Strategies for Trade Sales in a Changing Asian Business Culture

Multinational manufacturers of many consumer products continue to struggle with the development and management of their international sales-channels. To examine international sales-channel strategies and begin to develop a framework to guide sales-channel evaluation and development, exploratory qualitative interviews were conducted with sales executives from various American and European manufacturers of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) that are selling in Southeast Asia. Findings suggest that when developing sales-channels, FMCG manufacturer decisions are influenced by manufacturer strengths and capabilities, the strengths and capabilities of available local trade partners, consumer behavior, and environmental conditions. Furthermore, the level of power held by manufacturers and retailer sophistication are identified to be two key issues impacting sales-channel decisions. A framework utilizing these two variables is proposed that suggests that a manufacturer's local sales presence increases with the level of manufacture power and retailer sophistication.