Activewear Made in Brazil for the World – Beatriz arrived at the Bia Brazil office in Porto Alegre, and as she walked between the rows of boxes ready to be shipped that day, she remembered how hard the team worked late into the night to prepare all the orders.
Activewear Made in Brazil for the World
oragoo – In his search for shipping destinations—Switzerland, Iran, Thailand, Mexico, the United States, Finland, and Japan—he couldn’t help but admire the diversity of places his company reached. In an instant, his memory drifted back to the early days of Bia Brazil when he saw these boxes starting to be delivered. However, amidst his gratitude, a question arose in his mind: “How is it possible for this company to develop rapidly abroad, while in the Brazilian market itself it is still relatively small? What next steps should we take? What have we not achieved? ”
In the midst of his contemplation, an intern had just entered the office. Alice looked surprised to see Beatriz, because this was Alice’s second day at Bia Brazil and her enthusiasm for learning was palpable. With a background in Brazilian history, Alice is filled with admiration for the company that was founded in 1994, a pioneer among small Brazilian companies in using e-commerce as a sales channel. Over the years, Bia Brazil has established itself as a leading exporter of clothing. the largest sports brand in Brazil, with a brand that is now known in more than 40 countries.
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Beatriz smiled at Alice and said, “Hi, Alice! It’s so nice to see you here! Your presence really gives new spirit to the company.” Alice looked at Beatriz with a mixture of happiness and curiosity, looking forward to hearing the history of Bia Brazil from one of its founders. As the two of them surveyed the stack of boxes, Alice commented, “I imagine that companies usually grow in their home country before expanding to international markets. However, in Bia Brazil, I saw a different approach. It intrigued me.” Seeing the interest on Alice’s face, Beatriz felt this was the right moment to share her story.
“Alice,” Beatriz said, “let me tell you our history, from a small family business to become the largest activewear exporter in Brazil. ”
Beatriz had sufficient international experience before establishing her company. Since then, she has continued to hone her skills by attending international exhibitions, visiting business partners, and exploring new fashion and technology trends. Although she faced many challenges and losses at the beginning of her journey due to her lack of knowledge, Beatriz chose not to give up. Instead, she turned every difficulty into an opportunity to learn and develop the company towards greater success. Beatriz does have an open mindset in dealing with the special needs of different countries, a characteristic identified by Coviello (2015) as a pattern think differently. He realizes that his product will never be perfect for everyone, and is willing to adapt to the needs of a diverse market. To encourage this adaptation, companies need to listen directly to what customers want. This requires managers who are ready to accept change. In this context, Beatriz leverages her international experience to drive innovation in the company’s products. The development of new technologies through partnerships, as well as product customization with international franchisees and distributors, reflects that a successful business is driven by open-minded innovation, another trait emphasized by Coviello (2015).
Next, the analysis can be focused on what McDougall et al. (1994) call “unusual constellations of competencies.” They argue that founders of international new ventures (INVs) are professionals who are able to capture opportunities in global markets thanks to the competencies they have developed. from previous experience, such as networks, knowledge, and background. At the beginning of this case, Beatriz revealed the challenges she saw, namely the lack of clothing designs specifically for women and standardization for men and women. The ability to identify market opportunities becomes very relevant here, including aspects such as the quality of fabrics and the technology used in clothing.
To enrich the discussion, instructors can invite students to compare the roles of decision makers in the internationalization process. Referring to the INV approach, the founders of the company tend to have experience in international business and a deep understanding of the global environment . Their personal networks are key to the development of the company (Coviello and Munro, 1995; McDougall, Shane, and Oviatt, 1994; Oviatt and McDougall, 1994; Zahra, 2005).
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Another suggestion is to investigate the assumption proposed by Cavusgil and Knight (2015), who indicated that founders of global firms explicitly or implicitly view the world as the market they serve. This reflects the emergence of new firms with the modern wave of globalization. These managers have the opportunity to reach transnational customers around the world. If time permits, instructors could make connections to the topic of customer segmentation and positioning. This discussion could be further developed in the classroom context and open up opportunities for deeper exploration in other courses.
The first issue to be discussed is the fact that Bia Brazil has no experience in physical retail operations. When the company has physical stores, their operations have always been handled by local partners. Although Bia Brazil has learned from these partnerships, there is no guarantee that they will support the development of an effective B2C strategy. Although the company already has an understanding of e-commerce in Brazil, physical retail has never been their main focus. Considering the two previous experiences in Brazil, Bia Brazil will likely face difficulties when trying to implement a B2C strategy physically.
In addition, another challenge that needs to be considered is how to manage new stores, especially in terms of logistics and promotion. In Brazil, the company only has experience in shipping e-commerce orders. In this context, each customer is a destination point that does not have a fixed delivery frequency. When having stores that need to be supplied, the company must formulate a solid plan to support its operations, considering not only the transportation process, but also how to handle sales forecasts. Having a large amount of inventory in stores usually has very high costs, and retailers often require re-delivery. In practice, they do not place the same order for a long time; they order according to customer preferences that often change rapidly. To avoid the risk of not being able to provide the most desired products, they need suppliers who can meet needs quickly and offer a variety of desired products.
If Bia Brazil chooses not to use retailers as partners and tries to develop new knowledge in management itself, this will most likely be a greater challenge, as shown by previous experience. However, if Bia Brazil decides to manage their unit in Brazil, they will also face challenges in promoting the product to the end consumer, including their marketing strategy on major holidays.
Another important issue to consider is the limited human resources in Bia Brazil. Beatriz is currently responsible for all strategic decisions and controls every aspect of operations. This will be very complicated if she tries to take a similar approach in the Brazilian market. In fact, this poses a great risk to the company’s international operations, as it may require a reduction in the time and attention devoted to activities abroad.