.Chapter

14

International Marketing Channels

Modular:Afjal Hossain

Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing

PSTUMcGraw-Hill/Irwin International Marketing, 13/e

Channel-of-Distribution Structures• All consumer and industrial products

eventually go through a distribution process.– Physical handling and distribution of goods– Passage of ownership– Buying and selling negotiations between

producers and middlemen– Buying and selling negotiations between

middlemen and customers• Each country market has a distribution

structure through which goods pass from producer to user.

Import-Oriented Distribution Structure

• Demand exceeds supply• The customer seeks the supply from a limited

number of middlemen• Distribution systems are local• Few countries fit the import-oriented model today

In an import-oriented or traditional distribution structure, an importer controls a fixed supply of goods and the marketing system develops around the philosophy of selling a limited supply of goods at high prices to a small number of affluent customers.

Japanese Distribution Structure

1. A structure dominated by many small middlemen dealing with many small retailers

2. Channel control by manufacturers3. A business philosophy shaped by a unique

culture4. Laws that protect the foundation of the

system

Comparison of Distribution Channels between the United States and Japan

• Insert Exhibit 14.1

High Density of Middlemen• Not unusual for consumer goods to go through

three or four intermediaries before reaching the consumer

• In Japan, small stores account for 57.7 percent of retail food sales

• In the U.S., small stores generate 19.2 percent of food sales

• Japan has a large number of independent groceries and bakers, unlike America with an emphasis on supermarkets, discount food stores, and department stores

Channel Control

1. Inventory financing2. Cumulative rebates3. Merchandise returns4. Promotional support

Business Philosophy

• Emphasizes loyalty, harmony, and friendship

• Supports long-term dealer-supplier relationships

• The cost of Japanese consumer goods are among the highest in the world

• Japanese law gives the small retailer enormous advantage over the development of larger stores

Large-Scale Retail Store Law and Its Successor

• Daitenho – the Large-Scale Retail Store Law– Large stores must have approval from the prefecture government– All proposals first judged by the Ministry of International Trade and

Industry (MITI)– Then, if all local retailers unanimously agreed, the plan was

approved– Could be a lengthy process– Applied to both domestic and foreign companies

• Replaced by the Large-Scale Retail Store Location Act of June 2000– MITI out of the process– Relaxed restrictions

Changes in the Japanese Distribution System

• Structural Impediments Initiative• Deregulation• Wal-Mart• “New” retailers• The Internet

Trends: From Traditional to Modern Channel Structures

• European retailers merging with former competitors and other countries to form Europe-wide enterprises

• Foreign retailers attracted by the high margins and prices• The Internet may be the most important trend affecting

distribution• Covisint• GlobalNetXchange• E-commerce• 7-Eleven competes with FedEx and UPS

Distribution Patterns

• General patterns– Middlemen services– Line breadth– Costs and margins– Channel length– Nonexistent channels– Blocked channels– Stocking– Power and competition

Distribution Patterns (continued)

• Retail patterns– Size patterns– Direct marketing– Resistance to change

Alternative Middleman Choices

• Seller must exert influence over two sets of channels:– One in the home country– One in the foreign-market country

• Agent middlemen – represent the principal rather than themselves

• Merchant middlemen – take title to the goods and buy and sell on their own account

Home-Country Middlemen

• Manufacturer’s retail stores• Global retailers• Export management companies• Trading companies• U.S. export trading companies• Complementary marketers• Manufacturer’s export agent• Home-country brokers• Buying offices

Home-Country Middlemen (continued)

• Selling groups• Webb-Pomerene export associations• Foreign sales corporation• Export merchants• Export jobbers

Foreign-Country Middlemen

• Manufacturer’s representatives• Distributors• Foreign-country brokers• Managing agents and compradors• Dealers• Import jobbers, wholesalers, and retailers

Government-Affiliated Middlemen

• Marketers must deal with governments in every country of the world

• Products, services, and commodities for the government’s own use are always procured through government purchasing offices at federal, regional, and local levels

• Efficiency of public sector versus the private sector

Factors Affecting Choice of Channels

• Cost• Capital requirements• Control• Coverage• Character• Continuity

Locating, Selecting, and Motivating Channel Members

• Locating middlemen• Selecting middlemen– Screening– The agreement

• Motivating middlemen• Terminating middlemen• Controlling middlemen

The Internet

• E-commerce is used to market:– Business-to-business (BSB) services– Consumer services– Consumer and industrial products

• E-commerce is more developed in the U.S. than in the rest of the world

• B2B enables companies to cut costs in three ways:– Reduces procurement costs– Allows better supply-chain management– Makes possible tighter inventory control

Concerns for e-Vendors

• Culture• Adaptation• Local contact• Payment• Delivery• Promotion