Paillasse International SA: Global Market Selection

Paillasse International SA was a Swiss-based bread company operating in 15 European markets as of 2016. The company had invented a proprietary, patented process for producing bread concentrate that was used to make high quality, healthy breads. The company was successfully using licensing agreements for the bread concentrate with bakeries throughout the European markets; the latest agreement was with a retailer in Spain. The chief executive officer had just shared the good news with the company owner. The conversation then turned to questions concerning the future growth of the company. Where should it expand next? What impact would the maturing industry have on the company’s growth plans? How could the company maintain its competitive position in the market?

The case provides a hands-on opportunity for students to use quantitative information (e.g., per capita bread consumption and population) and non-quantitative criteria (e.g., ease of doing business) to create a shortlist of potential new markets to enter. The case is appropriate for introducing market selection in undergraduate or graduate courses in strategy, management, principles of marketing, international business, international marketing, or global strategy. The case could also be used in sessions on global franchising. Working through the case and assignment questions will allow students to do the following:<br><ul><li>Conduct an industry analysis using Porter’s five forces and industry life cycle analyses.</li><li>Conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis.</li><li>Learn how to conduct a global market search by choosing suitable selection criteria to use in a rigorous three-step approach (selecting criteria, normalizing data, and weighting criteria).</li><li>Discuss various market entry modes (exporting, licensing, franchising, and own subsidiary).</li></ul>

• Market Selection