Project Experience

Global Expansion Plans of Major Competitor Helps Guide Global Strategy and Staffing

Client Situation
Our client wanted to understand an emerging competitor's global expansion plans into mass grocery channels. Having adopted a particular strategy in the US, our client wanted to understand if the same strategy would be applied globally or if the strategy would change from market to market.

Fuld Approach
Fuld & Company undertook research on a global competitor to determine its global expansion plans for a recent acquisition. A dual research effort (domestic and international) was launched to determine the global strategy. Our initial focus was on Western European countries, including the UK, France, Germany and Spain and then extended to South America (Brazil). Research was conducted domestically at corporate headquarters of the target company as well as in-country.

Benefits and Implications
We learned that the competitor planned to expand globally within the year and that it would likely follow the U.S. model for expansion into a new channel. We learned that decisions for global expansion (including timing, product line, branding, etc.) were being made at U.S. headquarters, that roll-out to various countries would not occur simultaneously and that the acquisition would be integrated into the company's existing infrastructure globally. Our analysis determined the window of time our client had for developing its own global strategy to compete against this major global competitor and what it would take to compete. For more information, contact Michael Sandman at msandman@fuld.com