Examples needed of American business failures in international commerce

[Jonathan50]

My daughter is doing a social science/economics project on American businesses that have failed in trying to move into international markets. The only one I could think of off the top of my head was Campbell's Soup having to close a plant in Brazil due to lack of sales.

I know that DU is a great resource for finding out arcane information so I told my daughter that I would ask all the good folks here if they know of any examples of the sort of failures that she needs in order to complete her report.

She doesn't need a great deal of detail, just enough to do a Google search for the facts.

Thanks in advance for any information you might be able to provide.

[tk2kewl]

1. One of my favorites:

I don't know if this is true but I heard that the Chevy Nova didn't sell in Spanish speaking countries because "no va" translates to "it doesn't go" in Spanish

[Mandate My Ass]

6. LOL, I remember that one

Also, I believe the Pinto likewise tanked. IIRC, "pinto" is the slang term for a very, very small penis. Guys aren't likely to get any action in a car with that name. :rofl:

[formerrepuke]

8. Unfortunately, the Chevy 'No-Va' story is too perfect an example to be true:

http://www.snopes.com/business/misxlate/nova.asp

[Karenina]

2. See: Walmart in Germany

They were bought out by Metro. Seems their "business plan" lost quite a bit in the translation. :rofl:

[HamdenRice]

3. The US Auto industry

If you mean an attempt to enter an international market that failed to gain traction this would not count. But surely the most spectacular failure of a US industry internationally was the way the US lost its lead in autos to the Japanese.

Toyota used to be (I think) a motorcycle company. No one took their entry or the entry of Nissan and Mazda into the international market seriously. Suddenly in the 1970s, Crystler and American Motors collapsed and GM and Ford were on the ropes because of Japanese competition. Much of it was self inflicted -- such as US automakers failure to take higher gas prices and consumer demand for fuel efficiency, smaller cars and safer, more reliable products, seriously.

Funny how they are making the same round of mistakes all over again.

On edit: I would agree with Karenina that the biggest failure by US industry to get a toehold at all has been in retail, in both Japan and Europe, whether Walmart or any other US retail models.

[antigop]

4. Dell's call center failure in India?

http://news.com.com/For+Dell,+Indian+call+center+failure+a+lesson/2100-1001_3-5182611.html

[mitchleary]

5. Union Carbide

when they went to India. That did not end well.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. I remember some from the 1970s in Japan

One was American car companies trying to sell big American cars in a country with left-hand traffic (like the UK), low speed limits, expensive gas, and narrow roads. The U.S. companies whined about trade barriers, but the fact is that a big American car is not practical in Japan.

Another was trying to sell cake mix in a country where, at that time, so few people had ovens that my fellow students were mightily impressed when my grandmother sent cookies for Christmas. The Japanese were surprised that my grandmother could make fancy cookies, and they were even more surprised when I told them that I knew how to make cookies.

Nowadays microwaves are real common over there, but regular ovens still are not.

The greatest American success stories in Japan, sad to say, have been fast food: McDonald's, Dairy Queen, KFC, Pizza Hut, Baskin Robbins, and Mr. Donut are all thriving.

And this isn't really trade, but Japan was the only TV-watching country where Dallas flopped. It was a huge hit everywhere else in the world, but the Japanese were unimpressed.

By the way, the Chevy Nova story may be apocryphal.

However, I recall that in Germany, Vick's VapoRub is spelled Wicks. The reason is that "Vick's" could be interpreted as "fuck it." That is quite true.

[Jonathan50]

9. Thanks everyone, that really helps a lot..

I appreciate your input and so does my daughter.

[ajh]

10. Thanks to you all...

I'm researching the suggestions you all gave, and will hopefully choose one this evening so I can compile a report quickly. Nothing like waiting until the last minute to complete an assignment. Fortunately, I work best under pressure. :)

Anyhow, thanks again for all of the responses. It's going to make the research for my paper less difficult than I had anticipated.

[rucky]

11. This could be another one for Snopes...

but I recall hearing Gerber baby food caused some panic in Africa, because the contents of food is typically pictured on cans and jars and gerber has that cute baby on theirs.

it's BAAAAABY! it's BAAAAABY!