Samsonite Company is planning to acquire a foothold in Japan, which is the largest Asia luggage market in the world. The organization is interested in gaining a foothold in this region because Asia is known to be the largest market for luggage products. The Asian luggage market is considered to realize a sharp increase of sales in the world as this market has been implementing and introducing the country and regional specific goods across the globe and Samsonite wants to enjoy the sharp rise of its sales in the market (Tsui, 2011). Samsonite is interested in expanding marketing of its sales in Japan because Japan is known to account for 46% of sales of luggage in Asia; thus the firm is assured to gaining high market sales in the Japanese market.
Samsonite has implemented various measures which indicate that the organization is serious in expanding its market in Asia. The firm has achieved multiple products which are made, designed and sourced in the nation down to handles made using Kobe leather to win over local shoppers in Japan. This is aimed at catering for conviction of Japanese shoppers that the company will have locally made products well produced. In June the organization publicly listed the number of its shares in Hong Kong to indicate their interest in moving and expanding its market in Asia. The enterprise is planning to launch production of handcrafted bags with a frame skill of made in Japan, which will be sold at $700 each in the Asian market (Jackson, 2007). This indicates that the Samsonite firm is ready to cater to the requirements of Japanese shoppers of having locally made products.
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Samsonite Company had previously attempted to venture into the Asian market without success. The unsuccessful market expansion for the company was due to the unsuccessful local joint venture the enterprise had implemented. The local joint venture had poor distribution network for the company, which made it difficult for the company goods to be distributed appropriately across the Asian market (Khan & Qureshi, 2018). The local joint venture provided products which local Japanese shoppers did not like because the products did not meet the conviction standards for the locals. This made Samsonite acquire a market share of 10% of its sales in the Japanese market, making the company for failing in venturing into this market.
The features and production of products in the Japanese line is different from that of other global marketed products of Samsonite organization. This is because manufacturing and features of products in Japan are required to meet conviction demands for Japanese buyers which are needed to use local materials in the production of the goods. For example, Samsonite is planning to produce handcrafted bags using local material of Kobe Cow leather in an attempt to venture in the market through meeting demands of Japanese buyers. According to Kim & Hong (2017), production and features of products in Japanese should align with the country culture by ensuring locally produced products are well manufactured to attract many local Japanese.
The efforts made by Samsonite Company to venture and expand in the Asian market have been successful. The company has been outsourcing production in Japan without considering the increase in labor costs or quality concerns but to safeguard its intellectual property in the country. The company is using its factor in Hungary to manufacture various light weighted suitcases. Samsonite used this approach because it was unwilling to hand over its technology patent and materials to manufacturers of China because the intellectual property in this region is poorly handled. This indicates that the enterprise is using its technology and materials to produce products which fit the requirements of Japanese buyers. The company is also using local materials of Japan to deliver its products to ensure that it meets conviction demands of the local shoppers.
References
Jackson, S. E. (2007). Translating competitive strength into bottom-line performance. Journal of Business Strategy, 28(5), 50-52.
Khan, N. M., & Qureshi, T. A. (2018). Samsonite: Case Study. International Journal of Experiential Learning & Case Studies, 2(2), 12-19.
Kim, N., & Hong, L. (2017). The power of culture in branding: How the Korean Wave can help global brands thrive in Asia . Journal of Brand Strategy, 6(3), 293-307.
Tsui, E. (2011). Samsonite makes a local case in Japan. FT.Com [Website]. Retrieved from Retrieved from: http://prxherzing.lirn.net/login?qurl=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.proquest.com.prx-herzing.lirn.net%2Fdocview%2F885922652%3Faccountid%3D167104
