observed children in China and quickly realized an important cultural dif-
ference. Most Chinese toddlers don't wear diapers, but instead wear split
pants that can be opened in the back, so they can quickly go to the toilet
in the open. Danish overalls normally only have one zipper in the front and
need to be taken completely off before going to the toilet. A Danish pair
of overalls will never sell in China, but a Dane wouldn't realize this before
going to China.
through a Chinese wholesaler. This wholesaler used a number of independent
regional distributors, who again had a number of sales people, who were con-
tacting the customers. The first year, the company had a satisfying turnover,
but they didn't know which products were actually sold to the customers
and which products were still in stock at the distributors. The company went
blindly into their second year in China and didn't really know what to expect.
tors to the business. Thus, long value chains in new markets with a different culture
need to be followed all the way to the end customer.
a sales director in China can remove the need for a wholesaler, thereby drawing the
company closer to the real sales and distribution activities in China. However, this will
also highlight potentially unethical situations as they will become more visible to the
company.
customer in their mature markets. However, these insights into customers needs and
demands in a Western high-end market can most likely not be transferred to the Chi-
nese mid-market. Worst case, the company is not even aware of the assumptions they
are implicitly making when they approach Chinese customers.