Glocalization Challenge: A Small Apparel Company in New York City

Koji managed two stores and an e-commerce site for a New York subsidiary of a Japanese apparel company. It designed and sold jeans and denim products in its own retail chain and online stores. The brand is fairly well known in Japan and popular among Chinese customers. In New York, Chinese Americans were their core target customers. Without success, the company tried to break into the Korean American market and attract more regular American consumers. Koji wanted to position the brand as a retailer with exceptional hospitality. However, Japanese headquarters wanted to position Red Eagle as a Japanese premier jeans brand. Decision making tended to be centralized and the headquarters micro-managed local operations. This case is decision oriented. It challenges students to choose a proper positioning strategy; determine whether to continue or terminate a relationship with the public relations consultant; and suggest an effective international organization structure.