Gerber Products Company

Drafting the Case

Once you have gathered the necessary information, a draft of your analysis should include these sections:

1 Introduction

• Identify the key problems and issues (or key concepts, theories, operations, etc.) in the case study.

• Formulate and include a thesis statement, summarizing the outcome of your analysis in 1–2 sentences.

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Expansion is the unavoidable next step for the baby food juggernaut Gerber Inc. Despite the company having the bulk of an agreement hammered out with Polish authorities, a change in regime threatened to change the political landscape before the deal had an opportunity to be finalized. Given the Gerber must decide exactly how bad they want to do business in Europe.

Gerber had a stranglehold on the United States baby food market for decades before pursuing expansion into Europe. The fall of communism created a void in Poland that resulted in politics changing in an effort to establish a market economy. The company had done so well in the United States, that there was little room left for significant growth. In addition to monopolizing the US market, Gerber had made deals in many countries in the past that made it difficult to expand because they had previously licensed its production techniques to other companies. The cost of doing business in Europe was unpredictable because exporting meant that Gerber was at the mercy of foreign exchange rates. Demand for Western-style goods was at an all-time