Just pick the answer. Do not need to explain 10-Villeroy & Boch: a lesson in ope
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Just pick the answer. Do not need to explain
10-Villeroy & Boch: a lesson in opening in India by Avantika Chilkoti Last year the Indian government eased the rules on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into single-brand retail, allowing 100 per cent foreign ownership. Yet Villeroy & Boch, the German-owned porcelain manufacturer, has chosen to come to India in a joint venture with a local partner. It raises questions about the policy reform and whether foreign stores will set up alone in India – even if they are now allowed to.
Having attempted to enter India a few years ago with a distribution agreement that didn’t work out, Villeroy & Boch established a 50-50 joint venture in June this year with Genesis Luxury, which also works with fashion brands such as Burberry and Paul Smith. By August the first Villeroy & Boch store had opened in Mumbai’s high-end Palladium Mall.
The plan is to open outlets in Bangalore and Kolkata in the next few months, growing to 16 stores across the country in the next five years. The choice to work with a local partner was straightforward. “You need local expertise,” Amit Gadkari, country head for Villeroy & Boch in India, said that there are two big problems foreign investors face – which a local partner can help with. “One roadblock is all the administration which is very complicated even if now, with the FDI changed, you can invest more directly,” “It’s still an administrative labyrinth.” It is has taken the group over two years to open shop in India.
Fill out the forms and then there are the import duties these luxury brands face. Villeroy appreciates the need to protect local industry but with 30 per cent duties he feels India is pushing away investors who would spur growth and employment. Of course, big brands don’t have to open stores here. Many can count on wealthy Indians to buy their products on trips abroad but for a company that makes porcelain a local store is essential. “Obviously it’s much easier to bring back a scarf or a tie than a full set of ceramic,”
The second big challenge for retailers looking to go it alone in India is the limited amount of appropriate real estate. One of the group’s main reasons for teaming up with a local partner who carries a wide range of brands is the clout that brings with landlords at exclusive shopping malls. Villeroy counts the number of premium malls in India’s big cities in a single breadth. As the luxury space grows and retail moves out of its traditional home in India’s five-star hotels, developers are seeing there is demand for high-end malls and starting new projects. “Maybe in ten years it will be a different story,” says Villeroy.
By choosing to go 50-50 joint venture, which Ghemawats’s CAGE distances is Villeroy & Boch trying to shorten?
A- Geographic
B- Cultural
C- Economic
D- Administrative
12- Keurig Green Mountain Inc said last December it was shifting its coffee buying operation to Lausanne, Switzerland from its headquarters in Waterbury, Vermont. It said the move would establish the company as a “global beverage player.” In internal presentations, Keurig said the move was aimed at expanding into the European market and gaining access to Switzerland’s talent pool of coffee traders, one source familiar with the transition told Reuters. But as the move took shape, it became clear that tax savings were a key part of the plan, the person said. Accountants and professors specializing in taxation told Reuters that Keurig is positioned to benefit from the 1970s-era exemption for commodities trading.
By moving coffee buying, Keurig can also shift some income to Lausanne, where the tax rate is less than 10 percent. In Vermont, it faces a U.S. federal corporate income tax rate of up to 35 percent, and a state tax rate of up to 8.5 percent. Keurig has previously said a small number of staff would move from the United States to Switzerland, but it has declined to be specific about how many positions will be eliminated in Vermont, telling local media it will be fewer than 100. Keurig Trading has been hiring several buyers in Switzerland from Swiss commodities traders.
What is the real motivation behind moving buying operations to Switzerland?
A- to take advantage of global expansian and more markets
B- To take advantage of globalized supply of coffee beans
C- to take advantage of globalzed capital base
D-to gain knowledge from coffee traders
13- The market-based economy of the country of Urantia is the 44th largest in the world in nominal terms, and 32nd largest by purchasing power parity. According to the IMF, Urantia's economy is the second fastest growing major economy of 2016, with a rate of 7.1. In the decade since 2004, Urantia averaged a GDP growth of 6.5%, that has been largely driven by its exports of ready-made garments, remittances, and the domestic agricultural sector.
The country has pursued export-oriented policies, with its key export sectors include textiles, shipbuilding, fish and seafood, jute and leather goods. It has also developed self-sufficient industries in pharmaceuticals, steel and food processing. Urantia's telecommunication industry has witnessed rapid growth over the years, receiving high investment from foreign companies.
Urantia also has substantial reserves of natural gas and large deposits of limestone. Urantia is strategically important for the economies of Northeast Salvington, Jerusem and Ovorton, as Urantia’s seaports provide maritime access for these landlocked regions and countries. In 2016, per-capita gross national income was estimated at US$3,000. Urantia’s HDI is 0.570.
In terms of economic classification, where would you place Urantia?
A-Developing country, possibly emerging market country
B- Underdeveloped country on its way to being fully developed
C-Developed country
D-Service- oriented, emerging country
15-Agriculture is the principal economic activity in Urantia. Subsistence crops include cassava, rice, sugarcane, sorghum, yams, corn, and plantains. Most Urantians own and farm tiny plots of land, and great population density has caused rural poverty and is also a factor in the country's extensive deforestation, which has contributed to the degradation of agricultural land.
Urantia's major exports are light manufactures and coffee; other exports include oils, cocoa, mangoes, sugar, sisal, and bauxite. Salvington is the country's leading trading partner. Industry in Urantia consists largely of light assembly of imported parts and the manufacture of textiles.
There is also sugar refining and flour milling, and other foodstuffs are produced. Some bauxite and copper are mined, but other mineral deposits have barely been tapped. Remittances from Urantians working abroad are also extremely important. Life expectancy is 50 years old and the majority of its citizens only go to school until 7th grade.
From an economic perspective, how would you classify Urantia?
A-Underdeveloped country
B-developed country
C-emerging market
D-developing country
-
Explanation / Answer
10- Administrative
12- To take advantage of globalized capital base
13- Developing country, possibly emerging market country
15- emerging market
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