Educator Insights: Ben & Jerry's—Japan: Strategic Decision by an Emergent Global Marketer

Marketing students thrive on identifying an ideal foreign market for a product and devising a plan to launch and promote the product. As elegant as the plans may be, though, resources are constrained, and firms that are just emerging in the global marketplace may have a correspondingly constrained range of options available. The decision of Ben & Jerry's whether to enter the Japanese market—and if so, how—illustrates the strategic thinking behind such a constrained decision, focusing on an increasingly feasible option of partnering with a single retailer for the market entry. The case covers a wide spectrum of strategic issues faced by a branded consumer goods manufacturer in the early stages of venturing beyond its domestic market. Students can assume the role of the chief executive officer in (1) balancing the attraction of a potentially strong market against the mission and resources of the firm, (2) balancing the lack of resources (both financial and managerial) for a company-controlled brand-building strategy against the apparent hazards in granting brand development rights to a licensee, (3) making the best of the increasing consolidation and strength of the retailer sector, and (4) developing trust with a local partner.