Cuestiones principales que han influido en la elección de los votantes

The ‘how’ of retailer internationalization is a complex concept, and is essen- tially concerned with the alterations that a retailer makes with respect to their marketing mix elements in response to local market conditions. Furthermore, the ‘how’ of retailer internationalization also involves those entry methods that retailers adopt in order to facilitate the opening of stores abroad. Both dimensions will be considered here within the context of the international expansion of fashion retailers.

Sparks (1996) suggested that the strategies that retailers adopt for inter- nationalization and the methods of foreign market entry that they use reflect the variations in the degree of direct involvement and control required by the retailer and the level of knowledge and transfer borrowing, in relation to man- agement expertise and business ideas, that may exist between the entering retailer and associates within the local market. Similarly, the internationaliza- tion strategy and the market entry strategies that are adopted are linked to the place of decision-making for the retail business operating within the host country (Dawson, 1993).

Treadgold and Davies (1988) identified a range of strategic options avail- able to a retailer seeking to operate within a foreign market and suggested that the manner in which a company entered a market and conducted oper- ations served to reflect the availability of resources for foreign market devel- opment and the degree of operational control they sought to retain over foreign operations. Recognizing that a high degree of control implies a high

cost entry strategy and that a low cost entry approach necessitates a consider- able loss of control, Treadgold identified three strategic options for the devel- opment of foreign operations. The first is a high cost/high control strategy, adopted mainly by firms with limited foreign market experience, which can be achieved through organic growth or the outright acquisition or dominant shareholding of a company currently operating within the foreign market. The alternative approaches include a medium cost/medium control strategy, achieved normally by joint venture arrangements, or a low cost/low control strategy, achieved through a franchise arrangement.

The themes of resource availability, the degree of control required by the internationalizing retailer and the extent of their experience in foreign mar- ket trading, identified by Treadgold (1991), are also apparent in the review of retailer internalization strategies provided by Salmon and Tordjman (1989). Without doubt, their work has proved to be highly influential to the under- standing of the strategic approaches adopted by retailers in respect of inter- nationalization (Dawson, 1993; Sparks, 1996).

Salmon and Tordjman (1989) identified three strategic approaches to retailer internationalization, international investment, global and multinational, and sug- gest that a retailer’s choice of strategy is ultimately dependent upon the trad- ing characteristics and internal competencies of the company. The international

investment strategy involves the transfer of capital from one country to another,

with the aim of acquiring part-share or total shares in another operating com- pany. Retailers typically adopt this approach in the early stages of their international involvement in order to diversify their business for reasons of financial and political risk, to gain rapid market share within countries where the organic development of a chain of outlets would involve high risk and high cost, as well as to obtain the trading advantages inherent to that market.

Accordingly, Salmon and Tordjman (1989) assert that the type of retailer likely to use this type of international growth strategy would typically be large, highly diversified within their own domestic market (although this was clearly less evident among internationalizing British grocery retailers: Burt, 1993; Wrigley, 1997; 1998), and are committed to exploiting the growth opportunities available within foreign countries, mainly through the part or full acquisition of existing retail chains and other businesses. Within a fash- ion retailing context, the acquisition by the Paris-based LVMH Group of com- panies including Christian Dior, Givenchy, Loewe, Christian Lacroix, Fendi, Kenzo, Guerlain and Gant underlines their adoption of an international invest- ment strategy which seeks to spread their corporate risk across a number of different brands serving disparate customer segments. Consequently, should the LVMH conglomerate find that any one brand falls out of fashion favour, then the company has an alternative brand to promote and therefore an alter- native source of income.

The internationalizing fashion retailer typically must respond to two con- flicting pressures. The first is to adapt to local market conditions in order to fully respond to the needs of consumers, while the second is the desire to bene- fit from operational scale economies (Salmon and Tordjman, 1989). Following

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from Levitt’s (1983) assertion of the worldwide convergence of consumer needs and wants, retailers who follow the second of Salmon and Tordjman’s strategies, the global strategy, do so on the basis that they have access to con- sumer groups with shared lifestyle characteristics and purchase requirements, independent of their place of residence. A global strategy is therefore defined as a faithful replication of a trading concept abroad, and involves the stand- ardization of the fashion marketing mix and the faithful replication of the same product range, communications methods, corporate identity, service and price levels within all stores, regardless of their geographical location.

The fashion retailers that use this strategy typically have a clearly defined corporate image and market positioning, often with a strong own-brand and possibly with a unique product range or trading format. Companies that rep- licate a standardized marketing strategy include general fashion chains such as The Gap, the designer companies including Gucci, Prada and Kenzo, and specialist fashion retailers like Lacoste and Nike. Product exclusivity, the influ- ence of a founding personality (such as Laura Ashley within her company), the interplay between the product on sale and the store environments within which they are sold, all serve to shape the distinctive characteristics which are central to the success of a global strategy. In addition, Salmon and Tordjman highlighted the significance of an integrated supply chain, and suggested that the most successful global fashion retailers exert considerable influence over the design and quality standards of their products so that the reputation of their corporate brand can be managed and controlled at all times. Consistency in terms of all dimensions of the retailer’s positioning is highly significant for the global retailer and can only be achieved through high levels of centraliza- tion. Consequently, successful global fashion retailers seek to retain and cen- tralize tactical and strategic decision-making, and the standardization of their activities provides for economies of scale through the consistent replication of store format elements, marketing communications, product development and management control systems. In order to facilitate this centralization, global fashion retailers must invest in computerized management information sys- tems in order to monitor and control the flow of stock and information.

There are also disadvantages associated with such centralization, and these are identified by Salmon and Tordjman (1989) as those related to inflexibility in responding to local market needs, which may result in the non-identification of market trends, demotivation and a lack of commitment among local manage- ment, as well as the danger of being associated with a particular specialization which may leave the company vulnerable in the face of competitor attack or changes in consumer attitudes.

A variety of studies have examined the utilization of globalization strategies by retailers in general and have questioned the extent to which this approach is viable within a retailing context. Waldman (1978) argued that environmen- tal differences, such as those related to consumer culture, competitive condi- tions and economic and legal restraints, made standardization of the retailer’s marketing mix across a range of markets impossible to achieve. Similarly, Martenson (1987) suggests that, while a retailer may be able to achieve a

pannational replication of their core trading values and philosophy, it is unlikely that they will, at the same time, be able to achieve the successful implementation of a standardized trading approach.

The third internationalization strategy identified by Salmon and Tordjman (1989) is the multinational strategy, which seeks to preserve a basic trading concept or image across a range of geographically dispersed markets, but also adapts the formula to fit local market conditions and the expectations of local customers. Salmon and Tordjman identify C&A as an example of a multinational retailer. In all of the countries in which C&A trades, the com- pany operates the same basic strategy of offering recognizable ranges of clothing for men, women and children, inexpensively. However, at a national level, the firm’s marketing mix elements are adapted to suit local needs. As a result, each country has its own range of products, pricing and margin policy, while advertising and promotions methods are adapted to suit local market conditions.

While C&A are identified as a retailer that adapts their positioning mix to best suit national characteristics, French hypermarket chains, with represen- tations across Europe, are identified by Salmon and Tordjman (and latterly by Dupuis and Prime, 1996) as having adapted their marketing mix elements at a regional level and increasingly at store level. This allows local managers the flexibility to select products and adjust prices in response to near trading environments. In order to respond to local conditions, multinational retail- ers develop decentralized management control structures, based upon a clear demarcation of responsibilities, whereby strategic decision-making resides with the parent company and is undertaken in the home country. Tactical and operational decisions are delegated to local management teams, either at national, regional or local level. This devolution of power to the host nation requires a management team that is able to identify local market trends and credibly respond to these through their marketing mix decisions. However, while this may suggest a loosening of centralized control on the part of the internationalizing retailer, Salmon and Tordjman emphasize that firms still retain control over the original business concept, using formal and informal communications channels, such as through the deployment of parent com- pany personnel to co-ordinate and ‘head-up’ local operations. In such cases, the devolvement of power from the retailer’s central administration can prove to be somewhat limited.

As a result of pursuing a multinational strategy, Salmon and Tordjman (1989) have identified three principal strategic consequences. The first is that the scale of investment (both in terms of time and financial resources) required in order to open each new shop, adapt the offering to suit local market con- ditions and recruit management capable of undertaking such initiatives is so significant that it invariably limits the speed of replicating such formats. Secondly, because of their adaptive techniques, multinational fashion retail- ers fail to benefit from the economies of scale associated with retailing, sup- ply and advertising to the extent that is achieved by global fashion retailers, although those retailers that develop a large local presence within one country

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or region may benefit from scale economies within these markets. Thirdly, but not to their disadvantage, the multinational retailer, through the range and diversity of their market involvement and experience, may be able to integrate the know-how techniques and best practice found within foreign markets into their domestic and international business strategies.

Salmon and Tordjman predicted that the multinational retailers would gain market share within markets where the international procurement of goods is inhibited by the physical characteristics of the products, such as in relation to size or perishability. As such, the multinational retailer is expected to grow in significance within the food sector and other product categories that are less subject to abrupt changes in consumer tastes and lifestyle features. However, it is also their contention that it is the global strategy that will realize the great- est growth rate, which is partly attributed to the increased homogenization of consumer groups around the world and the homogenization of standards which will serve to facilitate the distribution of products between coun- tries. Treadgold (1991) also predicted that the multinational approach would increase among retailers who seek to satisfy the requirements of local consum- ers while maintaining cost and scale economies where possible.

Dawson (1993), in a review of Salmon and Tordjman’s typology, and spe- cifically their choice of C&A as a classic example of a multinational retailer, argued that, while C&A may seek to adapt their marketing mix to suit local market conditions, any changes that are made happen in the context of a corporate brand framework that is both highly defined and uniform in its application. The elements of C&A’s brand identification, store interiors and corporate colours are consistent across all countries, and while products may vary across markets in terms of their type and design, there is nevertheless a constancy in their styling and quality that is in keeping with the overall image of the C&A brand and their market positioning. Any devolvement in power is likely to be operational and possibly tactical in nature, and the flexibility that does exist is constrained by the prescriptive nature of the C&A brand identity.

Therefore, Dawson proposed that there is a case to be made which sees glob- alization and multinationalization not as two discrete and mutually exclusive approaches to transnational expansion, but instead as a continuum which marks the extent to which a fashion retailer’s proposition is both capable and required to adapt to the needs of the foreign market. This continuum extends between the extremes of a standard global identity and a locally tailored one, and where a retailer is positioned on this scale is dependent upon the nature and import- ance of the retailer as a distinct brand entity, both at corporate and product level. Where the brand is regarded as central to the identity of the retailer and is clearly positioned within the mind of the actual and potential consumer, then the retailer is more likely to follow a global strategy. However, even within such a prescriptive strategy, there is the possibility that the operational and tactical elements of the retailer’s positioning may be altered to suit the trading environ- ment of the non-domestic market. As such, Dawson proposed that Salmon and Tordjman’s (1989) classification must be ‘loosened’ and perhaps not taken as lit- erally in order to adequately reflect the reality of international retailing.