For instance the same product may be sold in many

Global marketers may also adapt their communication message. For instance,
the same product may be sold in many countries but advertised differently. As an
example, L'Oreal, a French health and beauty products marketer, introduced its
Golden Beauty brand of sun care products through
its
Helena Rubenstein sub
sidiary in Western Europe with a communication adaptation strategy. Recogniz
ing that cultural and buying motive differences related to skin care and tanning
exist, Golden Beauty
advertising featured dark tanning for northern Europeans,
skin protection
to
avoid
wrinkles
among
Latin Europeans,
and beauti/iJ/ ;/dn
fot
Europeans living along the Mediterranean Sea, even though the products were
identical.
I
Same
communication
Offering
extension
strategy
Adapt
communication
Communication
adaptation
strategy
Offering
adaptation
strategy
Offering invention
strategy
Dual
adaptation
strategy

624
CHAPTER 10 GLOBAL MARKETING STRATEGY AND MANAGEMENT
Marketing Channel and Pricing Strategies
Recall that successful global marketers standardize marketing programs when
ever possible and customize them whenever necessary. Compared with offering
and communication strategies, standardization presents a unique challenge for
marketing channel and pricing strategies due to country trade regulations and
consumer buying preferences and practices.
Consider the case of Dell, Inc. when it recently decided to enter the mar ket
for personal computers in Asia, notably China and India. 8 The company's vaunted
online direct marketing channel that worked well in North America and Europe
had to be replaced with a marketing channel featuring retail stores in China and
India. Why? First-time personal computer buyers in these countries, especially,
want face-to-face help from store clerks when making purchase deci sions. Dell
subsequently signed distribution agreements with Chinese and Indian retail
chains to sell its desktop and notebook models.
Competitive, political,
tax
and exchange rates, and legal constraints affect the
pricing latitude and strategy of global marketers. Walmart's experience in Gennany
is an example. Antitrust authorities in Germany limited Walmart from selling some
items below cost to lure shoppers. Without this practice, which is considered accept
able in most countries, Walmart was unable to compete against German discount
stores. This, along with other factors, prompted Walmart to leave Germany in 2006
following eight years without posting a profit.
9
Today, global marketers of expensive
consumer goods sell their products within a narrow price range to discourage "gray
markets" whereby individuals buy items in a lower-priced country from a manufac
turer's authorized retailer, ship them to higher-priced countries, and then sell them
below the manufacturer's suggested retail price through unauthorized retailers.