Lessons in international growth from British high fliers

Thursday, January 05, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Thought leadership | Tags: business, report, growth, UK, survey, international, insight, value, success, advice, expansion, sales, International Track 100, overseas, Grow Global, foreign

How have the UK’s most successful companies for fastest-growing international sales achieved their overseas success? Our latest report discovered what these companies have in common and how they have driven overseas sales and built real value.

With domestic growth a challenge, it’s no surprise that many UK businesses are looking to international and emerging markets for future growth and expansion opportunities.

You can see who is currently doing this successfully in International Track 100 – who’s in the Top 10?  But how did they do it?

In conjunction with Fast Track, we looked at the approaches taken by the majority of these 100 privately-owned businesses to find out what they have in common, what were their first steps, what have they learned along the way and where are they focusing their efforts in future? The results are now live on our Grow Global research pages – or you can download a PDF of the report: Grow Global: a route to success.

Alternatively, here’s a taster from the executive summary.

Understanding international expansion

• There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to international growth strategies: some are executed according to well laid out plans, while others are undertaken on a purely opportunistic basis. The more opportunistic firms often introduce a more structured plan further down the line.
• In terms of the territories targeted, the drivers of international strategy are diverse, from the draw of existing clients to research, legislation or sector-specific issues. There are also well-defined and documented barriers to doing business in certain regions.
• There are also many different ways of breaking into foreign markets, and approaches often evolve as companies grow in scale.

Key business lessons learned

• There is a clear correlation between mode of international expansion and financial performance: companies that took a more measured strategic route have higher profit growth and margins.
• The most commonly cited challenges faced by the companies interviewed relate to HR issues, such as the demands on management time, recruitment and maintenance of company culture.
• Companies are typically conservative when funding international expansion. However, with the benefit of hindsight some admitted having been overly cautious.

The next step

• Geographical considerations dominate future plans – both via the consolidation of operations in existing markets and expansion into new territories.
• Other strategies centre on organic growth through new product launches or roll-outs and inorganic growth through acquisition.

Overall, the experiences of the International Track 100 firms will provide a hugely useful reference tool for businesses looking to make a first move into export markets or to build on existing overseas growth.

What’s more, the key points for businesses to take away are clear: the potential to drive top- and bottom-line growth via international expansion is certainly there, whether one approaches this in a carefully planned strategic manner, via a more opportunistic route, or using a combination of both.

Case studies, deeper insights and further comment can be found at Grow Global. For help expanding into new markets, such as China and South Asia, visit our Emerging Markets services page.

You may also find these links useful:

* Best of International and Emerging Markets blog 2011
* Why businesses fail in Hong Kong and China
* Meet our international markets experts