BUSINESS 427
GLOBAL ISSUES IN BUSINESS
DeVry University

Global Business Opportunities Project:
Burlington Coat Factory/China

Prepared By: Group A

March 30, 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
Module 1: IDENTIFYING GLOBAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES 3
Module 2: ANALYZING INTERNATIONAL COMPETITORS 7
Module 3: ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT 9
Module 4: ASSESSING THE SOCIAL-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT 11
Module 5: ASSESSING THE POLITICAL LEGAL ENVIRONMENT 14
Module 6: SELECTING A GLOBAL COMPANY STRUCTURE 16
Module 7: FINANCING SOURCES FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS 18
Module 8: CREATING A GLOBAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM 20
Module 9: IDENTIFYING HUMAN RESOURCES FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS 23
Module 10: MANAGING INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS RISKS 25
Module 11: PRODUCT AND TARGET MARKET PLANNING 27
Module 12: DESIGNING A GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY 28
Module 13: PLANNING A GLOBAL PROMOTION STRATEGY 30
Module 14: SELECTING AN INTERNATIONAL PRICING STRATEGY 31
Module 15: DETERMINING ORGANIZATIONAL FINANCIAL RESULTS 34
Module 16: MEASURING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SUCCESS 35
CONCLUSION 36
BIBLIOGRAPHY 36

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Burlington Coat Factory was originally formed in the year 1924 as a wholesaler of junior’s coats and women’s coats. Its original location was in Burlington, New Jersey and they are now a national retail chain. Burlington Coat Factory offers current, high quality, designer merchandise at prices up to 70% below those at other department stores. The stores feature coats, apparel, shoes, and accessories for the entire family, plus baby clothing, furniture, travel gear, toys, home decor items, and gifts. Burlington Coat Factory’s competitors are companies like TJ Maxx and Ross yet they have been able to have an edge over them by having an affordable product range, a dedicated workforce and the trust factor that we have been able to create amongst their customers. To retain the position as one of the innovators in this part, our group is planning to start a new project. We hope that opening stores in China we will see a rise in amount of revenue. We hope to provide trust that investing with us will be secure and profitable. We would be looking to expand our business so that we can cater to more people and expand our reach into more countries. In order to do all of the above, our group needs to keep the risks in mind. The biggest risk that we have today is overcoming and push back we may receive from people in China. This would keep us from even being able to show what we can do if not given the chance and we are working hard to address this issue. The detailed plan is mentioned in the proposal.

Module 1: IDENTIFYING GLOBAL BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

Global Business Opportunities
We are the Burlington Coat Factory, a US based retailer selling off price apparel, accessories and home product retailer operating 470 stores in 44 states and Puerto Rico. While our core business remains brick and mortar stores, we also operate an extensive online business. While our US based stores are experiencing only modest growth, we project much stronger growth opportunities coming from the Asia Pacific region. (1)

Potential Markets
We ship our products around the globe which has caused us to consider whether we could duplicate our business model in large emerging Asian markets, starting with China? China has a large, growing economy with an appetite for western goods and clothing. China government continues to be stable having just seen a smooth transition of governmental power. This smooth transition is expected to continue the market aspects of China’s economy. China’s rapid real estate growth has provided a surplus of large building stock in special economic and retail zones. These surplus buildings potentially provide ready-made buildings for retail, distribution, and manufacturing use. Ultimately, we foresee China as another United States from which we can broaden our business into other Asian markets.

Absolute and Comparative Advantage
While China does not enjoy absolute advantage in the manufacturing of apparel with that distinction belonging to Bangladesh, China does operate with comparative advantage in several key areas related to the apparel business. First, they possess all the raw materials such as wool, cotton, and silk, as well as manufacturing many manmade materials. Their labor costs as compared to the West are lower, although not as low as some other Asian countries. In the major cities from which we would expect to operate, all of this is supported by very efficient infrastructure including; ports; roads; electric power; phone; and internet services.

Business Opportunity Analysis
After reviewing other Asia Pac options we strongly believe that China represents the greatest blend of market, manufacturing, and distribution opportunities. Combining these elements together in one nation allows us to better consolidate and manage our business. China’s economy is expected to continue to expand at 7+% over the next several years. National wages continue to rise with an expected economic transition away from an export driven economy and more focused on domestic consumption. This is both good for market growth but must be watched over time relative to manufacturing cost impact. The same can be said for inflation which is expected to remain in the low single digits during this same time period. As with many aspects of business, timing is everything. Should we delay in expanding our business in China we can expect our competitors to gain a competitive advantage by gaining initial market share and brand recognition.
S.W.O.T Analysis

Action Plan
Our SWOT analysis leads us to conclude the benefits far outweigh the risks and the risks can be minimized if we plan for and manage them well. We have identified our beachhead into China should first be located in Shanghai. Once the working model is validated we expect to expand our markets and distribution centers into other key cities. Shanghai is attractive to start due to its larger concentration of westerners; its proximity to ocean ports; has two major airports; and is served by passenger and freight rail service to other major cities and western regions for the movement of raw materials from the nations interior. Our strategy is to quickly gain a foothold into the Asian market with minimal risk and high potential for upside. We will do this by engaging with a respected local importer/exporter specializing in apparel and household items. This local importer/exporter has the necessary governmental contacts that control the garment and retail industries. We will also engage a Shanghai based law firm to help us secure our necessary licenses and contracts. Initial cost estimates for these services are more reasonable than similar western based services.

Module 2: ANALYZING INTERNATIONAL COMPETITORS

Potential Competitors
According to IBISWorld’s market research report, “Clothing Stores in China” there are currently less than five comparable western companies operating in China. The top five companies in China ranked by marker share are; Baleno Holdings Ltd; Bestseller Fashion; Espirit Shanghai Company; Jeanswest Corporation (China); and Shanghai Metersbonwe Fashion Accessories. (1) These five companies generate over 21bn in annual revenue and are experiencing annual growth of 13.4%. Together they employ over 800,000 people in over 40,000 store fronts. (3) There are many other companies from a variety countries including, Malaysia, UK, Brazil, Italy, and Wal-Mart from the US. (2) None of these international competitors have market penetration as deep as those five Chinese companies mentioned above, nor do they pose a dominating thread in the future. Due to Chinese cultural style, market consolidation is also not a great fear. Additionally, the website Alibaba is a potential Chinese domestic competitor for online business operating with a similar business model as Amazon in the United States. Just as likely however, it is conceivable we could enter into a licensing agreement with Alibaba from which we could market and distribute our products. This strategy could reduce any impact of “buy in China for China” developments.

Competitive Advantages
Our competitive advantage includes a global footprint which brings us regionally close to the growing Chinese market. We know the Chinese consumer enjoys to shopping for quality western brand names and Burlington Coat Factory carries several global brand names including; Levi’s and Dockers. Our mixed model of brick and mortar stores and e-commerce provides the opportunity to deliver these brand names into the hands of Chinese customers conveniently, and at reasonable prices.

International Strategies
Our approach to the overall Asia-Pacific market is to first penetrate China and set up a stable base of operations, including retail, distribution, and manufacturing. Any necessary office or Information Technology space would be expected to adjoined to a distribution or manufacturing center.

Based on a variety of economic forecasts we expect the Chinese economy to continue robust growth for many years, meaning that the market is not yet saturated and remains open to further exploitation by innovative players in the market. This growing base will provide us the knowledge transfer and regional business understanding to permit us to expand beyond China in less than five years.

Action Plan
As stated elsewhere in this business plan we expect to partner with a local Chinese import/export firm which has established relationships with the necessary Chinese government institutions. They will support us to identify and secure the necessary building infrastructure. Local Chinese law firms can be enlisted to create and process the necessary government licensing and contract requirements.

Module 3: ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC-GEOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT

Geographic Influences
China is a country of many diverse terrain and geographic climates. It is the third largest country in the world behind Russia and Canada. China’s neighbors include such countries as Mongolia, North Korea, Burma, Thailand, and India, several of which are the highest cotton producing countries in the world. Western China is home to the tallest mountains in the world, the Himalaya’s. Central China is a highly populated plain that ishometo an enormous inland market for goods. To the east is China’s coastal region which happens to be the highest importing and exporting hub in the world making it ideal for business expansion. It is Home to the third longest river in the world as well. China’s Climate is very diverse as well, ranging from sub-tropical in the south to sub-arctic in the north. China is also divided in to five homogeneous physical macro-regions; the coastal region is the center of China’s economy.

Major Products and Industries
China is home to many products and industries. It houses one of the biggest sources of minerals in the world including zinc, tungsten, and graphite. China also has a vast amount of crude petroleum, gold, aluminum, natural gas, uranium, and diamonds. What is good for our company is that they also rank in the top five for cotton producing countries as well. On a side note, with the huge tall mountain range in Western China, they have the potential to become the world’s largest hydra power producer in the world.

Current Economic Conditions
In the past couple decades China’s economy has risen tremendously to recently surpass Germany, and Japan and become the second largest economy in the world by nominal GDP. The economy is still on the rise, increasing at a rate of 10% a year. China is also the largest exporter in the world and the second largest importer in the world. The coastal regions are the most industrialized areas of China while the inlands tend to be less developed and populated. The leading occupation in China is agriculture consisting of 50% of the population. China’s major industrial products include chemicals, fertilizers, machinery, processed food, steel, and textiles which is supportive to our business. In recent years, China is striving more to increase domestic consumption to decrease its dependency on exports for growth. This trend in particular is a positive leading indicator in support of our strategy.

Infrastructure
China’s infrastructure is heavily vested in increasing transportation throughout the country. In the past China was slightly crippled by poor transportation. Poor roadways and transportation means hindered movement of mining, agriculture, and light industrial products from rural areas to more urban areas. Most of China’s hauling transportation was by means of long-distance railways and inland waterways. In recent decades China has focused as much as 50% of their GDP into roadways, bridges, ports, and even factories and office buildings for better efficiency(Global Security). In 2010 they budgeted 11.8 billion in transportation infrastructure. Shanghai has built 1,500 miles of road in the past decade which equals three Manhattans. By 2025 China will have paved up to 5 billion square meters of road, and up to 28,000 kilometers of metro railway (Mike). This greatly improved transportation infrastructure will be key to our manufacturing and distribution strategy. Due to quick turn-around potential we can expect to realize very high, time to market efficiencies.

Action Plan
The current and future economic and geography of China seem to render an Ideal place for BCF to establish Asian roots. However, to be watched over time will be the development of inland transportation means. We will continually look to establish good grounds for factories, including access to multiple means of transportation. While the sea ports provide great ways of importing and exporting to other countries, the neighboring countries connected via landmass may be less efficient to access.

Module 4: ASSESSING THE SOCIAL-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

Demographic Trends
China is densely populated, housing around one fifth of the entire world’s population totaling about 1.34 billion people in 2009. China is also about 51% male and 49% female which should have no effect on our business due to our products being consumed by both sexes. Due to China’s rapid growth rate, the government decided to hinder it by initiating birth policies such as the “one-child campaign.” This has slowed the population grown rate tremendously. In China, 20.1% make up the population of ages 0-14, the 15-64 age group accounts for 71.9% of the population, and age 65 and over equals about 8% of the population. Cultural Analysis
Chinese culture is as rich and profound as it is old and even ancient. China is one of the four most ancient cultures known to mankind along with Babylon, India, and Egypt. The Chinese culture is emphasized for their love and care for their literature, music, visual arts, martial arts, and cuisine. Their traditions are highly practiced varying from province to province. There are 56 distinct and recognized ethnic groups in China today, and the largest of those is the Han culture. There are also many different spoken languages and dialects across the country depending on region and province including Mandarin and Cantonese. However, the most spoken Chinese language is Zhongyu, which is regarded as standard Chinese. Social Institutions
Social life and the social institutions in China are sometimes frowned upon by our cultural standards and that of other countries as well. For example, although China has laws in place that govern the right to vote, women’s rights laws, and marriage laws, they are corrupt and tainted underneath. The Chinese marriage age in china is 20 years old for women and 22 years old for men. Men are highly favored in China as well; often time couples will have abortions when finding out the sex of their child will be female. Religion is an important social background of China as well and sometimes creates conflict among natives. Also, although the Chinese people have voting rights like ours here in the states; they are regarded as unfair and corrupt by many observers from other nations (centre, 2012). Informal Trade Barriers
Despite their massive amounts of importing and exporting, China still has one of the mostly known large and costly trade barriers today. While China can possibly provide most materials internally, this can become costly when opening up factories. There are also hidden barriers China enforces that go unseen, according to several nations. Some think their trade tariffs are still too high. Also as stated previously, inland transportation means to and from neighboring countries could pose a hindrance and must be watched over time. Action Plan
It will be necessary to study the Chinese cultures and social behaviors and account for this difference in our staffing plans. Language will be a challenging barrier for western leadership, so bilingual hiring and language training will be key success factor. Fortunately, Chinese schools have been teaching English for many years so there is significant pool of candidates that fit this profile. English language training is quite plentiful and reasonably priced.

Module 5: ASSESSING THE POLITICAL LEGAL ENVIRONMENT

Government and Politics
The power of the Chinese government is divided into three bodies. There is the political arm or the communist party of China, the administrative arm known as the state council, and the enforcement arm, or People’s Liberation Army (PLA). There is a group of 4 to 9 people involved with the communist party of China that control and make most decisions regarding national significance. The overall power is instilled into one Paramount Leader; he is currently Xi Jinping. He is general of the Communist Party Committee and Chairman of the Central Military Commission. The leader and power of the Communist Party is guaranteed and recognized legal power by the State. This power extends to exercising full control over all government institutions including the military and media.

Formal Trade Barriers
The trade barriers in China have been labeled “unfair” by many countries. Besides the unfair taxing, tariffs, and overpricing, there are other unfair barriers China enforces, as well such as industrial policies, inadequate Intellectual Property Protection enforcement, and services restrictions. China's industrial policies limit market access by non-Chinese originated goods by protecting favored sectors and industries (President, 2010). China maintains prohibitions on foreign participation, restrictive licensing systems, foreign equity limitations, restrictions on scope of business and other measures that limit or block market access in a variety of services sectors.

Promoting Global Business
In promoting Global business, China needs to continue to work on their infrastructure to increase transportation routes. Also, middle to upper-management skills need to improve among Chinese corporations; this will improve communication to other companies in other nations. Also, by promoting cross cultural work and educational experiences, and increasing Chinese language education here in the states will improve communication.

Intellectual Property
Intellectual property laws are very unclear and not well defined in china. This in turn has hindered global trade and increased prices and skepticism for both China and trading countries. The Chinese are worried of their exporting products being copied or duplicated which usually involves some of their heritage and culture which they try hard to preserve. Meanwhile, other countries are complaining of the Chinese stealing their intellectual property; in particular, clothing. Licensing laws and copyright laws are simply not followed very well in China.
Action Plan
Seeing that China is a communist country, we will need to adapt to their political view and ideologies as a company. The communist regime and way of life is very strong and cannot be broken down, so getting the Chinese to adopt our political views will be impossible. In preparation for both parties to feel comfortable with their intellectual property and to increase trust, there will be contracts specifically put in place to protect each side. These contracts will preserve both parties creative work and integrity.

Module 6: SELECTING A GLOBAL COMPANY STRUCTURE

Strategic Planning
Burlington Coat Factory would like to obtain Market Share in the Apparel Industry by expanding its chain of company stores in China through joint venture with the Younger Group Company LTD and I.T. Limited. It is our desire to leverage the economic resources and achieve the company’s objectives domestically and abroad. It is also our aspiration to uphold a lasting existence in the region to exploit on the long-term growing opportunities of that nation.

Entry modes: Admittance will be obtained through negotiations with the Younger Group Company LTD, the I.T. Limited, and the appropriate Chinese governmental parties to enter the Chinese market. The joint venture will operate the business via franchises and included in these negotiations will be representatives from the Apparel Supply Chains and Demand Organizations.

Organizational structure: The first phase of this study is to test the viability of the American Model of the Company’s store major shareholder/Owner. We have very little firsthand evidence of how this model will work in the new Chinese Entrepreneurial environment. Moving forward with joint venture with local companies, assignment of various tasks between companies and appointment of various positions would be the next step. As for the overall operation, our purpose is to expand business in competitive market, the highest position such as “Vice President of International Market” of this operation will be appointed from the US. There will be several down level management position per department which will be filled mainly with experts from partner company. Forthcoming constancy and growth in the market may be required for an evaluation of the organizational structure in the long-term, in the meantime business approval assessments and major acquisitions will be ratified through the United States leadership entity.

Strategic Alliance:
To achieve the goal of a business expansion internationally, keeping cost low at no compromise in quality would maximize our goal. As a part of our strategy, we will alliance with local suppliers for raw material with strong QA/QC measures and hire local labor for assembly line under direct supervision. As part of this business plan, we will make all determinations to contract with local suppliers, contractors, and competitive units in the area. Our principal opposition would consist of similar American companies and local corporations in the same market, who compete on price alone and it is our objective to develop close working relationships to overcome this one dimensional competition prone to the industry. The lack of other competitive advantages presents opportunities for growth and expansion in other aspects of the business sector.

Action Plan:
Our business operations into the region will remain an extension of our central US operations. Our mission statement is to provide reliable services, based on consumer’s needs. We deliver great service any time, in any country for the benefit of our customers, shareholders, employees and the communities we serve. We will work closely and securely with the Chinese government, the apparel industry and commercial sectors, along with the Chinese people to provide reliable customer service, quality apparel at competitive market prices, while providing critical community support by providing jobs and acting responsibly and respectfully. Our employees are our greatest possessions and because of that we work each day to sustain our core values to health, safety and environment, have integrity in all we do, responsibility for our work, and finally financial responsibilities to our stockholders. We will continue with this arrangement as a 5 year obligation, and re-evaluate as market conditions change.

Module 7: FINANCING SOURCES FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Economic Environment
The economic environment of China is can best be described as growing rapidly. As stated elsewhere in this report, China is experiencing high single digit GDP growth rates and China merchants in like businesses have experienced increases even higher. China has an appetite for western goods and clothing which we feel we can meet very well with our mix of very popular name brands and reasonable prices.

Start-Up Costs
- Import/Export Assistance
- Legal Assistance
- Cultural and language training
- Transportation and discovery trip travel costs
- Key personnel relocation (who? would come from our organizational structure chart)
- Key personnel housing and family support
- Passport and visa services
- Building leases
- HR, staff on-boarding and orientation
- Data and IT Cloud services

Financing Sources
- Chinese government real estate incentives
- Cash on-hand and short term securities (from BCF ¼ financial report)
- Contingency: Established lines of credit (from BCF ¼ financial report)

This project would mainly find financial resources through Burlington Coat Factory itself. The proposed budget will be modest in scale to reduce our financial risk and allow us to validate our business model against expectations. Borrowing requirements are not anticipated but, if necessary BCF has established lines of credit with our lending institutions. This potential borrowing when balanced against an increased rate of return should support us to quickly achieve positive cash flow and financial results.

Action Plan
- Establish individual startup costs as listed above
- Establish individual store costs (x many?)
- Establish individual distribution center costs (x many)
- Establish manufacturing center costs (x many?)
- Identify credit limits
- Identify financing terms
- Establish break-even period
- Establish a consolidated annual budget

Break-Even Analysis 3 Year Plan
Burlington Coat Factory Start-Up Costs - Revenue - OM FY 2014 Costs FY 2015 Costs FY 2016 Costs
Import/Export Assistance $ 500,000 $ 500,000 $ 500,000
Legal Assistance $ 500,000 $ 500,000 $ 500,000
Cultural and Language Training $ 50,000 $ 50,000 $ 50,000
Transportation and discovery trip(s) $ 50,000 $ 50,000 $ 50,000
Key Personnel Relocation $ 250,000 $ 250,000 $ 250,000
Key Personnel Housing and Family $ 500,000 $ 500,000 $ 500,000
Passport and Visa Services $ 20,000 $ 20,000 $ 20,000
Building Leases $ 1,500,000 $ 1,500,000 $ 1,500,000
HR, Staff Onboarding and Orientation $ 100,000 $ 100,000 $ 100,000
Data and IT Cloud Services $ 300,000 $ 300,000 $ 300,000
Other (specify) $ - $ - $ -
Salaries Retail $ 6,000,000 $ 6,000,000 $ 6,000,000
Salaries Distribution Center $ 225,000 $ 225,000 $ 225,000
Salaries Manufacturing Center $ 900,000 $ 900,000 $ 900,000
Utilities $ 100,000 $ 100,000 $ 100,000
Insurance $ 250,000 $ 250,000 $ 250,000
Other (specify) $ - $ - $ -
Annual revenue per store $ 1,000,000 $ 1,250,000 $ 1,500,000
Number of stores 10 12 15
Total Revenue $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $22,500,000
Gross Profit $ -1,245,000 $ 3,192,750 $ 10,130,500
Other (specify) $ - $ - $ - Total Fixed Expenses $ 11,245,000 $ 11,807,250 $ 12,369,500
Total Variable Expenses
Breakeven Sales level = $ 11,245,000 $ 11,807,250 $ 12,369,500
10 stores * 30 people per store at avg. of $20,000/head
1 Center * 15 people per store at avg. of $15,000/head
1 Manf Center * 50 people per store at avg. of $18,000/head
How much revenue does each store generate? We can look for some guidance from BCF financial reports for US stores?
5% adjusted for inflation

Module 8: CREATING A GLOBAL MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM

The management information system is necessary for any organization because it is the source that provides a constant or you can say that it provides regular information to the manager so that the manager in the organization can make the decision based on the data provided to him rather than just, asking hypothetical goes about the situation. Good decisions are made only when certain kind of data are provided which further satisfies the existence of the prospect of discussion. These data are necessary form the decision point of view and it also specifies when and where to use the human resource in the organization. The manager who is equipped with the best or the standard MIS is always able to distinguish his decision based on the facts and the decision that are haphazard to his presence.

To achieve a better MIS in the organization there are few steps that needs to be followed in the organization, the first one is the health and capacity of the whole system. The global market and the economy is growing with the rapid pace and so on order to have the better decision the manager in the organizational must know how to use the tools they need in regular use, also clear and consistence information is also required to make him able to guide his organization. The next measure in the MIS is looking at the key information. The information that is available is always boundless. The art is in identifying the best information and the proceeding with the techniques to overcome the decision barriers. Public sector is another aspect that is required in making the management information system more effective by practical evaluation. Lastly, MIS and the organization’s purpose are important. The organization always has a reason for its existence. And so in order help the organization management is required to support its purpose. Then just put all the above stated point together to have the best possible MIS.

Global Information Sources
The global information sources may be the resources that are necessary in providing the valuable information supporting the facts. For a manager this is very necessary to analyses these information based on the global market, the culture of the market and the country and then accordingly making the use of the information for the public benefit. For this the information must be related to the culture of the organization in respect to the country, the organizational values and the facts supporting the information to its depth so that a better decision making is done.

Technology for Managing Information
Technology for managing the information is very necessary. In organization the entire working is preceded by making the information secures and managing it well. We know that the information is both physical and electronic. The physical information is managed by making handwritten copy, securing the information by some protocols and other means. The electronic information can be managed in many ways; it could be stored in internet, in form of electronic document, audio, social business, web interfaces, cell phones and many other ways.

Action Plan
The action plan includes the development of program that are means for enhancing the productivity of the unit, there must be provisions for data analysis support, there should also be the provision for information management support and there shall be service for space planning and allocation committees.

Module 9: IDENTIFYING HUMAN RESOURCES FOR GLOBAL BUSINESS

Staffing The most important staffing method utilized on the primary induction will be a bilingual recruitment approach. The reasons why this approach has been chosen is to maintain a integrated corporate culture, to create value by not only transferring highly specialized level of technical knowledge and skills to the new organization but also hiring and training local individuals, and finally the goal is to identify and develop individuals in the business in competencies and skills required to meet future needs of Burlington Coat Factory.

Training & Development
Burlington Coat Factory (BCF) is devoted to the continued growth of the employee and believes that the workers and the Company have a joint responsibility for career and proficiency development. We are familiar with the need for employees to gain additional skills, knowledge and experience to meet the short-term needs of the job, as well as the long-term needs of the individual and the Corporation.
All new employees will complete BCF Ethics Training within 30 days from the start date. Depending on the position the employee was hired for, the new member of staff will complete all designated obligatory training within the time required by the department or the position. All new hires and contract employees must sign all appropriate legal agreements involving their employment or engagement prior to the start of work.

Performance Appraisal BCF provides all employees and their managers with the chance to arrange, manage, review, recognize and progress employee performance. This is done through performance planning and appraisal review, employee and manager clarification of the employee’s responsibilities, conformity on values of performance, plan work and development activities and final deliberations including comments/feedback from the manager/supervisor to the employee regarding outcomes. Based on such outcomes, suitable employee developmental objectives will be defined to consist of, but not limited to, the use of BCF sponsored in-house and peripheral developmental programs and on-the-job- training.

Compensation
BCF aims to attract, compensate and retain performing employees. The objectives of the compensation guidelines are to link pay to performance, be market-based and competitive with the like businesses and surrounding markets, and to allow for changing business needs. Our policy is also to establish a pay opportunity variety around the market median to allow for competitive and performance driven pay. Annual increases to employees pay will be determined based on performance, market conditions, current pay and our budget. HR informs the Assignee that is transferred to the Localization of any change in base salary at least 90 days prior to the move.

Action Plan Human resources in collaboration with the management team and Board of Directors will begin identifying those within our association who are competent and eager to support this expansion. All company policies, training manuals, documentations and software’s will be published in the two main languages in the province. A staff of HR representatives will be meeting with human resources executives and staff from the Younger Group Company LTD and I.T. Limited who will aid with planning the activities in the region. We will avoid belligerent tactics that may not attract skilled workers. The standard pay structure for all positions in the new location will be of a level sure to attract quality skilled labor. Employee relocation assistance will be designed for approval 90 days prior to the employee’s departure to the host country. The movement of recruits under such conditions will be conducted in observance with all applicable local laws, including, but not limited to tax rules and regulations.

Module 10: MANAGING INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS RISKS

Economic and Financial Risks The economic and financial risks of entering another country to do business could be tremendous. Looking at our SWOT analysis, risks that could incur would be situations like pricing pressure from local competitors, patent abuse issues, rising labor costs and the obvious risk of not making any profit after investing such a large amount of money.
Social and Cultural Risks Companies need to be careful when it comes to social and cultural risks when entering another country to do business. Since China is a very harsh business environment, risks could include things like fraud, corruption and unethical behavior according to people in the US. This may cause tension and eventually end in loss of a business opportunity in China.

Political and Legal Risks
There are certain things about doing business with the Chinese Government. First, China is not a democracy and it does not remotely resemble the sort of rules-based political environment businessmen in the US are used to. China is an authoritarian state in which the Communist Party holds absolute political power and will tolerate nothing else.

Action Plan In order to keep from these risks becoming reality our group needs to research and thoroughly understand each aspect of Chinas culture. Their way of going about business ventures may be very different from the US, so to make sure the transition goes as smoothly as possible, the US needs to be understanding of that and take the proper precaution. Before discussing a deal, foreign investors should verify that the company's history and reputation match with what has been presented by conducting thorough due diligence.

Module 11: PRODUCT AND TARGET MARKET PLANNING

Product Concept
Burlington Coat Factory will create an affordable product that customers in China will appreciate and relate to. Consumers will appreciate that Burlington Coat Factory offers consistently high quality clothing and outer garments.

Product Life Cycle
The product life cycle will be seasonal. The seasons in China are YYY, which will provide an opportunity to capitalize on the changing seasons several weeks in advance.

Branding and Packaging
Branding and packaging are a major concern in this business scenario. We have decided to promote current American styles in our clothing and outer garment lines.

Target Market
Our Primary target would be middle income consumers that are shopping for discounted higher end garments. We believe our company’s production and distribution model will provide a value to consumers located in China by providing high quality coats and clothing for competitively low prices.

Module 12: DESIGNING A GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY

Infrastructure Analysis
We all know that distribution is very important and it is related to the fact that how the product is delivered to the customer. Good information and better telecommunication equipment and facilities are also requiring for the same. And like all the processed the information is always required before hand. To design the best global distribution strategies we have to look how two direct marketers fulfill products overseas, transportation of the product overseas is taken as important measure in global distribution. People have to focus on the fact that what is the best possible way that the products are delivered overseas and whit better care and facility. For delivering a fragile equipment or eatable there has to be facilities of storage and soft material handling. Depending on the type of product to be delivered the goal distribution is made. After evaluating all the information regarding the material to be distributed, how it should be distributed, where it should be distributed and to whom and when then the entire distribution is carried forward.

Distribution Barriers
The distribution of the goods and services overseas are accompanied by barriers that cause the distribution to alter. These might be the demographical regulations. The governmental alterations, the geographical inconsistencies, the lack of transportation facilities, problems associated with good handling and false delivery.

International Intermediaries
The intermediaries in the trade of the goods and services globally are mainly due to the export intermediaries of the wholesalers who serve different markets and export different product than manufacturing exporters. In specific, high market-specific fixed costs of exporting, the eminence of the general contracting environment and product-specific factors play significant parts in elucidation of the presence of export intermediaries.

Distribution Channel
The distribution channels are very necessary for making the good travel from the vendor to the consumer. For the global distribution process the gods need to travel through the different modes. There are possibly two means to this shipping by air and by ship. This is certainly achieved by looking at the reach of the above stated mode of transportation. Within the states this could be achieved by rail and by road though trusted delivery services.

Action Plan
Action plan for the for making the global distribution involves steps like making it clear that in what timeframe this serve would be distributed. Then making it sure that to whom the service had to be distributed within the prescribed time frame and finally making it sure that the service is distributed to the consumer in good position by appropriate means.

Module 13: PLANNING A GLOBAL PROMOTION STRATEGY

Promotional Goals
Burlington Coat Factory will have a substantial hurtle to overcome getting the brand to be a recognized name in China. We will utilize many of our successful United States brand advertising themes as well as extra print ads that may be found in public transit systems. We believe consumers in China will appreciate our affiliation with the United States and appreciate our designs as being in style and up-to-date fashion from the United States market.

Business Environment
There are already many clothing and outer garment producers in China. We must provide value and also differentiate our product form the competition to help bring Chinese consumers to our brand.

Media Plan
We will focus on commercial and radio advertising, which allows us to use to reach a wide audience and tailor our message to meet our strategy. We will also depend heavily on printed ads located in mass transit systems and on billboards in the local areas that surround our businesses.

Promotional Strategy
Our promotional strategy will be aimed at middle class consumers with some disposable income to maintain up-to-date with current fashions. We will start with television commercial based advertising campaign promoting the quality and value Burlington Coat Factory offers. We will follow our television adds with mass transit posters, which show our customers the quality of our products. We can also use some of the mass transit ads in magazines targeted for middle age men and woman, but magazine ads will be limited due to price and too far-reaching audiences.

Module 14: SELECTING AN INTERNATIONAL PRICING STRATEGY

The Economic Environment
The prices of any product are determined by following parameters, the competitors, cost, and the demand. The cost is always correlated to the economy and the competitors of the other hand reflect the prices based on the living standards and the demands extents. Though, we all know that the international pricing strategy is a key component of the international marketing mix. Development of the international pricing strategy for the firm the typical optimum prices are setup. This is governed by few factors such as the price discrimination. In price discrimination the same good or the service are sold or larked with different prices in different countries. Therefore the consumer have to pay defend prices for the same product in various nations. Strategic pricing that makes the prices to be set according to the sale in the nation. And finally the regulatory influences on the prices that are made by the developers of the product.

Cost Analysis
Cost Analysis is a practice which is part of any good program budgeting and accounting which allows the program managers to determine the true cost of manufacturing a unit of a product or providing a unit of service. Cost Analysis is also termed as cost-benefit analysis or cost-effectiveness analysis. Advantages of using cost analysis are:
• It allows program managers to set priorities so that they can get most out of the available resources.
• It promotes fiscal accountability in programs
• It acts as a powerful way of persuading or convincing all stakeholders – particularly the funders and policy makers.
However, given the above advantages there are certain challenges as well most importantly it requires a great deal of technical skill and knowledge.

Demand Analysis
Demand Analysis is the study about a certain product or service which depicts the buyers’ willingness and ability to purchase that product or service at various prices. Demand analysis involves analyzing individual demand – which is the demand of a particular product at a certain price by an individual – and market demand – which represents sum total of quantities demanded by all consumers at a given potential price. There are several factors that determine the demand and thus must be considered in the demand analysis. These are:
• Income of the targeted consumer population
• What are the prices of equivalent or similar products from competitors?
• Consumers’ expectations about the product and price.
• Number of potential consumers.

Competitor Analysis
In the current market scenario no business can afford to ignore the competition. To be able to sustain in the market it is very important for any business to understand who its competitors are, what are their strengths and weaknesses, how they are changing and most importantly what threat they pose or can pose to your business. Competitor analysis is the method which helps any business to answer these questions. Once these questions are answered it helps the management in their strategic planning in many ways such as:
• It allows management to understand their competitive strengths and weaknesses with respect to the competitors
• Allows understanding competitors’ strategies.
• Management can take decisions or plan strategies to overcome the competition.

Action Plan
Action plan consists of a simple list of tasks that one has to finish to reach a certain objective or goal in any project. Action plans provide you a very clear framework of how you will be completing a project effectively and efficiently. For a successful action plan you need to first brainstorm and identify the tasks that need to be performed and then set them in a proper order in which they need to be executed. Once this is done you need to analyze and delegate the tasks to the people working on the project as per their ability, skills and experience. Finally, you need to check and monitor on a periodic basis that your action plan is on track. It is also important that if you plan to execute a similar project in future you should update / revise your current action plan based on the lessons learnt from this project and keep it for reference for future.

Module 15: DETERMINING ORGANIZATIONAL FINANCIAL RESULTS

Revenue Sources Ways to provide this business venture with revenue could be many. A few revenue sources could be conclusion of contracts, buying and selling directly and issuance of invoices. Obvious ways of getting revenue is by selling products and making more money than we put into the company,

Operating Costs
These costs will include research and development, materials needs for more production of clothing and goods, wages for new employees, shipments and deliveries and anything else that is included in productions

Start-Up Costs
Start-up costs are previously listed in Section 7

Profitability Our goal is to ultimately attain higher profit margins than we are currently realizing in the US. This is possible due to the China not being saturated with competition being much less intensive at this time than is witnessed in the US market. A break-even analysis will be completed as part of section 7.

Action Plan
We will set up business banking in China with BCF corporate accounting conducting monthly financial audits to insure financial milestones are reached. If issues are identified, discovery and resulting action plans will put into place immediately. If results exceed our expectations we will investigate the acceleration of expansion plans.

Module 16: MEASURING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SUCCESS

Financial Gains

Due to the global economic slowdown revenues are down several percent over last year. We are in search of market opportunities that will allow us to reverse the trend of declining revenues.

Economic Benefits
We observe large Chinese retailers experiencing significant growth revenue and profit. Leading with the advantage of our name brands and reasonable pricing we would expect to at least duplicate the performance seen is these local companies.

Social Benefits
Social benefits are broad based with economic support being contributed in three areas. First, the retail and distribution type jobs created fit comfortably with a large pool of modestly skilled workers. Secondly, idle real estate is revitalized and begins generating tax revenue for the local government. Thirdly, native manufacturing and raw materials creation are supported, thereby reducing transportation distances and minimizing the energy and carbon impacts.

Social Costs
Adverse social costs are difficult to identify at this stage as we this effort as being largely beneficial for all.

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY
(Created by Leslie Musialek)

Daniel’s References centre, O. d. (2012). SIGI social institutions & gender index. Retrieved march 2013, from SIGI/China: http://genderindex.org/country/china

Global Security. (n.d.). People's Republic of China - Infrastructure. Retrieved March 2013, from global security.org: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/infras.htm

Mike, C. (n.d.). Facts about China: Infrastructure. Retrieved March 2013, from http://www.china-mike.com/facts-about-china/facts-infrastructure-roads/

President, E. O. (2010). THE 2010 NATIONAL TRADE ESTIMATE REPORT: KEY ELEMENTS. Retrieved March 2013, from Office of the United States Trade Representative: http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2010/march/-2010-national-trade-estimate-report-key-elements

Greg’s references
(1) http://www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/AboutUs/WhatWeOffer.aspx

(2) http://chinaretail.org/news.asp?stypeid=41&stypename=Department%20Stores
(3) http://www.ibisworld.com/industry/china/clothing-stores.html

Jenna’s References http://www.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/AboutUs/OurHistory.aspx http://thediplomat.com/china-power/is-environmentally-sustainable-economic-growth-possible-in-china/ http://www.ukti.gov.uk/export/countries/asiapacific/fareast/china/overseasbusinessrisk.html Leslie Musialek
www.kbr.com/mykbr/benefits