Word: bmw
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...effort seemed destined to become one of the most futile and foolhardy moves in marketing history, as ridiculous as trying to sell snow to Eskimos or coals to Newcastle. Six years ago BMW, the West German automaker, decided to start a major drive to increase its exports to the land of Honda and Toyota. Walter Sawallisch, director of marketing for BMW Japan, recalls vividly the reaction his company got from industry experts: "When we began, people told us there was no chance at all. They said the Japanese would never buy foreign- made cars...
...naysayers were wrong. BMW Japan has carved a still small but fast- growing market niche for its high-price, high-performance cars. Since 1980 Japanese sales of the BMW have nearly quintupled, to more than 15,000 a year, making it the top-selling foreign car. Although the company declines to release its earnings report, it claims to have made a profit from the very beginning...
...sure, Toyota and Nissan have little reason for nervousness. Imports accounted for only 2.2% of the Japanese market last year, and the giant American auto manufacturers were virtually absent. BMW's success, however, has encouraged several foreign carmakers, including Sweden's Saab and Volvo and West Germany's Mercedes-Benz, to push harder in Japan. As a result, car imports to Japan jumped 36% in 1986, to more than...
...BMW's story is a casebook study in how, with patience and the proper strategy, a foreign company can penetrate the allegedly impenetrable Japanese market. For more than 20 years prior to 1981, BMW had sold a few thousand cars annually through a network of 33 dealerships owned by a Japanese company. The BMWs were almost casually displayed in large showrooms that also contained such disparate products as imported cameras and audio equipment. Convinced that sales could be much higher, BMW made the bold decision to buy the dealerships and start a full-scale Japanese subsidiary. The company chose Yoji...
Hamawaki knew well what Japanese consumers demand: a quality product, good service and a wide variety of models and features. To back up its already strong reputation for quality and service, BMW spent more than $10 million on a Japanese distribution center, which rushes spare parts to the company's dealers within 24 hours. Since 1981, the number of BMW models offered has increased from seven to 21. And each model, from the basic 318i ($26,000) to the top of the line M6 ($90,000), is laden with "standard features" that are usually options in Europe...