Ethnic Customer in Home Country not the same as in New Country

The news that Wal-Mart will open hispanic supermarkets to cater to the Hispanic community in the US spread across various news network last week. Starting with Phoenix and Houston, these “Supermercados de Walmart” will establish the Wal-Mart brand even further within the latino community as the company know these groups well due to successful ventures in Mexico and Brazil.

But worth highlighting is that an ethnic group in their new home country is not always displaying the same as characteristics as when they lived in their native country. Gerson Lehrman Group posted an analysis of certain Latin brands having launched stores in the US targeting US Hispanics that flunked. “Something that they have learnt is that the customers do not shop as they do in their original environment in their country. Gigante and Liverpool (the biggest department store in Mexico) are two very good examples of failures, trying to reach that market.”

The article states factors valid for companies from the home countries of multicultural groups and customers living across Europe as well:

• New, higher income transform purchasing patterns and empowers multicultural groups to move further up the product chain for higher-priced products and brands.
• Nostalgia could sometimes be a decisive factor for buying certain products, but for children of immigrants these brands have very low share of wallet and will face a tough challenge to break into that market.
• A new market still needs a thorough market and competitor analysis in order to see where one’s products fit into the market place.

Related posts:

1. Stay-at-Home Moms are more likely Younger, Hispanic & Foreign-Born A new report released by the U.S. Census Bureau finds...
2. U.S. Latinos Top Country of Origin While most people with an interest in Hispanic markets know...
3. Facebook users now over 400 Million – Your next multicultural customer will probably be there Facebook is celebrating their 6th birthday and at the same...