Sterling Case

Sterling Marking Products is a Canadian based company that has a large variety of image Graphic Transfer products, services, and technologies.1 Market conditions combined with other factors indicate that this is an opportune time for Sterling Marking Products to enter the foreign market with a specific focus on entering the United Kingdom (UK) market. This case study analyzes these conditions with respect to Sterling’s Mark Maker Embosser and the investment of marketing and selling this product in the United Kingdom.

The provided case brief raises prudent questions as to whether Sterling’s success in the Canadian market makes the company strong enough and in a position to develop a viable entry strategy for the UK market and importantly whether this is the right time to embark on this endeavor. After conducting a comprehensive analysis of the case brief, entry strategies and various United Kingdom market reports, I determined that this is the right time for Sterling to explorer the UK marketplace and that a Joint Venture is the best mode of entry based on the final weighted variable values of the Vernon and Wells Cost and Benefit Table (Figure 1) and the F.R. Root Evaluating Firms for Various Entry Modes (Figure 2). A Joint Venture is defined as a cooperative effort among two or more organizations that share a common interest in a business enterprise or undertaking. 2 In this case a Joint Venture would continue to give Sterling control over its product and operations and ease its entry into the UK market with the least cost and the most overall benefit. Since the UK seal market is fragmented and there is a high demand for an improved product such as the Mark Maker (Figure 3) the opportunity exists to make an immediate impact so it is important for Sterling to take advantage and “strike while the iron is hot” and a Joint Venture would be more appropriate since starting a business outright in the UK is becoming increasingly more difficult based