The one thing that made 21 companies global successes
lovemoney staff
22 November 2017
Businesses with the X factor
New companies launch daily with the aim of providing a specific product line or set of services, but in order to succeed on the international stage they need to have a unique selling point or a killer application. Check out the different strategies these global giants have employed to stand out from the crowd and conquer new markets.
McDonald's adopted factory-style practices
.jpg)
Fast food chain McDonald's was the first restaurant business to get its staff to use factory assembly line techniques to speed up the cooking process. They want on to create a universal product line that rapidly produces a pretty much identical meal from Thailand to Turkey. Customers found and continue to find this uniformity comforting and reliable, welcoming being able to eat a burger and fries that tastes exactly the same wherever they are in the world.
Walmart sold cheap
.jpg)
'Selling more for less' has been the principle that has taken US-based retailer Walmart from a single store to the largest retailer in the world, with 11,695 stores under 59 banners in 28 countries. Even though it might make less profit on each sale than its competitors, it more than makes up for this by the sheer volume of sales. It's a methodology that certainly paid off. Revenues hit $485.9 billion (£368.9 million) in 2017.
Lego targeted universal appeal
.jpg)
Technicolour Lego bricks have been delighting children across the world for over half a century. In its annual analysis of the world's most powerful brands, brand valuation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance crowned Lego the most powerful brand in the world in 2017. Lego's enduring success has been put down to the toy's versatility, durability and, most importantly, it being one of the few toys that adults enjoy playing with alongside their children.
IKEA combined style and price
.jpg)
Ever since its launch in 1943, IKEA has concentrated on producing stylish products at the cheapest possible price. Every aspect of its production process is continually assessed for ways to reduce costs. Its famous flatpack products ensure that the maximum number of items can be transported and stored in the smallest possible space, for example. Consumers might not enjoy building their IKEA furniture, but they love it because it's cheap, attractive and they can often take it away in their cars.
Apple made its products impossible to put down
.jpg)
Apple was not an overnight success. It slowly built up its market share as people began to appreciate that its products looked great and were incredibly simple to learn to use. Apple then took control of its content streams with the launch of iTunes and the App Store and this drove sales of its hardware and software further and at the same time reinforced the brand's intuitive concept. From its stores to its screens, everything Apple is stylishly designed and easy to navigate.
Adidas added style to sport
.jpg)
The German sportswear giant may have had its slow years, but Adidas's current global success is down to the major part it has played in making sportswear cool. Not only are its products great for working out in, but they are also increasingly being used for everyday wear. The company continues to build on this momentum through its partnership with rapper Kanye West, developing the Yeezy sneaker, which sells out within hours of release.
Disney didn't sit still
.jpg)
Disney continues to appeal to generation after generation from Fiji to France because it is constantly innovating and developing its core products so that they never date. The characters may have been first drawn up by Walt Disney nearly a century ago, but they are constantly being reimagined to work with the latest technologies and consumer fashions. Disney has embraced streaming, apps, interactivity and virtual reality and it's always ready to take on the next 'big thing.'
Amazon focused on the customer
.jpg)
Amazon's main focus has always been on its customers, rather than its competitors. It concentrates on giving its customers what they want and predicting what they will want in future. It's a risky strategy, but when the online book retailer expanded its product line to cover everything from toys to clothes it paid off. The launch of the Amazon Kindle, Amazon Prime and Amazon Echo are examples of other calculated risks that provided the customer with what they didn't know they needed.
Zara made sure it's super fast to market
.jpg)
The international fashion retailer Zara has a super fast supply chain that means that it can get catwalk-inspired designs designed, made up and on the shelves of its stores across the world within days. While other retailers try to predict what their customers want months in advance, Zara can be more responsive to its customers' needs. This means it is less likely to over order and be left with stock it can't sell. It's a model other retailers have tried to copy, but it takes years to perfect.
Krispy Kreme created a standard
.jpg)
Krispy Kreme is famous for its hot freshly-made donuts. To scale this USP the company invested heavily in technology that allows its donuts to look and taste the same from whichever outlet you purchase them from across the world. It's a process that must also be instigated by the company's many franchise operators so that customers can be confident of always getting that same Krispy Kreme taste wherever they are biting into one.
Converse moved with the times
.jpg)
Converse's iconic Chuck Taylor sneaker has just celebrated its centenary. It has had its ups and downs but the last turnaround came in 2003 when it was bought by Nike. Nike saw the value in the classic shoe and they repositioned it for the 21st century, turning the baseball boot into a blank canvas that, using the wonders of technology, can be personalised. That much-loved vintage shape now has a whole new unique appeal.
Ben & Jerry's created a feelgood brand
.jpg)
Schoolfriends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the guys behind the eponymous ice cream company Ben & Jerry's, have never been your typical corporate players. They were one of the first businesses to promote an ethical, charitable side with partnerships owned and operated by youth-serving non-profit organisations and provide Community Action Grants to do good in local communities. They also look after their staff and offer fun perks. Ben & Jerry's proved that being the good guys can pay off.
Starbucks paid attention to detail
.jpg)
Walk into any Starbucks coffee shop in the world and you will see round tables. These are not just there for their aesthetic, but because they make solo customers feel less isolated. Every tiny detail of a Starbucks experience has a reason behind it and those details are rolled out across its worldwide network. These details are what ensure you're served quickly and what creates that comforting environment that customers keep coming back to.
Google honed in
.jpg)
What is now a huge global tech company, with fingers in many successful pies, started out with one mission: to be able to fish anything out of the mess of information that was swimming around the internet quickly and easily. It did this by creating an algorithm that ranked internet searches in order of popularity. People soon picked up on its appeal and discarded the earlier alternatives. Google exploited its success making millions from advertising and then diversifying into new technologies.
Toyota was reliable
.jpg)
Toyota concentrates on producing cars that people can have right now, rather than aspire to in the future. It has some high-end lines, but the focus of its business has always been on building affordable and reliable vehicles. It achieves this with a super-fast and efficient production line and by keeping a constant eye on the future. The Prius was developed, for example, not as a green status symbol, but to help drivers reduce gas bills and make a little less impact on the environment.
L'Oreal diversified
.jpg)
French beauty giant L'Oreal has succeeded by creating and acquiring a raft of brands that together appeal to the entire beauty market. Lancome, Kiehls, Shu Uemura, Urban Decay, Maybelline and Garnier are all L'Oreal brands that are targeted at different demographics. These brands are then marketed differently in each territory to drive sales. L'Oreal has also been quick to exploit digital marketing techniques to create direct personal advertising. L'Oreal knows it's worth it.
eBay joined the dots
.jpg)
eBay has successfully evolved from an online auction site into a global retailer that continually builds on its original USP: connecting individual sellers with millions of individual buyers quickly and easily. Acquisitions such as StubHub and Gumtree have helped eBay to expand its customer offering, and the PayPal acquisition has made it as easy as possible for its customers to part with their money. eBay covers all the bases.
Norwegian invested in efficiency
.jpg)
Up until a few years ago few people outside of Norway had heard of Norwegian Airlines. It has grown from a tiny regional airline to a major global operation with routes that criss-cross the globe like a spider's web. An initial heavy investment in new fuel-efficient aircraft has kept running costs low and allowed the airline to take the low-cost, low-frills airline model global. The long-term sustainability of this model is yet to be proved, but early results look promising.
Vistaprint looked out for the little guys
Robert Keane founded online print service Vistaprint after realising that small businesses were being penalised for their small job lots. Keane developed and patented the concept of online ‘gang printing'. The Vistaprint software aggregates many individual orders into a single digital file that is printed using a one press set-up. This drastically reduces the cost of small print runs and has led the company to supply 17 million businesses worldwide.
Marriott looked after its staff
.jpg)
The vast hotel group that is Marriott International is built on the core value of take care of your employees and they will take care of your customers. If customers have an enjoyable stay they will return, again and again.
Coca-Cola thought local when it went global
According to the Coca‑Cola Company, the word Coca-Cola is the second most widely understood term in the world after 'okay'. The enduring success of the brand is put down to its iconic logo and its ground-breaking bottling process. In 1899 it began selling bottling rights to privately owned bottling plants. By 1939 the drink was being bottled in 44 countries from Australia to France. It still puts its success down to the strong local relationships it holds with Coca-Cola bottlers worldwide.
Comments
Be the first to comment
Do you want to comment on this article? You need to be signed in for this feature