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Essay On Home Depot Failure In China

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Home Depot failure in china
Introduction
Home Depot was founded in 1978 by Bernie Marcus and Arthur blank, their first two stores were opened the following year, the idea behind the company was to offer an extensive one-stop home improvement shopping for consumers who liked to do things themselves (Authority,2016). Therefore, their main target consumer was an individual who needed materials, tools and possibly some advice on how to build and complete home projects (Kirn) similar to how IKEA serves their own consumers. From their inception Home Depot has expanded into 2,200 retail stores in countries like the U.S, Canada, Mexico, and china, with some 268 international operations being responsible for 11.9% of their store base (Kirn). However, …show more content…

Gao (2013) suggests that there is a need for marketers to develop different products or services when consumers in a foreign culture have different needs. According Gao (2013) The Home Depot had misjudged its target market and didn’t understand its Chinese consumers. “National cultures determines business models, and regional subcultures further refine business models” (Gao.2013). Gao further goes on to argue that is important for international retailers to rearrange themselves and rebuild their business models if they are to succeed in the Chinese market.
Firms doing business internationally must be able to leverage their global brand and adapt it to local consumer cultures. For example, Home Depot major competitor B&Q having faced a difficult start tin the Chinese market was able to adapt to the local consumer culture(Feng,2012) They achieved this by creating strong brand awareness by giving innovative service offerings to their consumers, they provide their customers with full design and decorating and also adapt their services and prices across the different regional locations they operate

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