To increase sales and profits, many businesses strive to grow, evolve, and expand. This essay will concentrate on elucidating the connection between globalisation and Belle International's (Belle) growth and evolution (change) in terms of its effects on various stakeholders. With a 22% domestic market share, Belle, a 1978-founded footwear company, is regarded as the No. 1 (and largest) women's shoe retailer in China. It is engaged in the production, distribution, and retail of the business's brands, including Belle, Staccato, Teenmix, TATA, and Joy & Peace.
International trade helps to facilitate globalisation, which is the process of increasing integration and interaction between individuals, businesses, and governments from various countries. From Belle's point of view, globalisation helps the process of expansion (growth and evolution), allowing it to operate globally and generate more revenue. For instance, Joy & Peace manufactures premium European shoes with Italian shoemaking expertise, but they primarily target Asian markets like Hong Kong, Macau, China, and Malaysia. Additionally, Clarks England, Caterpillar, and Hush Puppies are licenced international brands, and Belle is a strategic partner of these European shoe manufacturers. It is these brands' biggest distributor in China.
Due to globalisation, Belle now has a much larger customer base and sells its shoes and related goods in over 150 cities worldwide. Therefore, Belle can benefit from economies of scale (lower average production costs) as a result of its ability to purchase raw materials (like leather) in large quantities and its use of highly effective machinery (which smaller businesses cannot afford). As a result, each pair of shoes sold generates higher profit margins. This has led to an increase in job opportunities.
On the other hand, a drawback of being a big, international company is the potential for diseconomies of scale because of problems like poor command and control and miscommunications. Conflicts between cultural groups in various international markets could also be to blame.
Change describes how organisations adapt their operations and strategies as a result of competition, new technologies, and market trends. It is crucial for Belle to adjust to changes in fashion, consumer preferences, and technologies (like the use of e-commerce to sell and buy women's shoes) in an increasingly globalised market. The threat of global competition makes it harder to win over customers' loyalty. In this regard, Belle made the decision to create specific brands in response to shifting consumer preferences in China and Macau among the middle class.
Another change was the branding of products for different market segments, such as Teemix for teenage consumers and TATA for female consumers in their 2030s. In contrast, FATO is Belle's line of men's shoes for the affluent group of male customers, and Staccato is devoted to the working woman who prefers European footwear. However, because fashions are constantly changing, Chinese consumers frequently switch their brand loyalty between foreign and local brands.
In order to continue growing, Belle must be led on the path of globalisation, according to CEO Baijiao Sheng. Better pay and bonuses are associated with higher sales revenue. The same would hold true for his managers and staff. Customers have benefited from Belle's expansion of global distribution networks by having more options and convenience.
As a result, Belle's development has been significantly impacted by change and globalisation. Despite some potential drawbacks of change and globalisation, Belle has clearly benefited from them, as evidenced by its capacity to take advantage of economies of scale and collaborate with other European shoe manufacturers.
Relevant arguments are presented with evidence from the company chosen. Positive and negative aspects of change and globalization were discussed. There were lapses in some of the arguments, e.g. paragraph 4 is a hypothetical response, without justified reasoning being provided.
A good effort was made to use a variety of business management jargon to show knowledge and comprehension. The underlying business content and arguments were applied in an illustrative manner using examples from real-world situations. The essay was able to come together and receive a high structure rating (Criterion D) thanks to the use of connectors like "however," "despite," and "on the other hand." The candidate met Criterion E's requirements for being able to name pertinent individual and group stakeholders, but she stopped there when it came to discussing impacts both positive and negative.