Sarah Carruthers was fit to be tied. She watched with horror
the way that the members of the British government argued and debated with each
other, but were unable to come up with a plan to harmonize with the European
Union. That mean that all imports and exports from the European Union would hit
a wall of red tape, not only tariffs but of documentation, which could amount
to, in some cases, upwards of a hundred documents required for a single export
into the European Union.
"Don't worry! We're going to replace the European Union
market with our old standby, the Commonwealth!" crowed a 20-something
Brexit-er on his YouTube channel.
Sarah watched him with mounting animus. "I hope you get
deplatformed!" she glowered to herself.
She thought of her own business. She had a small restaurant
in the cathedral town of Bury St. Edmunds and she catered to Londoners who
liked to go to farmer's markets on the weekends, and also to walk through some of
Britain's most historic reaches, where assiduous treasure hunters had found
hoards of Roman silver, Anglo-Saxon cloisonne and intricate braid-patterned
knife hilts, hidden Catholic abbey chalices during Henry VIII's rampages, and
then Georgian and Victorian knick-knacks. There were walking and biking paths,
and it was altogether a historical gold mine.
"I should expand into a boutique hotel," she told
herself. But with the impending Brexit shock, Londoners were scared. They were
not in a mood to explore history, charming walks in nature, and fascinating
churchyards immortalized by novelists and poets.
Sarah went into survival mode.
1. She looked at what
it would take to keep up her sales to Germany and France of English Shortbread
and Peter Rabbit Chocolates. Most of her sales were around Easter and
Christmas. Perhaps she could work with a broker. At least she understood the anatomy of the
demand.
2. She looked at how
complicated it would be to import the packaging, and other elements she used to
create her hand-crafted shortbread cookies and chocolate rabbits.
Then, Phase II. She looked at how she could replace lost
sales to the Commonwealth. Here were her first thoughts. The biggest markets in the Commonwealth were
India, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and South Africa.
1. Peter Rabbit
chocolates for Easter. Sarah had to
smile (albeit through tears) at this one. Easter? in India? Pakistan? Peter Rabbit may seem
exotic, but it's not going to capture the Hindi, Muslim, or Buddhist
populations.
2. Christmas
shortbread. Same problem as Peter Rabbit in South Asia.
3. There's always
Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, right?? Sarah's heart sank. They celebrated Easter and
Christmas, but the seasons were opposite, and she did not know how chocolates
and shortcake were viewed. Plus, there
was the distance, and the costs of transportation.
Also, there were complications with logistics:
transportation, warehousing..
And, there was the pesky issue of brand recognition and
marketing -- Sarah's products were well-known in France and Germany, and,
thanks to quirky and cute advertising, their jingles were a part of the culture
at large. With the Commonwealth, they'd
be starting from ZERO.
Challenge: You've been hired to give Sarah advice. What
should she do to keep her sales high and profitable?
