Market entry strategy for global retailer

Situation:

• Global retailer with leading market position in maturing markets sought advice on how to establish a profitable presence in new growth markets
• Specific research questions included:
  • Prioritization of geographies for entry (pre-selected country set)
  • Identification of most favorable market entry routes
  • Required adjustments to established business model to succeed locally
  • Financial implications and required investments
  • Optimal sequencing and resulting market entry roadmap

Actions:

• Defined strategic and financial guidelines for market entry process
• Conducted an in-depth market study for the countries under consideration:
  • Market structure: assessed market size/forecast, segments/channels, competitive landscape, and key trends
  • Consumer behavior: examined key purchasing criteria, marketing channels, and the importance of local product offering/assortments
• Estimated gross profit pools:
  • Benchmarked local competitor assortments and pricing against the client’s offerings
  • Identified assortment gaps and calculated gross profit potential
• Evaluated and prioritized market entry routes:
  • Explored multiple approaches, such as organic vs. inorganic growth, regional vs. national focus, eCommerce vs. multi-channel, and platform vs. B2C vs. B2B
  • Assessed these routes against defined “North Star” criteria and shortlisted two of the most promising options.
• Assessed fit between client’s global value proposition and local market/consumer needs for each country
• Identified the impact of localization on complexity and group synergies
• Screened feasible country-market entry combinations, evaluated available M&A targets and iteratively narrowed set of viable options
• Built detailed business cases for the remaining country/market entry combinations
• Developed a sequenced market entry roadmap across multiple geographies

Results:

• Delivered a comprehensive market entry strategy, including the selection of the most attractive countries, recommended entry routes, and supporting business cases
• Defined a clear implementation plan
• Facilitated the launch of next steps to prepare for market entry (e.g., M&A screening, real estate assessments, and concept localization)