1. Comment on Burberry’s target customer base. How would Theodore Levitt characterize Burberry’s approach to global markets?
Theodore Levitt believed that multinational businesses would be replaced by the global corporations, and at that time, global markets were for the standardized global products. The reason of the argument is increasing development of technology, such as communication, transport, and travel. It seems to be right in a way of Burberry's approach over the fashion products. It applied the digital technology to promote marketing campaigns concurrently in the world's wealthy fashion markets. After the success of two American CEOs to transform Burberry, which attempted to build a unified global brand, Burberry's revenue increased as a right assertion of Levitt's argument.
2. How does Burberry’s target market help the company appeal to new customers? What are the drawbacks of this approach?
Burberry hired the world-class designers to renew its brand name and to carry out a strategy directing its fashion products toward a younger hipper demographic and being conscious of fashion. To reach the potential young customers, it also focused on the world's wealthier cities. For the products, it built a unified global brand and opened many retail stores to control the unified global products. Finally, it applied the digital technology to advertise products concurrently over its shows in fashion cities. Also, it creates a sales website to sell its products directly and uses the social network for its customers' feedback. However, Burberry can take the risks of keeping away from older consumers when it is focusing on a younger generation or making its products more accessible to the tech-savvy consumer. The younger generation is often unstable. That means that what is a fashionable product today, can be unfashionable the next day.
Closing Case: Domino’s Pizza
1. Do you think it is wise for Domino’s to stick to its traditional “home delivery” business model, even when that is not the norm in a country, and when its international rivals have changed their format?
I support for using its traditional “home delivery” business model, but it should have an improvement father based on the technology. It can use a table with its surface being a touch screen. The touch screen is a computer equipped software to link to a computer server to order. Its customers can sit at the table and wait for their turn to take the order.
2. What do you think Domino’s does from an organizational perspective to make sure that it accommodates local differences in consumer tastes and preferences?
Domino’s has not unified its products and allows local stores to change a little bit of products so that it creates a better fit with the local preferences. For example, Domino’s has made minor changes to its menu to be appropriate to local preferences like more spicy and vegetarian foods offered in India. In Japan, its store offer premium toppings like foie gras, snow crab, or Mangalitsa pork with Bordeaux sauce.
3. How does the marketing mix for Domino’s Pizza in Japan differ from that in the United States? How does that in India differ from the U.S. marketing mix?
If considering Domino’s Pizza in the U.S. market is normal and traditional, the following is some differences in the Japanese market and the Indian market. In Japan, premium toppings are offered because the Japanese customers pay attention to the appearance of the products. Similarly, although standardized, changes of products are made at the local level, such as the heart-shaped pizzas used for Valentine’s Day and Mother's Day in Japan.
In India, a special spicy or vegetarian option is available. Although managing to keep the basic distribution strategy, Domino’s changed the way of its distribution properly to the local market, such as it uses mopeds to distribute, instead of cars.
4. What lessons can we draw from the Domino’s case study that might be useful for other international businesses selling consumer goods?
It seems Domino’s has been successful in the international market when it has created a right balance between keeping its basic method and earning the benefits of standardization, but at the same time, responding to changes in tastes and preferences of the local markets. Not to standardize fully as Levitt's proposal and not to customize fully to mislay the brand seems as a way to maintain a strong brand in the market.
