GLAMI Global Expansion Dilemma: Where, When and How?

GLAMI was launched in October 2013 in the Czech Republic as a fashion search engine with a focus on providing consumers with an accessible platform. It operated a neatly organized online fashion catalogue that consisted of combined products from fashion e-shops that functioned throughout various countries. Through its five years of existence, GLAMI had expanded throughout Europe and Asia. Fashion retailers and e-shops partnered with GLAMI as free or priority members, and had their items placed throughout GLAMI’s website. The company’s business model functioned through a cost-per-click (CPC) model, where GLAMI would charge priority members according to how much they were willing to pay per click. In August 2018, due to its success and the increasing size of the fashion industry and the online retail space, GLAMI was looking to expand beyond its current boundaries to a high-growth area—Latin America. However, considering the vast differences among Latin American countries, GLAMI was finding it difficult to narrow down the list of countries in which to explore international expansion.

This case study has been designed for graduate-level courses on international business, strategic management, or growth strategies. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to<ul><li>analyze several countries in Latin America for international expansion of an online fashion company;</li><li>explore the various challenges and opportunities faced by an online fashion company;</li><li>apply strategic concepts and frameworks, such as the CAGE distance analysis framework, to a real-world business problem;</li><li>apply various international expansion strategies such as Waterfall, Sprinkler, and Wave strategies to a global expansion; and</li><li>apply multiple possible routes for international expansion and evaluate the feasibility study for different options.</li></ul>

• growth strategy, fashion, e-commerce