International franchise expansion

International Expansion noted a Financial Times article of September 14, 2010, in which Supergroup CEO Julian Dunkerton was quoted as saying that his group would be franchising in South America, the Middle East, and the US over the next few years. It currently has 45 franchises in 14 countries. He went on to indicated that he expected to have about 74 in 21 countries within a year. 

Steps to take to prepare to go global or expand internationally

Here is an interesting article about international expansion by Anita Campbell at smallbiztrends.com. 

Preparing Your Business to Go Global

..."this week I thought I’d expand the discussion ... and focus on how to prepare your business as a whole to go global.

"Depending on the industry you are in, where you intend to seek business, here are five considerations before you take that big leap:

Don’t assume you have to be big to go global

Research the legal, HR and tax environment in any countries where you will have a physical presence, before you leap

Invest in technology from the get-go

If you plan to export physical goods, get exporting help

Figure out how you’re going to get paid"

We cover this and more on our internationalexpansion.org website.  

International expansion and use of search engines

International Expansion found an interesting article entitled:

International Expansion Through

Search Engine Marketing

of Oct 5, 2010 11:49 AM, By Michael Kahn

Mr. Kahn points to that a recent review of global markets uncovered interesting data points by country and region, and that search engine use worldwide is steady and poised to grow, as can be seen in the following table:

.

He points out that China and India, the world’s largest markets, are particularly due for explosive growth, and continues: "Businesses considering international expansion, into any market but particularly into these emerging online nations, should capitalize on the intelligence offered by search engines." 

He also proposes that you consider this five-step process to do just that:

1.    Get your search marketing and new markets teams working together
2.    Develop international keyword lists for each market through translation
3.    Use keyword research tools from leading engines and third party vendors in each market to get specific data on search volume, active competitors and more for various keywords, if budget allows
4.    Complete a systematic competitor audit by keyword and track findings to gauge competitors’ active presence in the market and associated demand
5.    Re-collect data points and observations regularly to update the prioritized list of markets that results; as Internet penetration climbs, the activity can grow and change rapidly

This article is a must-read for anyone contemplating international expansion today. 

The Little Gym franchise finally cracks China

If you are following international expansion in general and international franchising in particular, take note:

Scottsdale, AZ (PRWEB) October 14, 2010

The Little Gym International today announced that it has entered into a joint venture that will bring the concept to mainland China.

The Little Gym Ventures (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. is represented by TLGI and Shanghai Lan Yue Yang Educational Information & Consulting Company Limited, whose principal operating partner is Wei Hu. The joint venture opened its first location, “The Little Gym of Xu Jia Hui,” at 580 Tian Yao Qiao Road, 2F In Center in Shanghai’s Xuhui District last month, making China the 20th country in which the chain now has a presence. Plans call for expansion to 100 locations throughout China over the next five years.

Offered at more than 300 locations worldwide, The Little Gym’s programs help children aged 4 months to 12 years old develop vital motor skills in a fun and non-competitive environment, while simultaneously enhancing their self-confidence and social skills.

http://www.vsnl.us/2010/11/17/the-little-gym-forms-joint-venture-to-pave-entry-into-china.html

DSI continues international expansion in Asia

Staying on top of international expansion developments:

Data Systems International® (DSI®) announces the opening of new sales and service offices in Singapore, Shanghai, and Mumbai.

"...importance of the Asia Pacific region in the global economy continues to grow,” said Matt McGraw, President of DSI. “As DSI continued its ambitious global expansion plans this year, it was clear to me that we had to develop a significant presence in the Asia Pacific region.

Law firms as international powerplayers

International Expansion reports that another global law firm was just baked in Canada.

A new legal services company, GlobalLaw Inc., has risen suddenly and dramatically. Based in London, it has taken advantage of the non-lawyer equity provisions of the Legal Services Act to collect massive amounts of capital from investment banks. With this money, GlobalLaw has bought law firms and hired lawyers worldwide, created a huge and sophisticated online service infrastructure, and marketed itself aggressively in multiple jurisdictions. GlobalLaw has now announced plans to buy mid-sized firms in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal simultaneously, and to re-brand and operate them all as GlobalLaw offices. What do you do?

That scenario stopped being hypothetical 2010-11-15, with the bombshell announcement by UK-based global law firm Norton Rose that it was merging with South Africa’s Deneys Reitz and Canada’s Ogilvy Renault. You can read the details in any number of places, including The American Lawyer, LegalWeek, the WSJ Law Blog, the Financial Post, and The Globe & Mail — a range of international coverage that underlines the fact that this, as Joe Biden might say, is a big freakin’ deal.

Twitter continues global expansion

 International Expansion re-reports (pun intended):

Venture Beat, November 15, 2010 | Sid Yadav, reports that, in an effort to increase global outreach, microblogging platform Twitter has added 13 countries and 6 cities to its localized trending topics list today and announced plans to roll out integrated translations within tweets. With today’s addition of 13 countries and 6 cities, the microblogging platform will be expanding its trending list to Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Netherlands, Singapore, Spain, Turkey, Venezuela and to the cities of Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, Rio De Janeiro, Sydney, Toronto.

Pegging growth on international expansion

International Expansion has for decades observed how shoe retailing is a global business. Here is just the latest update from Zite Me: 

- Collective Brands Inc.goodshoesclub Supply lacoste shoes and cheap supra shoes. is planning to take its Stride Rite children’s shoe brand to the world’s most populous market, opening stores in mainland China next year, its chief executive officer said.

The company, based in Topeka, Kansas, is teaming up with Li & Fung Retailing and will also open stores in Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore starting in December, Matthew Rubel said yesterday in a telephone interview. Li & Fung will develop stores, e-commerce and wholesale business for Collective in Asia. Closely held Li & Fung Retailing isn’t related to the publicly traded company of similar name.

Collective, which operates the Payless ShoeSource chain, is pegging growth on international expansion, opening stores in Russia and the Philippines this year and expanding in the Middle East.air max 2010 has managed to capture or become the pioneer into every imaginable sporting industryThe most commonly used special programmed for social science in CHEAP GUCCI, sunglasses, cheap shoes, and cheap belts The retailer is entering China with a “prestige” brand to meet demand from a growing middle class and because lower- priced goods are made and widely available there, Rubel said.

“They have the one-child policy,” he said. “Think about how many adults there are to spend on that one child.Although officially classified as a high dunk, the nike dunks high is not such a tall shoe. Indeed, in a less stringent classification system”

Rubel declined to say how many stores are planned. Li & Fung Retailing, which will run them, will be “aggressive” about identifying potential sites, he said.

International sales accounted for 13 percent of Collective’s revenue last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The company expects that to grow to more than 20 percent by 2013, a spokeswoman said.

Collective began international franchising of Payless stores about 18 months ago and predicts that it will have about 700 locations within five years,I give my CL Shoes practically zero consideration. My golf clubs get plenty of attention and my golf balls demand my full focus including at least 300 in Indonesia, where it announced an agreement with a unit of publicly held retailer PT Mitra Adiperkasa last month.

Collective Brands rose 23 cents, or 1.5 percent, to $15.76 at 4:03 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Its brands include Saucony and Keds.

International trade or investment (E-1, E-2) visa

International Expansion (see website) covers international immigration issues. There will soon be a whole section devoted to this; but preliminarily, note that E-1 and E-2 visa may be used for temporary employment based on trade or investment. Here are some highlights from the US State Department website:

Overview

The Treaty Trader (E-1) or Treaty Investor (E-2) visa is for a national of a country with which the United States (U.S.) maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation who is coming to the U.S. to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the U.S. and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has invested, or is in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital, under the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. For a list of participating countries, select Treaty Countries.

Requirements: Treaty Trader

• ·The applicant must be a national of a treaty country.
• ·The trading firm for which the applicant is coming to the U. S. must have the nationality of the treaty country.
• ·The international trade must be "substantial" in the sense that there is a sizable and continuing volume of trade.
• ·The trade must be principally between the U.S. and the treaty country, which is defined to mean that more than 50 percent of the international trade involved must be between the U.S. and the country of the applicant's nationality.
• ·Trade means the international exchange of goods, services, and technology. Title of the trade items must pass from one party to the other.
• ·The applicant must be employed in a supervisory or executive capacity, or possess highly specialized skills essential to the efficient operation of the firm. Ordinary skilled or unskilled workers do not qualify.

Requirements: Treaty Investor (It should be pointed out that the applicant does not have to be the investor.) 

• ·The investor, either a real or corporate person, must be a national of a treaty country.
• ·The investment must be substantial. It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise. The percentage of investment for a low-cost business enterprise must be higher than the percentage of investment in a high-cost enterprise.
• ·The investment must be a real operating enterprise. Speculative or idle investment does not qualify. Uncommitted funds in a bank account or similar security are not considered an investment.
• ·The investment may not be marginal. It must generate significantly more income than just to provide a living to the investor and family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the U.S.
• ·The investor must have control of the funds, and the investment must be at risk in the commercial sense. Loans secured with the assets of the investment enterprise are not allowed.
• ·The investor must be coming to the U.S. to develop and direct the enterprise. If the applicant is not the principal investor, he or she must be employed in a supervisory, executive, or highly specialized skill capacity. Ordinary skilled and unskilled workers do not qualify.

Treaty countries (look up your own country): http://travel.state.gov/visa/fees/fees_3726.html

The Japanese are back -- to buy firms and assets of the US and others

International Expansion has seen this before. It is not so 

much the strength of the Yen, but the weakness of the Dollar.

Look what the WSJ says:

BY MARIKO SANCHANTA, TAKASHI NAKAMICHI AND KAZUHIRO SHIMAMURA

TOKYO—In a tacit admission that the Japanese government is impotent when it comes to weakening the yen, the country's prime minister and finance minister have shifted gears and are now urging the country's companies to use the strong currency as an opportunity to snap up foreign firms and assets.

In a rare show of vocal support for the surging yen, Japan's finance minister emphasized Monday that the strong yen has "advantages," urging domestic companies to use it to buy foreign firms and assets.

 

(To read the whole article you need to subscribe.)

Commodities setting records? Or is liquidity drying up?

International Expansion reads stories like the one below and wonders if the real story isn't rather lack of liquidity. 

Oil Rises to 25-Month High as Commodities Gain, Gold at Record

By Margot Habiby

Nov. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Oil edged up to its highest level since October 2008, carried by advances in other commodities including precious metals.

Futures rose for a sixth day as gold prices rallied to a record and silver reached a 30-year high. Oil and precious metals strengthened as traders lost confidence in holding currencies as an investment.

Oil “is getting some inspiration from other markets,” said Phil Flynn, a Chicago-based analyst and trader with investment adviser PFGBest. “Oil is following gold and the other commodities.”

Crude for December delivery rose 21 cents to $87.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest settlement price since Oct. 8, 2008. Oil has gained 12 percent in the past year. Prices jumped 6.7 percent last week, the most since February.

Visiting Australia or New Zealand? Get this planning guide.

International Expansion recommends:

http://www.thelongestwayhome.com/blog/how-to-guides/7-steps-to-planning-a-trip-to-australia-new-zealand/

 

International Expansion's M&A update for EU

International Expansion provides update on EU mergers and acquisitions:
To view...

>APPROVALS AND WITHDRAWALS:
>NEW LISTINGS:
>EXTENSIONS AND OTHER CHANGES:
>FIRST-STAGE REVIEWS BY DEADLINE:

Go to...

BRUSSELS, Nov 3 (Reuters) – ... mergers under review by the Commission and ... the EU merger process

Deals in the Middle East to double

International Expansion's clients in Dubai and Kuwait and others interested in the region should note that John Connolly, Chairman of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd. expects the number of mergers and acquisitions in the Middle East to double in 2011 as regional economies expand and governments spend on infrastructure. The number of deals [in the Middle East] will rise to about 1,500 from 750 in 2010, Connolly said in an e-mail. 

To read the whole story (by Zahra Hankir)

 in Bloomberg , go to: Deloitte Sees M&A Deals in the Middle East Doubling

Tip when going to London

International Expansion found a useful travel tip (tip no. 6) on:

7 Tips For Visiting London In 7 Days

Six - the transport tricks. Buy an Oyster card, the most cost effective and easiest way to travel around London by bus, train, tube or tram. It can be ordered on line and delivered to you at home. Make sure that you have a good London street map and pick up a tube map at the airport.

This was posted today at:

http://www.gx-travel.com/7-tips-for-visiting-london-in-7-days.html

if you are interested in reading the whole article. 

Outsourcing to China has its natural economic limits

International Expansion found an interesting article by Ryan Underwood in Inc. on Nov. 1.
He makes the point that there is a growing cost of doing business in China. A roaring Chinese economy has pushed up prices and created a tight labor market. In some areas, particularly the manufacturing port cities near Hong Kong, Chinese labor costs have risen as much as 30 percent in just the past few months, owing to increased competition for workers and higher costs of living.
The price of doing business in China could go even higher following the country's recent shift in currency policy: In June, the Chinese government officially removed the Chinese renminbi's peg to the U.S. dollar. Thus far, the renminbi has strengthened only a little, but the U.S. government is pressing for more movement. At the same time, companies importing goods from China face higher shipping costs based on a number of factors, including a shortage of shipping containers and new measures that increase shipping times.

To read the whole article, go to The Growing Cost of Doing Business in China. 

International Expansion Articles And News

International expansion provides not only a collection of articles and news on that subject, but covers additional international business issues and encourages reader participation.