P&G initially struggled when launching disposable diapers in Japan by using American marketing that depicted storks delivering diapers, which does not align with Japanese folklore of babies arriving in peaches. Realizing this cultural mistake, P&G changed their approach and improved product quality. Now Pampers is a top brand in Japan. In contrast, Walmart failed to understand Japanese culture and used their "Every Day Low Prices" strategy without realizing Japanese preferences for fresh local produce, close supplier relationships, and high quality goods. This cultural research oversight proved fatal for Walmart's ability to succeed in Japan as P&G did by adapting.
P&G initially struggled when launching disposable diapers in Japan by using American marketing that depicted storks delivering diapers, which does not align with Japanese folklore of babies arriving in peaches. Realizing this cultural mistake, P&G changed their approach and improved product quality. Now Pampers is a top brand in Japan. In contrast, Walmart failed to understand Japanese culture and used their "Every Day Low Prices" strategy without realizing Japanese preferences for fresh local produce, close supplier relationships, and high quality goods. This cultural research oversight proved fatal for Walmart's ability to succeed in Japan as P&G did by adapting.
P&G initially struggled when launching disposable diapers in Japan by using American marketing that depicted storks delivering diapers, which does not align with Japanese folklore of babies arriving in peaches. Realizing this cultural mistake, P&G changed their approach and improved product quality. Now Pampers is a top brand in Japan. In contrast, Walmart failed to understand Japanese culture and used their "Every Day Low Prices" strategy without realizing Japanese preferences for fresh local produce, close supplier relationships, and high quality goods. This cultural research oversight proved fatal for Walmart's ability to succeed in Japan as P&G did by adapting.
P&G initially struggled when launching disposable diapers in Japan by using American marketing that depicted storks delivering diapers, which does not align with Japanese folklore of babies arriving in peaches. Realizing this cultural mistake, P&G changed their approach and improved product quality. Now Pampers is a top brand in Japan. In contrast, Walmart failed to understand Japanese culture and used their "Every Day Low Prices" strategy without realizing Japanese preferences for fresh local produce, close supplier relationships, and high quality goods. This cultural research oversight proved fatal for Walmart's ability to succeed in Japan as P&G did by adapting.
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Course Assignment
Popescu Alexandra Miruna
Group 131
1. P&G made one serious cultural mistake when they tried to launch disposable diapers on the Japanese markets without researching their culture beforehand. Therefore, the company used the same ad that had been used successfully in the USA, depicting storks delivering disposable diapers to a grateful, happy household. The company had correctly determined that there was a need on the Japanese market for disposable diapers, but they had gotten the delivery method completely wrong because the Western folklore of storks delivering babies simply does not exist in Japan which has instead tales of newborns arriving courtesy of a giant peach floating down the river. However, nobody at the P&G deigned it necessary to check, until after they noticed a drastic drop in sales. Realizing their mistake, P&G quickly changed their marketing approach, but it appeared to not be enough because the local competitors had gained much of their market share due to their higher quality. Yet, instead of admitting failure, the company decided to learn, adapt and invest in the Japanese market, understanding the demand for high quality and improving their products and also adding consumer-driven services like 24-hour delivery. Their efforts were rewarded and now Pampers is considered to be at the top of the Japanese disposable market.
2. Walmart was another company that tried to enter the Japanese market without researching their culture beforehand, which in their case proved to be a fatal mistake that they could not recover from when compared to P&G. The company tried to use the same approach that had been successful in the USA, such as the “Every Day Low Prices” campaign. Nevertheless, this did not work well in Japan for a number of reasons including:
the Japanese tend to buy goods in small quantities, instead of the bulk purchases in the USA and because of this, the idea of a megastore is not really practical for them they prefer fresh produce instead of the pre-packed ones offered in Walmart the supplier-retailer relationship in Japan is based on very close relationships, making it harder for newcomers to successfully enter the market they prefer luxury goods instead of the cheaper, good deals promoted by Walmart which were associated with low-quality
All of this contributed to the company’s failure in Japan, which could have been certainly avoided had they tried to understand the culture of Japan. Just looking at the Hofstede cultural dimensions, it would have been clear that it scores highly on the Masculinity index, thus suggesting that they are driven by achievement and success and place great emphasis on product quality, a fact which was swiftly realized by P&G in comparison. Japan also scored highly on the uncertainty-avoidance, making them reluctant to try the concept of a megastore and their high long-term thinking encourages modest spending habits and stops people from buying unnecessary things. Had Walmart realized all this and tried to adapt, like P&G had, they might still be in the Japanese market, although it could have proven very expensive and difficult for them.
