International Environments and Business Operations.

...

Kids aren’t just migrant laborers in KidZania. They are KidZanians, citizens of the nation of KidZania. There is a national anthem and a red and yellow flag, the colors split by the letter K. The KidZania logo itself is that same fluttering flag. Each child receives a bank account, an ATM card, a wallet, and a check for 50 KidZos (the park’s currency). At the park’s bank, which is staffed by adult tellers, kids can withdraw or deposit money they’ve earned through completing activities—and the account remains even when they go home at the end of the day.

As of 2016, KidZania has parks in: Jakarta, Tokyo, Lisbon, Seoul, Dubai, Santiago, Kuala Lumpur, Monterrey and others.

3.- Once you are done with your research, please provide a detailed description of their business model, their international expansion strategy, a list of desirable qualifications in potential franchisees, and the institutional support and training programs typically provided by KidZania (the franchiser).

KIDZANIA’S BUSINESS MODEL

Key Partners: Other entertainment companies

Key Activities:

Transform kids into leaders by “real world duties”

Value proposal: Educational Entertainment

Customer Relationships: Create satisfaction feelings on the kids, create leaders

Customer Segments: Kids between ages 2 - 12

Key Resources: workers, place, games.

Channels: TV and Marketing activities

Cost Structure:

- Marketing

- Workers salary

- Services

Revenue Streams:

- Effective (when the people pay for the tickets)

- Sponsors

On the topic of international expansion, we can observe that KidZania has chosen to expand into Asia. One of the main reasons is that the value proposal is based on educational entertainment, and in Asian culture, education plays a more important role than on other cultures such as America or Europe.

KidZania is a great investment idea, and it has success stories that can reinforce this idea.

4.- According to what we have learned in this course so far, answer these questions.

- What would you tell to KidZania's CEO about the current business environment in the United States? Explain.

Entering America’s business environment on its own may be a dangerous risk, as the market in the US is closed to new options. A great idea, besides franchising, may be creating strategic alliances with other companies (the ones that would be present into KidZania) and a strong marketing campaign.

- Would you recommend KidZania to enter the US market today? Why or why not? And where exactly?

Even though the American market is not at its best, entering the United States would represent a long-term benefit for the company. Southern US’ culture is formed by middle-class working people, so a big city in the south of the country may be a great place to start a new park, cities like Houston, Dallas, Phoenix or New Orleans can be great options to open a KidZania park.

- Are there any special improvements to be implemented before landing in the US or should they just follow their regular franchising strategy? If so, what is there to improve?

Before landing in the United States, it is important to look for alliances with other companies that can help KidZania to make a greater impact along its arrival on the American market. This way, more people would acknowledge the company and look forward to visit the park.

Conclusion

KidZania shows is how to expand firms, with careful studies and to evaluate aspects that may not be totally necessary. It also teaches us that if you create or find a good expansion strategy, and it works, you have found a master key.

We know about the benefits of the American market, and they can be great. But we also know that there is a lot of competence in any area on the US, so creating alliances is important to enter at a good pace.