globalEDGE International Business Blog

The Michigan State University Center for International Business (MSU-CIBER) has recently released the 2009 Market Potential Index for Emerging Markets (MPI).

The study focuses primarily on emerging markets, designated by The Economist magazine. A market is determined to be an emerging market based on the distinction that it is on the cusp of transforming into a developed nation from a developing one. The economies of these nations comprise over half of the world’s population, provide a large share of the world’s output, and generally have very high growth rates in their economies, which are all key aspects of market potential.

The MPI compiles statistics from a variety of sources and then analyzes them according to eight dimensions:

Market Size
Market Growth Rate
Market Intensity
Market Consumption Capacity
Commercial Infrastructure
Economic Freedom
Market Receptivity
Country Risk

These dimensions are found to be one of the best ways to indicate how poised for growth a country's market is, and subsequently, which markets are ideal to enter into for the international business person.

Generally, when something is put to a vote, the most popular vote wins. This is not the case for the Kraft Foods Australia product, Cheesybite. If you don’t know what Cheesybite is, it is a jar of caramel-brown, salty, gooey yeast paste (also known as Vegemite, an immensely popular Austrailian spread), that is mixed with cream cheese. Sounds appetizing, huh? Well to many Australians, it is. In a recent New York Times article, Bill Granger, a well known Sydney chef, said that Vegemite is “One of the only foods that is unique to Australia, and people see it as being quintessentially Australian.”

One of the critical factors of having a large, successful international operation is having “feet on the street” in the country where multinational companies do business.  Recently, an article from ChinaDaily.com featured some staggering statistics about expatriates and the duration of their stay in the country.  Although business demands often dictate relocation by executives and their families, is this the most efficient use of resources?

In recent months, there has been a huge cutback in business travelers staying in luxury hotels. With thousands of workers having been laid off, companies who sent their executives to 5-star hotels were being attacked. Since companies have been under scrutiny for unnecessary spending, business travel has been cut back and downgraded to the bare minimum. Now, the international hospitality industry is trying to bring back luxury business travel.

Recently Interbrand, the world’s largest brand consultancy, released its 2009 rankings of the top global brands of 2009.

So what is a global brand, exactly? A global brand  is one that has transcended the linguistic and cultural challenges of entering foreign markets. Widely recognized global brands have successfully implemented the namesake and desirability of their products to consumers in many countries.

The Top Ten Global Brands of 2009:

It is well known that the auto industry has taken a hit across the globe. With sales and production down and several plant closures, it seems that things are looking grim. However, several Japanese automakers are thriving, not internationally, but in China.

China has just recently launched its brand new Growth Enterprise Market, a Nasdaq-style stock market that has been over 10 years in the making. Twenty eight small- and medium-sized companies will be debuting on the Gem as it is called, made to attract financing of new high growth industries. These industries include software companies, pharmaceutical firms and creative industries. But investing in these companies will be risky business, since there will less than 30 companies to begin with.

In a small village in Italy, one entrepreneur decided to start a business in an unusual location - a castle. With workers not having to clock in, the atmosphere is quite different than other typical factories. Brunello Cucinello's cashmere factory has been extremely successful. The full story can be found in a video from BBC NEWS.

It is surprising to many how well the business is doing because of the untraditional way it is run. Is it possible for other businesses to adopt similar working conditions and be this successful?

Congratulations on your new business! There are a lot of new and exciting opportunities to choose from. How do you know what will be best? By following these tips, your business can avoid frequent run-ins with the phrase, “There’s just one catch.”

Mark your calendars: United Nations Day is October 24th. The holiday is an annual celebration observed internationally by UN member nations, reaffirming the goals and the values of the organization. Of special interest to those in the international business field is the United Nations Global Compact, a sub-organization that acts as a policy group for companies that are “committed to aligning their operations and strategies with ten universally accepted principles in the areas of human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption.”