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#164 The End of Ford in Brazil

January 23, 2021

A few weeks ago, the news came down hard, but not unexpected – Ford would close its manufacturing operation in Brazil. To add insult to injury, the news came in the year in which the Detroit, US-based manufacturer was supposed to celebrate its 100th anniversary in the land of samba, feijoada, and cachaca. In 1921, […]

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amazon upside down

#163 Amazon’s Stumble in Sweden

November 1, 2020

A warning at the beginning: This post includes language that some may find offensive. And it might hold some surprises. The first surprise may be that Amazon only recently – during the second half of 2020 – opened a national site in Sweden. In fact, the first one in Europe’s Nordic countries. The second surprise […]

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ikea russia 2

#162 IKEA’s Kvartiroteka

June 6, 2020

Despite my obsession of learning from failures in international business, every once in a while, I must acknowledge companies that did an exceptionally good job at entering a foreign market. And today, it is IKEA’s turn to step in front of the curtain. More than a decade ago, the Swedish furniture and retail giant has […]

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2020 May Volkswagen X

#161 VW’s 2020 Racist Blunder

May 22, 2020

“Wo gehobelt wird, da fliegen Späne” is an old German proverb that would roughly translate into the English “You can’t make an omelette without breaking eggs”. Granted, coordinating and controlling activities across geographical and cultural distances in multinational companies that have tens or hundreds of thousands of employees globally, is not an easy task. A […]

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Schmexiko

#160 The Subway System in Austria

April 1, 2020

After a golden age of expansion in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s, the last decade hasn’t exactly been the best for sandwich chain Subway. A few years ago, Subway had approximately 42,000 restaurants in 111 countries globally, and proudly proclaimed itself the world’s largest fast food chain. In recent years, Subway experienced challenges in […]

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Stone

#159 A Berlin Hangover

March 8, 2020

Without a doubt, Germans are a beer-loving people. With more than 100 liters of beer consumption per capita annually, more than 1,500 breweries, and more than 6,000 beer brands, the market is closely eyed by foreign brands, and many have tried to capture a piece of the pie (or should I say, a sip from […]

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fragile

#158 Hope for the best, prepare for the worst

February 2, 2020

Trade wars, lawsuits, viruses – the last several weeks and months have clearly shown that even the mightiest global companies can easily been shaken by the external environment in global markets. Let’s take Amazon in India as an example. For years, the eCommerce behemoth has tried to break into the market. It created jobs, brought […]

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2019 McD Austria Italy

#157 No Appetite for McDonald’s Humor in Italy

July 25, 2019

During the summer of 2019, Italians’ didn’t show much appetite for a meal from American fast food giant McDonald’s. The reason was a failed attempt at being funny in another, neighboring market – Austria. While McDonald’s promotions in the United States often focus on price and value, it has become common in other countries to […]

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barilla box lesbian

#156 Barilla, not for everyone?

July 5, 2019

In 2013, one of the most successful multinational Italian companies, privately held past maker Barilla, almost stumbled over the comments of its chairman, Guido Barilla. When interviewed on Radio24, a national radio station, he expanded on how Barilla is rooted in traditional family values and why they would therefore never show a homosexual couple in […]

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red bull

#155 (Red) Bull in the (UK) China Shop

June 27, 2019

Some may remember that in 2014, Red Bull, the Austria-based manufacturer of the world’s leading energy drink, had settled a more or less frivolous lawsuit in the US that alleged that the company had cheated its consumers with its slogan that the drink would “give them wings” (or, in other words, improve their athletic or […]

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IKEA erases women

#154 IKEA erases women

May 31, 2019

Adapting to different cultural environments is tricky business. In 2012, various Swedish media outlets ran an article titled “IKEA raderade kvinnorna” (engl. “IKEA erases women”). What had happened? One of the central elements in IKEA’s marketing strategy is its voluminous catalog that covers everything from comfy sofas to simple kitchen gadgets. In its attempt to […]

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wacker neuson

#153 Re-Constructing China

May 24, 2019

The German company Wacker Neuson develops, manufactures and distributes concrete technology, compaction equipment, worksite technology and compact construction equipment on a global scale. In 2015 the company launched a new excavator line with 6 to 9 metric tons operatingweight. The new line was revolutionary in that it drastically reduced weight, made design changes, and for […]

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