US Market Entry Stategy for Taiwanese GPS Firm

This thesis examines the US market entry strategy within the context of the case study firm, a Taiwanese GPS. The firm initially was an original device manufacturer for GPS firms with established brands but made the strategic choice expand beyond manufacturing and forward integrate into marketing and sales. Already with a presence in Europe and Asia, the case study company wants to build an international brand by entering the American GPS market. The company originally started from PC manufacturing but due to shrinking margins and the difficulty of establishing a brand within the mature PC industry, the case study company chose the GPS industry to form a new international brand for Taiwan. This study is divided into two phases beginning with research in the summer of 2005 and ending with conclusions drawn from two years of following the progress of the case study company. Phase I research introduces the American GPS market and its consumers and delves further to examine the GPS competitive landscape and niche markets in America, research that is needed before the case study company enters the US market. Phase II of the study begins after the case study company has entered the US market and introduces the company’s actual strategies. From the two year time frame of this study, the actual strategies from Phase II are compared to the conclusions from Phase I, revealing the difference between strategies formed from analysis and strategies that have weathered the fickle marketplace.