IBC Global Forum

The IBC Global Forum brings together strategic planning and pragmatic international information to facilitate sales and business development in key export markets. Extensive networking with housewares buyers, industry professionals and seasoned IBC members presents vast opportunities to increase your housewares industry network and sales.

Executive Education: International Negotiation Strategies

As a preview to his Executive Education session during the upcoming IBC Global Forum, the following is a brief on Dr. Denis Leclerc, Professor of Cross-Cultural Communication at Thunderbird School of Global Management. Dr. Leclerc’s work has been published in multiple journals with a focus on communication and negotiation, including the written research of the impact of…

MercadoLibre: Latin America’s Largest Online Retailer

As a preview to their presentation during the upcoming IBC Global Forum, the following is a brief on MercadoLibre, the leading Latin American e-commerce retailer. MercadoLibre was established in August 1999 in Argentina and rapidly expanded to Brazil (as MercadoLivre.com), Mexico and other South American countries. It is the largest e-commerce retailer in Latin America,…

2016 Global Forum – Recap & What’s Next for IHA Members Looking to Grow Global Sales

During the 2016 International Business Council’s Global Forum, held in Chicago, June 8-10, attendees came to discuss difficulties with international sales and seek solutions through networking with other IHA suppliers in attendance. One attendee noted, “It was great to brainstorm with other companies and to realize that our issues are not unique. It's good to know there are…

Retail Overview: VIP.com China

On Friday morning at the IBC Global Forum, Tony Shan presented details on selling directly to the 180 million registered users of VIP.com, a Chinese online retailer. Tony is responsible for business development and merchandising for VIP.com within the Americas with offices in New York. In December 2008, VIP.com introduced its B2C online sales model to the Chinese consumer…

Retail Overview: Ace Indonesia

The second day of presentations at the IBC Global Forum continued with an overview of Ace Indonesia. Since 2014, Ms. Nana Puspa Dewi has served as the marketing director for Kawan Lama Group, the parent company of Ace Hardware Indonesia. Ms. Puspa Dewi is responsible for marketing across all business units of the Kawan Lama Group. She also manages advertising, promotions,…

Retail Overview: Corporación Lady Lee, Honduras

Day 2 of the IBC Global Forum immersed attendees into overviews from retailers in varied regions of the world. The morning began with a look at Honduran retailer Corporación Lady Lee. Since 2012, Carlos Zelaya has been the Commercial Manager of Corporación Lady Lee’s department store group, Almacenes Lady Lee. Mr. Zelaya is responsible for commercial strategy, all…

IBC Global Forum: Reaching Africa

After a multi-session deep dive into aspects of entering the mature markets of Europe, IBC Global Forum attendees were introduced to the work of a U.S. government agency charged with assisting companies in entering the emerging markets in Africa. Ambrose Thomas, a commercial assistant with the U.S. Commercial Service in Nigeria, outlined the basic demographics and agency…

IBC Global Forum: Part 4 – Pragmatically Approaching Western Europe

This is Part Four of a four part series. Part One Part Two Part Three Action Plans Building upon the reports from the discussion groups, Mr. Boutet offered check lists for how to approach entering a market, centered on the SWOT analysis described earlier. He closed by presenting a case study of his firm’s work with one company as it planned its entry into a new market…

IBC Global Forum: Part 3 – Pragmatically Approaching Western Europe

This is Part Three of a four part series. Part One Part Two Part Four Workshop Session Challenges Attendees to Examine Markets In this interactive portion of the program, attendees were invited to share their questions and perspectives of SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) in doing business in Europe. The four discussion groups joined representatives from…