Hi guys. Welcome back to Global Business Environment, course two. This is module three and in this module we'll be trying to understand, how companies should and do adapt their products or services in foreign markets. And in order to do this I'd like to start with a case study today in the introduction, a brief case study. To try to link together our last module on starting an entrepreneurial or small business company in an foreign market. We talked about Boone global firms, in the last module. And how some companies today start out with an international presence. Which is much different from the past. And I want to use that case study to, to link from that to this idea of adapting, a product or service for a foreign market. So here's a case study I have here and I'm using one from a person that I know. A former student of mine, here at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. His name is Ed. He and his wife both had jobs. Very stable jobs, but they wanted to do something more entrepreneurial. They wanted to start their own business or get into something where they were running their own business. This was definitely an opportunity-based experience for them, and they identified through a business broker. An opportunity, to buy a company called Rain Forest Baskets and the company website rainforestbaskets.com and I have that here up on the screen right now and Ed just a normal person, living here in Albuquerque, the way he tells the story, he and his wife. Purchased this company. And it's focus or it's competitive advantage, is access to very unique and differentiated baskets that are hand woven, by a tribe of native peoples in Panama. And Ed does not speak Spanish, had no experience of knowledge of Panama or the business, he had no experience with baskets the basket market, these very unique baskets which are actually quite expensive, and so he was taking a great risk. But he really wanted to do something that was where he could work for himself and run his own business. And so this is an example of a born global firm, because the reason for the company's existence, is that there are these baskets that are handmade in Panama, by experts who have very, very unique skills that don't exist in the United States, and yet there's this market here in the United States, for these baskets. And let me show you, some of these baskets. And, he does not have all of them listed here on the side. But they range in price from $125 to $16,500. And actually some of his baskets are can cost up to $30,000 when he ends up selling them. He sells these in lots of different places, boutique shops. These are very, very expensive. Only a small percentage of the population would ever, buy these baskets. And so he sells them in boutique shops in places like Aspen, Colorado. And it has has grown the market and has been successful with this business. There have been a lot of challenges you faced. The business at times suffers from very low sales, it depends on the season of the year. But what I want to show you about the business more than anything is there are these very expert individuals who live in Panama, in a very isolated region of Panama, who make these baskets. And before the business started these individuals would make very inexpensive baskets that might take them a month to make. To hand make, to hand weave. And they would, would make that basket and then sell it to someone local and that was the end of the story. You might think that Ed is taking advantage of these individuals, because he's going in and probably not paying the price to them that he's selling it for and that's true. He has a lot of expenses commissions, and other things. But the real advantage to these individuals in Panama, is that now, they can make baskets, that might take two years to make, that end up costing $20,000. And they have guaranteed income, for two years, because Edna's wife will pay for the baskets up front. And so these individuals have been able to get ahead. But the baskets they make, are adapted for the United States market. They're different than from what might be sold in a local market in Panama. And so this is a great example of a business that, was born global and also is adapted to the US market. So I wanted to give you this case study today to get your mind thinking about what we're going to talk about is which is these key adaptations. To foreign markets. And so I'm very excited to to, about participate with you in this module three of global business environment course two, we'll see you back in part one of this module three, thank you
