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05/ 04/11
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Argos, a UK based retailer of general merchandise and other related products has been a common household name throughout the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. Its three-fold strategy focusing on choice, value and convenience had led the company to go leaps and bounds over the past few years, boosting the sales as high as £4.3 billion and serving more than 130 million customers a year. Argos Limited (2011) * The Chinese Market
China is an emerging market, with nearly half of the countries around the globe trying to set foot in the Chinese Market. According to a recent Global Monitor survey, the Chinese consumers appear to value the selection and variety of clothing items more than their prices. After a successful launch in Spain, Argos is now planning to expand its business to China. This paper examines the various issues which Argos must take under consideration while planning to launch its very first retail outlet in China.
The decision to expand your business across borders can be quite a crucial one. According to (Ghemawat 2001) “companies routinely exaggerate the attractiveness of foreign markets, which can lead to expensive mistakes.” Additionally, one must also critically analyze its competitors in the potential market which they seek to enter. * Competition faced by Argos Currently, Argos is one of UK’s leading merchandise retailers competing against big giants such as Tesco, Amazon, Currys, Toys R Us, H Samuel, IKEA etc. However, before actually deciding to expand, Argos must carefully consider the following “Distance’s four dimensions” and ask themselves how these might affect their business. These four dimensions include 1. Cultural Distance 2. Administrative and Political Distance 3. Geographic Distance 4.
References: * Argos Limited 2011 [Internet]. Available from <http://www.argos.co.uk/static/StaticDisplay/includeName/AboutArgos.htm> [Accessed on 4/4/11] * Ghemawat Pankaj, Distance Still Matters- The Hard Reality of Global Expansion [Internet] Available from <http://sabanet.unisabana.edu.co/postgrados/finanzas_negocios/Homologacion/negociosi nt/Distance%20still%20matters.pdf> [Accessed on 4/4/11] * Tseng & Zebregs., 2002, Foreign Direct Investment in China-Some Lessons for Other Countries [Internet] Available from <http://ideas.repec.org/p/imf/imfpdp/02-3.html> [Accessed on 4/4/11] * China’s top 30 retailers’ sales., 2002 [Internet] Available from <http://en.ce.cn/Industries/Retailing/200603/01/t20060301_6238087.shtml> [Accessed on 6/4/11]