1. International Marketing 国际市场营销学
School of International Trade,
Shandong Economic University
山东经济学院·国际贸易学院

2. Pricing for International Markets
Chapter 10
Pricing for International Markets

3. Chapter Learning Objectives
1. Components of pricing as competitive tools in international marketing
2. The pricing pitfalls directly related to international marketing
3. How to control pricing in parallel imports or gray markets

4. Chapter Learning Objectives
4. Price escalation and how to minimize its effect
5. Countertrading and its place in international marketing practice
6. The mechanics of price quotations

5. Introduction
Pricing strategy forms another cornerstone of a global marketing program–it represents one of the most critical and complex issues in global marketing (due to economic, financial, and mathematical implications)
Price is the only marketing mix element that generates revenues. All other elements entail costs
Need to devote special care in pricing products as a manager’s fiduciary responsibility is to market products at a profit and increase shareholder wealth
A company’s global pricing policy may make or break its overseas expansion efforts (due to foreign exchange complications)
Firms also face significant challenges in coordinating (standardizing or adapting) their pricing strategies across various countries they operate in
This chapter reviews the plethora of international pricing strategy issues

6. Pricing Objectives In general, price decisions are viewed in two ways:
Pricing as an active instrument of accomplishing marketing objectives, or
Pricing as a static element in a business decision
The more control a company has over the final selling price of a product, the better it is able to achieve its marketing goals
It is not always possible to control end prices
Broader product lines and the larger the number of countries involved, the more complex the process of controlling prices charged to the end user

7. Parallel Importation or Gray Markets
On account of competition, firms may have to charge different prices from country to country
In international marketing, this causes a vexing problem: Parallel Importation or Gray Markets
Parallel imports develop when importers buy products from distributors in one country and sell them in another to distributors who are not part of the manufacturer’s regular distribution system
The possibility of a parallel market occurs whenever price differences are greater than the cost of transportation between two markets

8. Parallel Importation or Gray Markets
For example, the ulcer drug Losec sells for only $18 in Spain but goes for $39 in Germany; and the heart drug Plavix costs $55 in France and sells for $79 in London
Thus, it is possible for an intermediary to buy products in countries where it is less expensive and divert it to countries where the price is higher and make a profit
Exclusive distribution, a practice often used by companies to maintain high retail ­margins encourage retailers to stock large assortments, or to maintain the exclusive-quality image of a product, can create a favorable condition for parallel importing

9. Effects of Parallel Importation
Parallel imports can do long-term damage in the market for trademarked products
Customers who unknowingly buy unauthorized imports have no assurance of the quality of the item they buy, of warranty support, or of authorized service or replacement parts
If a product fails, the consumer blames the owner of the trademark, and the quality image of the product is sullied
Companies can restrict the gray market by policing distribution channels
In some countries firms get help from the legal system

11. Approaches to International Pricing
There are several approaches to pricing in international markets, which include:
Full-Cost Pricing: no unit of a similar product is different from any other unit in terms of cost, which must bear its full share of the total fixed and variable cost.
Prices are often set on a cost-plus basis, i.e., total costs plus a profit margin
2. Variable-Cost Pricing: firms regard foreign sales as bonus sales and assume that any return over their variable cost makes a contribution to net profit
This is a practical approach to pricing when a company has high fixed costs and unused production capacity

12. Approaches to International Pricing
3. Skimming Pricing:  This is used to reach a segment of the market that is relatively price insensitive and thus willing to pay a premium price for a product
4. Penetration Pricing: This is used to stimulate market growth and capture market share by deliberately offering products at low prices
It is used to acquire and hold share of market

14. Price Escalation
Price escalation refers to the added costs incurred as a result of exporting products from one country to another
There are several factors that lead to higher prices:
Costs of Exporting: the term relates to situations in which ultimate prices are raised by shipping costs, insurance, packing, tariffs, longer channels of distribution, larger middlemen margins, special taxes, administrative costs, and exchange rate fluctuations

15. Price Escalation (contd ..)
2. Taxes, Tariffs, and Administrative Costs: These costs results in higher prices, which are generally passed on to the buyer of the product
3. Inflation: Inflation causes consumer prices to escalate and the consumer is faced with rising prices that eventually exclude many consumers from the market

16. Price Escalation (contd ..)
4. Middleman and Transportation Costs: Longer channel length, performance of marketing functions and higher margins may make it necessary to increase prices
5. Exchange Rate Fluctuations and Varying Currency Values: Currency values swing vis-à-vis other currencies on a daily basis, which may make it necessary to increase prices

17. Export Strategies Under Varying Currency Conditions
When Domestic Currency is WEAK...
When Domestic Currency is STRONG...
Stress, price benefits
Expand product line and add more costly features
Shift sourcing and manufacturing to domestic market
Exploit export opportunities in all markets
Conduct conventional cash-for- goods trade
Use full-costing approach, but use marginal-cost pricing to penetrate new/competitive markets
Engage in nonprice competition by improving quality, delivery, and after-sale service
Improve productivity and engage in vigorous cost reduction
Shift sourcing and manufacturing overseas
Give priority to exports to relatively strong-currency countries
Deal in countertrade with weak-currency countries
Trim profit margins and use marginal-cost pricing
SOURCE: S. Tamur Cavusgil, "Unraveling the Mystique of Export Pricing," Business Horizons, May-June 1988, figure 2, p. 58.

18. Export Strategies Under Varying Currency Conditions
When Domestic Currency is WEAK...
When Domestic Currency is STRONG...
Speed repatriation of foreign-earned income and collections
Minimize expenditures in local, host country currency
Buy needed services (advertising, insurance, transportation, etc.) in domestic market
Minimize local borrowing
Bill foreign customers in domestic currency
Keep the foreign-earned income in host country, slow collections
Maximize expenditures in local, host country currency
Buy needed services abroad and pay for them in local currencies
Borrow money needed for expansion in local market
Bill foreign customers in their own currency
SOURCE: S. Tamur Cavusgil, "Unraveling the Mystique of Export Pricing," Business Horizons, May-June 1988, figure 2, p. 58.

22. Leasing in International Markets
Leasing opens the door to a large segment of nominally financed foreign firms that can be sold on a lease option but might be unable to buy for cash
Leasing helps guarantee better maintenance and service on overseas equipment
Equipment leased and in use helps to sell other companies in that country
Lease revenue tends to be more stable over a period of time than direct sales would be

24. Dumping
Economists define dumping
differently
World Trade Organization (WTO) rules allow for the imposition of a duty when goods are dumped
A countervailing duty or minimum access volume (MAV), which restricts the amount a country will import, may be imposed on foreign goods benefiting from subsidies whether in production, export, or transportation
One approach classifies international shipments as dumped if the products are sold below their cost of production
The other approach characterizes dumping as selling goods in a foreign market below the price of the same goods in the home market

25. Approaches to Lessening Price Escalation
Methods used to reduce costs and, thus, lower price escalation include:
Lowering Cost of Goods: Firms can lower costs by eliminating costly features in products or by manufacturing products in countries where labor costs are cheaper
Lowering Tariffs: Firms can lower prices by categorizing products in classifications where the tariffs are lower
Lowering Distribution Costs: Firms can design channels that are shorter, have fewer middlemen, and by reducing or eliminating middleman markup
Using Foreign Trade Zones: Firms can manufacture products in free trade zones where the incentive offered is the elimination of local taxes, which keep prices down

26. Countertrade as a Pricing Tool
Countertrade is a pricing tool that every international marketer must be ready to employ
There are four distinct transactions in countertrading, which include:
Barter: is the direct exchange of goods between two parties in a transaction
Compensation deals: is the payment in goods and in cash
Counter-purchase or off-set trade: the seller agrees to sell a product at a set price to a buyer and receives payment in cash and may also buy goods from the buyer for the total monetary amount involved in the first contract or for a set percentage of that amount, which will be marketed by the seller in its home market
Buy-back: This type of agreement is made the seller agrees to accept as partial payment a certain portion of the output that are produced from the plant or machinery that are sold to the buyer

27. Why Purchasers Impose Countertrade Obligations
To Preserve Hard Currency
To Improve Balance of Trade
To Gain Access to New Markets
To Upgrade Manufacturing Capabilities
To Maintain Prices of Export Goods
To Force Reinvestment of Proceeds

28. Proactive Countertrade Strategy
Answering the following questions is suggested before entering into a countertrade agreement:
Is there a ready market for the goods bartered?
Is the quality of the goods offered consistent and acceptable?
Is an expert needed to handle the negotiations?
Is the contract price sufficient to cover the cost of barter and net the desired revenue?

29. Transfer Pricing Strategy
Prices of goods transferred from a company’s operations or sales units in one country to its units elsewhere, which refers to intracompany pricing or transfer pricing, may be adjusted to enhance the ultimate profit of the company as a whole
Four arrangements for pricing goods for intracompany transfer are as follows:
1. Sales at the local manufacturing cost plus a standard markup
2. Sales at the cost of the most efficient producer in the company plus a standard markup
3. Sales at negotiated prices
4. Arm’s-length sales using the same prices as quoted to independent customers

30. Benefits of Transfer Pricing Strategy
1. Lowering duty costs by shipping goods into high-tariff countries at minimal transfer prices so that duty base and duty are low
2. Reducing income taxes in high-tax countries by overpricing goods transferred to units in such countries; profits are eliminated and shifted to low-tax countries
3. Facilitating dividend repatriation when dividend repatriation is curtailed by government policy by inflating prices of goods transferred

31. Chapter Summary
Pricing is one of the most complicated decision areas encountered by international marketers.
Rather than deal with one set of market conditions, one group of competitors, one set of cost factors, and one set of government regulations, international marketers must take all these factors into account, not only for each country in which they are operating, but often for each market within a country.
Market prices at the consumer level are much more difficult to control in international than in domestic marketing, but the international marketer must still approach the pricing task on a basis of established objectives and policy, leaving enough flexibility for tactical price movements.

32. Chapter Summary
Controlling costs that lead to price escalation when exporting products from one country to another is one of the most challenging pricing tasks facing the exporter.
Some of the flexibility in pricing is reduced by the growth of the Internet, which has a tendency to equalize price differentials between country markets.
The continuing growth of Third World markets coupled with their lack of investment capital has increased the importance of countertrades for most marketers, making countertrading an important tool to include in pricing policy.
The Internet is evolving to include countertrades, which will help eliminate some of the problems associated with this practice.

33. Chapter Summary
Pricing in the international marketplace requires a combination of intimate knowledge of market costs and regulations, an awareness of possible countertrade deals, infinite patience for detail, and a shrewd sense of market strategy.

34. Key Terms parallel imports compensation deal exclusive distribution
variable-cost pricing
full-cost pricing
skimming
price escalation
dumping
countervailing duty
countertrade
barter
compensation deal
counterpurchase
product buy-back agreement
transfer pricing
advanced pricing agreement
administered pricing
cartel