XYZ is a Swedish-founded multinational group that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture,

kitchen appliances and home accessories. It has been the world's largest furniture retailer since at least
2008. It was founded in Sweden in 1943 by then-17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad, who was listed by Forbes
in 2015 as one of the ten richest people in the world, worth more than $40 billion. The company is
known for its modernist designs for various types of appliances and furniture, and its interior design
work is often associated with an eco-friendly simplicity. In addition, the firm is known for its attention to
cost control, operational details, and continuous product development, corporate attributes. This
allowed XYZ to lower its prices by an average of two to three percent over the decade to 2010 during a
period of global expansion.

The XYZ group has a complex corporate structure, which is allegedly designed by the members of the
European Parliament to avoid over €1 billion in tax payments over the 2009-2014 period. As of
November 2017, XYZ owns and operates 415 stores in 49 countries. In fiscal year 2016, €36.4 billion
(US$42.4 billion) worth of goods were sold, a total that represented a 7.6 percent increase over 2015.
The XYZ website contains about 12,000 products and is the closest representation of the entire XYZ
range. There were over 2.1 billion visitors to XYZ's websites in the year from September 2015 to August
2016. The company is responsible for approximately 1% of world commercial-product wood
consumption, making it one of the largest users of wood in the retail sector.

In 2012, the giant retailer XYZ announced its plans to enter a developing country for the first time with
an initial investment of Rs 10,500 crore. After almost six years of policy approval, finalizing large parcels
of lands, and figuring out local sourcing, XYZ is now pulling out all stops to expand in Asia’s third-largest
economy. From a dedicated in-store team for assembling services to creating more localized stores in
each state, and adding e-commerce gradually, the furniture retailer is doing things it otherwise would
not do in other markets. Also, XYZ is not just testing the water, but going into multiple things at one
time. By doing 4 metropolitan cities at one go, they are also side by side exploring 4 other top cities of
the country, thereby planning on totality. XYZ is also looking forward to a turnover in the online
strategy.

“What’s new is that we are entering a market in totality, not just as a store, we are really going all (out),
We have a range of 7,500 products and they go in all prices and dimensions and they can cater to
everyone’s needs. What we need to do then is to reach out to the many people in this market. We have
high awareness levels among people here who have previously travelled abroad and are able to
understand XYZ. But then, that’s not our only key target. So there’s a lot of work that needs to be done
in creating brand awareness, brand liking, and give a strong reason for our customers to visit the store.”
said Patrik Antoni, XYZ’s deputy country manager for the new country, told Quartz in an interview ahead
of the retailer’s store launch.

THE HISTORY:

April 2008: XYZ says it’s studying the country’s market and is interested in entering the country, though
local laws allowing only 51 per cent foreign ownership are hampering the company’s plans.

June 2009: XYZ postpones plans to enter the market after talks with the Country government on foreign
direct investments fail.

Jan 2012: Country’s government abandons a rule against foreign single-brand retailers operating stores
without a local partner, paving the way for global companies including XYZ.

Nov 2012: Country’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board approves XYZ’s proposal to open stores in the
country and the commerce ministry says XYZ may invest 600 million euros (about $700 million) in the
country.

May 2016: XYZ announces purchase of land for a 400,000-square-foot store in the financial capital of the
country, on the city’s eastern outskirts, and plans to open 25 stores by 2025.

Sept 2016: XYZ says it’s started construction of its first store in capital of a southern state and is also
looking for land in other metropolitan cities.

June 2017: XYZ predicts doubling its sourcing to 600 million euros by 2020 and says it will open its first
store in early 2018. It announces purchase of 14 acres of land in IT capital of the country for a third
store, which is anticipated to have 5 million visitors per year.

Nov 2017: XYZ opens an experiential center to showcase products that will be sold in its soon-to-be-
opened store, including delicacies that will be offered in its planned restaurant; says second store will
open in 2019.

Dec 2017: XYZ announces plan to hire more than 14,600 people in the country by 2025 and says half of
them must be women. The plan includes 500 to 700 staff for each of its stores. In addition, 171 existing
employees will each receive an extra 150,120 rupees ($2,185) contribution to their pension fund.

Aug 2018: Opens first Country store.

PROBLEM STATEMENTS:

1. Was the decision of waiting for 10 years’ worth it?

2. Is Country ready to happily welcome the company?
3. Was the entry successful? For XYZ? For Country?
4. Can it adapt to the Country aesthetic and spread the do-it-yourself bug?
5. Has XYZ’S entry in the country’s market triggered a price war? How should the competitors plan
out their HR practices to pace up with the competition?
6. Will XYZ be able to adapt its service experience to Country? If yes, then how is XYZ going to
strategize and plan out its HR practices?
7. Given that the first entry was successful, what should be their new goal? Will they be able to
keep up their performance in a country like Country? Would their performance management
system able to cope up in the Country market?

EXHIBIT–1: Country’s choices and preferences.

EXHIBIT–2: Story of XYZ

EXHIBIT–3: Compound Annual Growth Rate of the country