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Case Study of Danone

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Entry mode dynamics 2: strategic alliance partners Case 12.1 Danone’s affair in China As of 2007, Danone, the French multinational food company, was in a fierce battle with China-based Wahaha Group (the largest beverage producer in China) to win control of their joint ventures (JVs) in China. The fight is reported to have started in 2005 when Danone uncovered some unusual financial figures at the JVs, but this did not become known to the public until 2007, when Danone and Wahaha Group failed to resolve their disputes on the selling price of Wahaha-related non-joint ventures (non-JVs). The quarrel between Danone and Wahaha Group has escalated. It involves disputes on brands, as well as on perceived unequal commitments to the JVs. Lawsuits …show more content…

This initial setback with dairy products drove Danone to copy in China the alliance strategy used with great success to expand into Italy and Spain in the 1980s. Danone decided to capitalize successful local businesses rather than build its own businesses from scratch, resulting in a strong focus on joint ventures and acquisitions. Unlike most multinationals, Danone gave these acquired local businesses a great deal of autonomy. The joint ventures and acquired firms continued to sell their products under their own brands. Until late 2002, 80 per cent of Danone’s sales in China were under local brands. Furthermore, Danone let the former executives run the businesses and didn’t get involved much in daily operations. In fact, Danone functioned more like a capital investor, linking its joint ventures through capital investment rather than joint products. This expansion strategy in China worked very well. In 2001, Danone had become one of the largest food concerns in China, with $1.2 billion in sales, more than 50 plants and around 25,000 employees.14 Accounting for 9 per cent of Danone’s international sales in 2003, China became Danone’s third largest

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