Embrace Your Foreignness to Yield Unforeseen Competitive Advantages

©iStock/klauspeters

Expanding into international markets presents numerous challenges for companies, particularly due to their “foreignness.”

Many global companies tend to overcome those challenges by minimizing their foreignness and assimilating into the local environments. However, maintaining and embracing foreignness can yield unforeseen advantages. 

Whether capitalizing on outsider status to tap into local labor markets, establishing potent associations to build credibility, or forging strategic partnerships to foster mutual international growth, your foreignness can indeed become your competitive edge. By embracing a nuanced approach that acknowledges and leverages foreignness, companies can not only navigate but thrive in unfamiliar territories.

The complete article by Lele Sang at Harvard Business Review can be found here.

In China, No Mood to Shop

©iStock/Derek Yung

In recent years, China has become the biggest market for a range of industries, from luxury goods to automobiles.  But last month due to China’s “zero Covid” policy, the world’s second-largest economy slowed sharply, hitting not only consumer spending but also employment.

Estée Lauder, which is home to Bobbi Brown and MAC cosmetics, now expects its global sales to grow between 7% and 9% year-on-year, down from a previous range of 13% to 16% outlined in February.

The crisis is a stark reminder of China’s outsized importance to global companies.  Read more about how China's lockdowns are taking a toll on global companies.

Debra Dudley on Transforming Ordinary Grilling into Magnificent Meals Worldwide (How She Went Global™ podcast)

©2021 Debra Dudley, President, Oscarware.  All rights reserved.

Debra Dudley (pictured), President and owner of Oscarware, Inc., a family-owned certified woman business, discusses how she makes the world her business, utilizes governmental organizations to boost her global growth, gets paid and ships, and rides on the coattails of big global companies to fuel additional global growth for her business.

About Oscarware: Oscarware was founded in 1989 by Debra Dudley and her late husband Reg Dudley. Sensing the anything-can-be-grilled trend, they invented a new product they called “grill topper” making it possible to cook a variety of meals on an outdoor grill.  

Listen to Debra's global growth journey and subscribe to How She Went Global™ podcast here.

Let Us Introduce You to Staten Island, New York (USA)

©iStock/Lindrik

Beyond the Ferry Business to Business Expo, a new collaboration between the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and KDDI/Telehouse -- will introduce global businesses to the borough on June 23, 2016 at the Teleport in Bloomfield.  The focus is on:

• Introducing national and international businesses to Staten Island.
• Providing a local networking opportunity for small businesses across Staten Island.
• Adding value for attendees with breakout sessions and guest speakers.

To learn more, visit:  Expo to introduce global companies to Staten Island