News agency Reuters reported on Friday that Disney and Shanghai Shendi Group have signed an agreement on the establishment of a Disneyland theme park in Shanghai. On an area of about four square kilometers, a total investment of approximately $3.75 billion will bring Mickey & Co. to Middle Kingdom.This should have really been big news, […]
Wal-Mart has made a multi-billion Dollar offer to acquire South African retailer Massmart Holdings. As someone who’s been following Wal-Mart’s failures around the globe, I can’t help but to think, why? And, more importantly, how? Well, what is the attraction of the African market to a company that employs about 2 million people around the […]
Looking at the mere numbers, Burger King does look impressive. Burger King operates close to 11,000 franchises and owns close to 1,500 restaurants globally. It is present in 76 countries where 40 % of all of its restaurants are located. Unfortunately, 40 % of the restaurants abroad only generate about 30 % of the […]
There’s something remarkable going on in China’s automotive industry. Yes, there’s growth, but there’s more to it. Chinese automaker BYD that is backed by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Inc has set up a Chinese 50-50 joint venture with Daimler in late May. The goal of the joint venture is to jointly design and produce an […]
Of course, what is commonly referred to as the Chinese phoenix, the fenghuang, only distantly resembles the phoenix of the West. So, erudite reader, please forgive the amateurish use of the phoenix as a metaphor for what’s going on in China’s automotive sector. Mercedes, BMW, or Audi are all reporting very positive developments from the […]
Yes, we have all heard the stories. Stories of patients in need of treatment in the Western hemisphere traveling to countries such as Thailand or India in need for more affordable healthcare, stories of hospitals in the so-called developed world outsourcing certain diagnostic procedures to the so-called emerging markets, or stories of hospitals in the […]
If approved by UK authorities, Asda, Wal-Mart’s British arm will be acquiring almost 200 UK stores of the Danish Netto chain for an alleged amount in excess of 1 billion US$. Acquiring smaller stores seems like a good move for Wal-Mart in Europe. First, shopping habits in many regions seem to change in a way […]
In a recent post, Australian business blogger Andre Sammartino reports that South African grocer Pick’n’Pay has sold off its Franklins supermarkets (“Australia’s Original Discount Grocer”) to the biggest Australian grocery wholesaler Metcash. It’s not the first time that Franklins has been sold off after a somewhat unsuccessful takeover. In the late 1970s Franklins was sold to […]
It looks like Honda’s China troubles are over for now. Its Chinese joint ventures, Guangqi Honda Automobile and Dongfeng Honda Automobile, will resume operations after having made significant concessions to workers who went on strike mid-May. There were complaints of working conditions and low wages. Honda agreed to raise wages by 25 %. Yes, twentyfive […]
Consultant McKinsey & Company reports on two seemingly unrelated facts of the global business world: first, many transnational mergers go down the drains, and second, the age of Asia continues to dawn. At the intersection of these two topics, evidence is emerging that Asian companies approach post-M&A integration slowly and cautiously, sometimes to the extent […]
As the Wall Street Journal reports, Dunkin Donuts is returning to Russia. After it has retreated from the market in 1999, the owner of the Dunkin’ Donut brand, Dunkin’ Brands, is planning to open 20 stores in Russia this year. At the time when then owner Allied Domecq decided after only three years in the […]
Here’s an interesting list of “100 Essential Cheat Sheets for Doing Business Abroad”, ranging from ‘food faux pas’ to ‘dress codes’ to ‘negotiations across cultures’. Not all of it offers the deepest insight available, but it’s definitely a good place to start.
