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Common Sense Advisory Blogs
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Three U.S. Companies Rearrange Global Operations
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Managing and growing a global brand requires a nimble executive team and deep pockets.
- Liberty Global will pay US$2.19 billion for Cablecom, Switzerland's largest cable operator. Minimal satellite and data competition make Cablecom an appealing target for controlling shareholder John Malone, who had grown U.S. cable operator TCI into the largest American CATV firm before selling to AT&T (which subsequently unloaded its cable holdings to Comcast). Malone has been expanding Liberty Global's cable operations into central and eastern Europe.
- With growth slowing in the States and some stumbles abroad, Wal-Mart announced that is would swap its U.S. and international management teams. Presumably it hopes that the transplanted executives will think outside the proverbial box once they are outside their comfort zones. Wal-Mart also doubled down on its investment in Japan, with plans to spend US$600 million to gain a controlling interest in its Japanese supermarket affiliate, Seiyu.
- The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company announced that it will move production of Altoids from Bridgend, Wales to Chattanooga, Tennessee. Since Altoids evokes its British heritage throughout its marketing programs, branding experts wonder whether the curiously strong mints will lose their cachet. Truth in advertising will demand that "Made in Great Britain" disappear from the familiar tins. A Wrigley spokesperson suggested that Altoids no longer needs to stand on its 19th-century British roots now that it has a reputation for irreverent advertising.
International operations let companies hedge revenue bets, using their multinational portfolios to smooth the peaks and valleys of individual markets. They also require care, nurturing, and hefty investments in building brands. But as Wal-Mart found, simultaneous slumps in multiple markets happen and require tough responses and laying out hard cash to cement their positions and local brands.
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