Back when I was in college, eons ago, students began taking Japanese language courses in droves. Japan was perceived as an economic threat at the time and we Americans needed to churn out a workforce that could speak the language.…
The recent bankruptcy announcement of AOL LatAm draws to an end a six-year case study in how not to expand a business into new markets. This article touches on many of the challenges that AOL encountered when it ventured south…
Google and Univision just announced a partnership to improve Spanish-language search results (and make a few bucks along the way). What’s interesting about the deal is how they’re both presenting it as a “call to action” for companies to launch…
According to this article, and a few others, Apple appears poised to launch its iTunes Japan store on August 4th. This will be the first Asian site for Apple, and a key market. Apple already has three retail stores in…
I was forwarded a job ad in Monster today from a company looking for a Sr. Web Designer. The reason this ad is of interest to me is one of the job requirements: ·Experience with site globalization and the development…
This month’s issue of Fortune magazine has an in-depth piece on Wal-Mart’s adventures in China. Despite having been operating in China since 1996, the company has just 43 locations operating today (it has 3,719 locations in the US). But it…
I love the Costco.com Web site, not just because Costco is the “anti-Wal-Mart” but because Costco.com is the “anti-Amazon.” Instead of a Web page crammed with products and promotions, Costco keeps it simple. It’s the same selling philosophy you’ll find…
From the eBay investor call today… -> eBay now has more than 157 million registered users worldwide. -> eBay Spain now has 1 million registered users. -> Europe: 40% growth year over year. -> The UK achieved first-ever $100 million…
eBay’s non-domestic revenues continue to climb upward. In Q2, According to their press release: -> U.S. Marketplace net revenues totaled $423.6 million in Q2-05, representing 27% year-over-year growth. -> International Marketplace net revenues totaled $418.8 million in Q2-05, representing 51%…
The folks at six apart have made a subtle but important change to the global gateway of their TypePad Web site. TypePad is a hosted Weblog service now offered in nine localized versions. Here is the before and after of…
When I heard that the latest Harry Potter book was expected to sell 10 million copies in the first day, I assumed that this number included editions in various languages. But it turns out that the book is so far…
Last month, Christopher Liechty, president the AIGA Center for Cross-Cultural Design, moderated a panel on branding in China. The transcript from the session has been published and is available for free download. It’s a long transcript but worth a read.…
According to ths news blurb, iTunes Japan is coming online next month. No word yet on whether Sony will participate. This will be Apple’s first Asian iTunes site and definitely not the last. Sites for New Zealand and Oz can’t…
John Deere made a subtle but important change to its global gateway. As shown below, the company moved the gateway into the “sweet spot” of the upper right corner of the Web page. I’m not sure when this change happened,…
A group of French language teachers in Japan are suing the mayor of Tokyo for saying, “French is a failed international language because it cannot be used to count numbers.” That’s according to this article. If nothing else, the article…