Entering an international market - Essay Example

Porter contended that a lot depends upon the differences in the extent of geographical location and the degree to which the company is centralized for decision making. International marketing is different from home-country marketing and the success or failure of the decision basically depends astute analysis which is deployed in making and entry in the international market and positioning oneself in such a market keeping in mind all cultural dimensions of the international market. This paper examines an international market entry strategy of the chosen company i.e. Barclays Bank in China.

Barclay's origins can be traced back to a modest business founded more than 300 years ago in the heart of London's financial district when goldsmith-bankers provided monarchs and merchants money for funding their business ventures. John Freame and his partner Thomas Gould established one such in Lombard Street in 1690. The name Barclay became associated with the company in 1736, when James Barclay also became a partner. The company amalgamated with the London, Provincial and South Western Bank in 1918 to become one of the UK's 'big five' banks.

By 1926 the bank had 1,837 outlets. The modern banking business though started picking up in 1925, with the merger of three banks - the Colonial Bank, the Anglo Egyptian Bank and the National Bank of South Africa to form Barclays international operations. This helped the bank in adding more business in Africa, the Middle East and the West Indies. Besides the banking operations the Barclays' group has business interests in a range of fields like fund/ capital management, investment advisors, insurance, etc.

This paper, however, limits its analysis to Barclay's banking operations. Barclays acquired Martins Bank in 1969, the largest UK bank to have its head office outside London. In 1981, it became the first foreign bank to file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission and raise long-term capital on the New York market. Taking giant strides towards global acceptance Barclays listed its shares on the Tokyo and New York stock exchanges in 1986, thus becoming the first British bank to do so.

In 2000 it took over the Woolwich, a leading mortgage bank and former building society founded in 1847. In July 2003 Barclays acquired the Banco Zaragozano, one of Spain's largest private sector banking groups, which was founded in 1910. Keeping pace with technological advancements Barclays started the telephone banking service Barclaycall in 1994 and later on-line PC banking in 1997. Barclays has also introduced customised services with introduction of Barclays Private Bank and Premier Banking.

In July 2005 Barclays Bank PLC also acquired a majority stake in Absa Group Limited, South Africa's largest retail bank with over seven million customers. With such international strides Barclays has now grown from a group of English partnerships to a global bank having its footprints in Europe, the USA, Latin America, Africa, the Caribbean, Asia, the Middle East and Australasia. On the domestic front Barclays has more than 11.3m current accounts and 10.9m savings accounts serving them through 2,014 branches in UK.

Total number of UK Banking staff at present is about 41,500. On a wider horizon Barclays is operating with 25