Ladurée expanding to China: Kulturelle Herausforderungen zwischen Frankreich und China

Examination Thesis from the year 2010 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1,7, Anglia Ruskin University (Ashcroft International Business School), language: English, abstract: Since its foundation in Paris in 1862 Ladurée offers sophisticated French desserts such as macaroons, pastries, cakes and chocolates. It is a company that stands for tradition and French values. By expanding the product range with adorned gift boxes and beauty products, the brand delivers more than just the products per se. The tea-rooms¿ spirit is always full of elegance and refined indulgence. They create an atmosphere, which makes the customer feel and experience the French culture. The concept is very successful throughout Europe and in Japan. The organisation is currently thinking about further growth by internationalising even more (24 heures, 2010). A high potential market is China with its big and busy cities. Businessmen in Shanghai, Chinese and foreigners, would like the idea to have a short rest in a traditional tea-room during the day and experience French lifestyle. However, internationalisation always involves risks for the company. For the management it is crucial to understand the cultural patterns (Trompenaars and Hamden-Turner, 1997), as a simple standardisation and a transfer of an idea from one country to another not always works out. The market need and the wants of the consumers might be different, and furthermore difficulties with managing the employees might arise. This essay is going to analyse both, the French and the Chinese culture. It will reveal cultural differences and possible problems that could arise when setting up a new Ladurée store in China. Applying theory of cross-cultural management the essay will give answers on how these problems can be solved and at what stage the company has to adapt standardised operations to the different cultural issues.