As Global Economy Shifts

As Global Economy Shifts

As Global Economy Shifts, Companies Rethink, Retool

With the recent economic changes, particularly in the US, it has become increasingly necessary for companies to take a closer look at the possibility of expanding globally.   This is exactly what is happening with Briggs & Stratton, The Gap & BMW.   With each of these companies there are many risks involved with such expansion.   The key is determining if the potential rewards of these new markets will outweigh the likely risk.
With Briggs & Stratton, the biggest risk I see is the lack of consumer demand.   The engines they make are used primarily in lawnmowers and most of the households in China don’t have lawns.   The lawns in Germany are substantially smaller than those in the US.   In order to combat this lack of demand, Briggs & Stratton could attempt to utilize more of a customer-oriented strategy in these markets.   They would need to examine each market to find out what needs they could satisfy.   This type of strategy would ensure that the product being produced and sold was needed.   On the other hand, it would almost certainly lead to a substantial rise in production cost because they could potentially be creating a different product for each market.
Another thing for Briggs & Stratton to examine is how their products will get to these markets.   Will they produce them locally or decide to export?   If using a customer-oriented strategy means their product offerings become extremely customized for each market, local production seems to be the likely choice.   Likewise, if they instead sell a similar product in each market, exporting could be the best choice in regards to cost.  
Briggs & Stratton already does a great job making engines for lawnmowers.   Rather than tailoring their products to each market, in my opinion, they should be focusing on how to tailor the market to their products.   This would mean using more of a sales-oriented strategy.   They already know what products...