Forbo (forbo) China Development Strategy

Forbo is a leading producer of flooring systems, adhesives and chemical bonds, as well as power transmission and conveyor belt solutions. The flooring department is the biggest of the three, with a history of over 100 years. Forbo flooring entered the Chinese market in 1996. It set a representative office in Shanghai and it sells PVC and linoleum by distributors. Because of the confusing market situation, Forbo didn't work very well in the past decade.This study aims at developing the strategy of Forbo flooring China by analyzing the problems and opportunities it's facing, to provide a solution for Forbo to be the top flooring manufacturer in the world.Firstly, this paper introduces the main flooring materials and their attributes. Secondly, it reviews the development of the world's flooring market. Thirdly, it analyzes the international\European\North America resilient flooring markets, then, the Chinese market. On the basis of reviewing the relative studies and papers, this paper fully analyzes the development of Forbo flooring China , especially the competitors' information and condition, by using Michael Porter's Five Forces Model and BCG's SWOT Model.Finally, this study comes out the developing strategy for Forbo flooring China, that is, differentiation strategy. The differentiation strategy is actually a comprehensive result of several aspects. Take the actual condition of Forbo flooring China into consideration, this study provides four differentiation aspects: brand differentiation, product differentiation, channel differentiation and service differentiation. This gives a clear orientation for Forbo China and it helps Forbo to build up its core competitiveness.With the strategy in hand, Forbo could make further strategic steps in future, on the basis of prime resources, prediction, price, brand, channel, service, etc. That should depends on the markets development and customers' need and should be done centered on the markets and objectives.