should have asked his business network who they were using. They also recommended that he took advantage of free resources, including online searches and checking out social media sites to learn more about job candidates. Answer the following question. Q1. Why background checks of job candidates are necessary? Q2. Why the Office Drop owner Prasad was very particular about background checks of employees? CASE STUDY (20 Marks) The cases discusses, UK based home improvement retailer, B&Q's foray into China. B&Q entered the Chinese market in the year 1999 by opening a store in Shanghai through a joint venture with Home Decorative Building Materials Limited, a Shanghai basedproperty developer. At that time, the DoitYourself(DIY) concept had not gained popularity in China. Overcoming the initial challenges, B&Q was able to establish itself firmly in the Chinese market. B&Q modified its stores to suit the Chinese consumers and introduced the concept of 'BuyitYourself.' The company's growth coincided with the rapid infrastructural development in the country, and increased activity in the housing sector. The rapid growth of the Chinese home improvement industry led several leading international companies like IKEA to expand their operations in the country. By late 2006, B&Q faced stiff competition from foreign as well as local companies like Orient Home. The case examines the entry and expansion strategies of B&Q in China and how the company is positioned to face increasing competition in the Chinese home improvement industry. Answer the following question. Q1. Analyze the entry and expansion strategies of B&Q in China. CASE STUDY (20 Marks) The case discusses the entry and the subsequent exit of the USbased electronics retailer Best Buy in China. Best Buy entered China by opening a procurement office in 2003. After studying the market for quite some time, it decided to acquire Jinangsu Five Star Appliance Co, (Five Star), the fourth largest electronics retailer in the country, in order to have a wide presence in the market. In China, Best Buy followed the dual brand strategy that it followed in the Canadian market. As per this strategy, the company operated Five Star as a separate brand, different from the Best Buy stores, the first of which was opened in 2006 in Shanghai. 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. Best Buy refrained from using this model and positioned it differently from the local vendors. It did away with the vendor representatives and had its own salespeople manning the stores. The salespeople in the Best Buy stores did not interfere with the customers and provided assistance only when asked for. In the Chinese stores, the products were displayed in glass cases. Best Buy, in contrast, displayed products in such a way as to enable the customers to touch and feel the product. Though Best Buy's first store was highly successful and went on to become one of thetop 10 Best Buy stores in the world, it could not sustain the momentum. It could not open stores as rapidly as it had planned to and the opening of the second store was delayed. Also, though customers appreciated the modern shopping experience at Best Buy they still preferred to shop at local stores as they offered lower prices. Though Best Buy opened nine stores by 2010, the local competitors ended up opening hundreds of stores. Due to high competition and the high costs of operations, Best Buy decided to exit the market in February 2011. Without examining the strategies adopted by the competitors in the market, Best Buy's adopted pre entry strategies, its entry into the market, the strategies it adopted in the Chinese market, and its subsequent decision to exit the market. Answer the following question. Q1. Explain the nature of problems faced by retailers like Best Buy in emerging markets like China. Q2. Examine the reasons that prompted Best Buy to exit the market. Q3. Analyze the retail industry in China. CASE STUDY (20 Marks) The case describes Carrefour's entry and expansion strategies into the South Korean market and the reasons that led to its exit from the country. The company failed to localize its stores and the products sold according to the needs and preferences of Korean consumers. Carrefour chose to venture into the Korean market on its own without a local partner, due to which it failed to understand the market and was unable to select good locations for its stores. The company employed most of the top management personnel from France and this was not viewed favorably by the local employees, and Carrefour too often faced problems from local labor unions. After a decade of unsustainable operations and cutthroat competition, Carrefour finally announced the sale of its South Korean business in April 2006. Answer the following question. Q1. Discuss why Carrefour failed to sustain its operations in South Korea. Q2. Analyze the entry and expansion strategies of Carrefour in South Korea. Assignment Solutions, Case study Answer sheets Project Report and Thesis contact [email protected] www.mbacasestudyanswers.com ARAVIND – 09901366442 – 09902787224