Describes the growth of multinational Shiseido, the fourth-largest cosmetics company, with a focus on strategy in China since 1981. Explores the challenges faced by firms in a globalized cultural specificity of the industry such as cosmetics. Japanese company displayed an early interest in international expansion, but its early investments were lost during the Second World War. After that, he tried to build a business in Europe and North America, but has been challenged by market conditions are different from those in Japan. Even in its home market, deregulation and the entry of foreign firms in the 1990s led to a significant loss of market share. Shiseido entered China in 1981 and built Aupres, big brand cosmetics, specifically aimed at Chinese women. Further growth followed, and in 2003, plans were announced to build a large network of volunteer shops. Key management problem of China is also a growing business in an increasingly competitive and provides a framework to discuss priorities for the allocation of resources in global business. "Hide
by Jeffrey J. Jones, Akiko Kanno, Masako Egawa Source: Harvard Business School 28 pages. Publication Date: October 14, 2004. Prod. #: 805003-PDF-ENG
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