International expansion presents exciting growth opportunities, but is your business prepared for the challenges that lie ahead?
This five-page report offers exporting guidance for fashion and consumer lifestyle products companies. Written for C-suite and department leaders, it covers how to determine the foreign investment level, select target apparel and consumer goods markets, choose a fashion and retail distribution model and implement the best enterprise technology. The report is from CGS, provider of the BlueCherry enterprise of software, from ERP to PLM, advanced warehouse management and more, for the fashion, retail and consumer products industries.
Learn more about:
- Target Markets: How to decide where to invest
- Strategy: How to determine the desired investment level
- Distribution Models: How to take your brand to market
- Technology: How to leverage technology to support expansion
- Consumers: How to adapt to different cultures and shopping behaviors
- Risks: How to mitigate costs when expanding globally
Taking Your Brand Global
Global sales growth takes time. It requires a great deal of strategic planning, asking and answering tough questions, researching potential partners and distribution models, and sometimes, dipping a toe in the water only to pull it back and regroup before taking the plunge.
People, Processes and Systems
Beyond the infrastructure and technology, international sales growth depends on people, their attitudes, skillsets and performance. On the ground in the local market, “a lot of investment needs to happen in people to make sure that they’re bringing the right values to the company and representing the brand well,” says Klein. A similar focus is important at home. “Internal competencies must be in place in terms of logistics, communication and a willingness to welcome different types of individuals who will be engaging with the company on a day-to-day basis,” concludes Talbott. “Are the brand and its people ready to culturally embrace the challenges they will face in dealing with diverse geographic areas and colleagues from different countries, often speaking different languages? It can be tough enough to move from a strong base in New York City and the East Coast to the West Coast. Internationally, it only gets harder. Make sure you’re ready!”
