How a Firm Can Enter the Indian Market: Recommendations for TechMow

Title: Recommend How a Firm Can Enter a Foreign Market

This week, you will prepare a presentation using PowerPoint presentation software. You will create your audio presentation by using an audio/video capturing tool located in NCUOne (Kaltura Capture). To access the capture tool, follow the tutorial found in your Books and Resources for this Week.

To begin, assume the role of a consultant hired by TechMow, a medium-sized firm that produces high-quality robotic lawn mowing products for both home and commercial use. Their products range from GPS and laser-controlled mini-units that regularly trim small lawns, to large commercial units that can handle large lawns with compacting and bagging functionality. The firm has been gradually expanding its international business operations; first, with a maquiladora (duty-free) plant just across the border into Mexico to produce their lower price products for their North American markets. They followed that with an advanced production facility in Canada for sales exclusively in that market, and finally, a plant was established in the Netherlands to produce and sell products in the Benelux region with hopes of expansion to other parts of Europe.

Their major U.S. lawn equipment competitors like Worx and Robomow have been recently expanding into South America and Asia. TechMow does not want to be left too far behind, so they have decided to target the high growth markets of Asia. But where to start? China was deemed too challenging given its size and highly saturated market. After some initial analysis, they finally decided on India, the world’s largest democracy and a rising economic force. Now they just need to decide how to enter the Indian market. They generally have four options:

Direct exports from their U.S. and Mexican facilities through an agent in India that has experience in India and knows their industry.

License their products to a local Indian firm with experience in their industry or a related industry that would produce their designed products and sell them under their brand name.

Purchase a local Indian firm with experience in their industry to manufacture and sell its products under the brand name. They would only consider a firm with a good reputation that already sells highly-regarded products that they might even consider adding to their own line.

Set up a new wholly-owned subsidiary to produce and sell their products.

TechMow management has already been briefed on the Indian market in general, so they have asked you to provide them with information and advice on how to enter the market.

Prepare a PowerPoint for your meeting. In your presentation, explain the following:

• Determine the pros and cons of TechMow for each of the four options in getting their products into the Indian market.
• Explain how you rank the four options based on the pros and cons. Provide examples to illustrate your thoughts.
• Recommend a brief plan for the first 10 years of the entry. For example, they might start licensing and then move to options 3 and 4. Provide a logical explanation for your suggested plan.