2009 in Review

Ooops, I’m a little later this year with my reflections on 2009 as a blogger (last year I managed to do it on New Years Day – oh well, better late than never).

I can tell you that I post exactly 100 times (but 42 of those were in the first 3 months), and that there were just over 14,300 visits to the site. January and December were the two busiest months, with about 2000 visits each. The busiest day was Dec 2 when this post got over 200 clicks.

The most popular posts from 2009 were:

#1 Can Aldi beat Wal-Mart?

#2 A juicy tale of international expansion (about Boost Juice)

and very strangely, one about toilets at #3 Toto, we’re not in Tokyo anymore…

The aforementioned Dec 2 post Why don’t more producers sell on-line? came in at #4 (and thus has the highest average visitors per day).

#5 confirms a retailing bias with Capabilities do matter (about Zara, Ikea & H&M)

And the post from 2008 asked is there Too much Wii in this Blue Ocean? still attracts loads of readers.

Thank you to all who have visited, commented, argued and critiqued. I relish the engagement and the challenge. Here’s to a great 2010…

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A Boost Juice follow up

After posting last Friday about Boost Juice’s international expansion, I stumbled across this video of Janine Allis, the company’s founder, discussing their internationalisation process. It was recorded back in 2004, but is still highly relevant.

She offers insights into numerous international business issues, including:

– motivations for expansion (including overcoming domestic expansion, and seeking first mover advantages)

– mode choice (franchising versus foreign direct investment)

– country choice

– supply chain differences

– country differences

– adaptation of business models to international conditions

– learning from others about internationalisation.

The video comes from Business Essentials. They have done a follow up one recently, but I am still trying to find a copy.

Here’s another with Allis about the firm’s Australian expansion:

A juicy tale of international expansion

There is a nice little story in today’s Age about Australian juice bar chain, Boost, making a move into China.

Boost have been a big success down under with their flashy outlets and tasty drinks. While clearly (and openly) an adaptation of the California juice bars (such as Jamba), Boost has been very willing to take on internationalisation.

No doubt aware of the likelihood that they would eventually saturate the Australian market, and also of the scope to build a first-mover lead over other chains, the firm has sought growth across the globe, typically via master franchise arrangements.

It appears they now have stores in 12 countries (orange on map below) and have awarded master franchises in another six (they’re the green ones).

Sorry to harp on about it, but again we see little evidence of any strong home regional bias in expansion here. The firm will soon have stores on all of the inhabited continents. It certainly has not confined itself to the Asia-Pacific. Unlike most Aussie firms they haven’t even tackled NZ yet!

Expansion through franchising should, of course, be easier than through foreign direct investment, as the firm bears less direct risk. They can also tap into the adaptation expertise of other parties (local or international). In the UK, the Boost franchise is owned by Swiss multinational giant Nestlé. As noted in the story, Boost is working with an experienced US-based firm that has already taken the Subway and Gloria Jean’s brands into China.

So, where next for Boost?