GE Betting On Emerging Markets

I wrote about GE’s global growth plans in our February edition of Global By Design and I’m thrilled to see the Journal writing about it as well.

GE expects to have 60% of its revenues coming from emerging markets over the next decade, compared to just 20% a decade ago. And GE is not alone. Here’s an excerpt from the article…

    GE’s outlook is echoed by most multinationals, many of them rivals such as Siemens AG and Philips Electronics NV, and financial-services giant Citigroup Inc. Like GE, these companies are dealing with how to grow in the face of a slower U.S. and European economy. For most of them, that means moving deeper overseas — in some cases, building manufacturing plants and buying materials in those countries while selling lower-price products such as medical equipment. It also could mean more job cuts in the U.S., and even Europe, as the multinationals seek new markets for their products.

    Deane Dray, an analyst with Goldman Sachs, says, “It’s not by choice but by necessity. Developing countries are where the fastest growth is occurring and more sustainable growth.”

“It’s not by choice but by necessity.”
A great quote and equally relevant to Web globalization. Companies aren’t taking their Web sites global for thrills; this is about following the money. And those companies that sit on the sidelines too long are going to have a steep learning curve ahead of them.

GE, by the way, could stand to improve its global Web site. More on this later…

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