The following examples show that good design equals good business in international markets
Example: Brand revival
Company: Apple Computer Inc
Year: 1997 to present
In 1997, after reporting losses of $1billion, it was widely assumed that Apple Computer was about to go out of business. The company had lost its way. Its core market of creatives and students had become alienated and were switching over to cheaper PC products.
However later that year, the return of Steve Jobs as CEO changed all this. He gave the company back its vision, and, working with the design team headed by British designer Jonathan Ive, he created a product driven identity for Apple which is based around a high quality total product experience. With the iMac Apple redefined 
the home computer as a friendly domestic object. With the iPod and iTunes music management software it defined the digital music market and currently holds about 80% of the hard drive-based portable music player market in the USA and approximately 50% worldwide. At the end of 2005 Apple reported the highest revenue and earnings in the Company’s history, and international sales accounted for 40 percent of the quarter’s revenue.
Example: Export success
Client: Boa (UK) Ltd
Designer: Priestman Goode
Boa (UK) Ltd was formed in September 1996. It manufactures, sells and distributes the range of award winning Boa Constrictor strap wrenches for uses as diverse as opening tight jam jars, to tightening plumbing joints.
Boa soon found its products being cheaply copied by competitors and realised it needed a strategy to regain market share. It turned to designers Priestman Goode who helped Boa respond to the competition in two ways. Firstly, using intelligent design and engineering, they drastically reduced the price of the existing product. They then set about designing a better product with 'built in protection'. The new product required a technique called twin-shot moulding where two different plastics are injected into the mould at the same time. It was a high investment method that low-cost manufacturers were not able to copy. This new, improved product was then introduced at the same cost as competitor products.
Boa exports the range of seven different models to more than 23 countries. With sales to date of more than 10million units worldwide to 13 of the world's top 20 retailers Boa commands 97% of the world's strap wrench market.
Example: Export success
Company: Toyota Motors
Key to Toyota’s global success is their commitment to creating cars which are both reliable and affordable. They combine this with a clear understanding of the needs of the local market to create massive success. In the USA their top seller is the Camry, a mid-sized family car which finds favour with practical minded middle America. Meanwhile the Prius hybrid fuel vehicle, launched in Japan in 1997, and into the global market in 2000, taps into increasing concern about the impact of cars on the environment, and has become the car of choice for trendy young urban professionals and Hollywood stars. In the UK Toyota have teamed up with Citroen and Peugeot to deliver the super compact Aygo which combined with the re-styled Yaris super-mini and Rav4 four wheel drive vehicle they hope to boost sales by 11%.
Example: Brand revival
Company: Electrolux
Year: 2002 to present
When CEO Hans Straberg joined Electrolux in 2002 he took the helm of a company in crisis. He faced spiralling costs while its middle market products were gradually loosing out to cheaper goods from Asia and Eastern Europe. Straberg knew that the only way that the company could hope to survive amidst this ferocious competition was through innovation and design to create products with good looks and clever features which people could understand without having to pore through a thick users’ manual.
To do this he broke down the traditional barriers between departments, forcing marketing, designers and engineers to work together in cross-disciplinary teams. These teams brainstorm and develop new product ideas – the most successful are fast tracked into production.
To support this drive for innovation spending in R&D has been bumped from 0.8% of sales to 1.2% with the eventual goal of raising to 2%. This investment is now beginning to show returns, after dropping for two straight years annual sales rose 8% to $16.5 billion, in 2005. The number of product launches that result in outsized unit sales is currently running at over 50% of all introductions up from around 25% previously. The award winning Electrolux Pronto commands 50% of the USA stick vacuum cleaner market despite being double the cost of comparable models.
Example: Brand building
Client: Canon cameras
Designer: In house
Year: 2000 – to date
In the 1980s and 1990s the camera market was dominated by Nikon – its cameras, lenses and technology set the industry benchmarks for film based photography. However, as camera technology shifted from film to digital Nikon was slow to react and soon found itself being outperformed by smaller more agile rivals who embraced the potential of the new technology as a chance to break Nikon’s market domination.
Most successful of these competitors has been Canon who in recent years has combined intelligent market strategy and sophisticated product design and technology to offer category leading cameras in all segments of the market from entry level digital IXUS cameras, through to top end professional camera users with their digital SLRs.
This strategy seems to be paying off as Canon has reported increased sales for six consecutive years, a feat that is even more impressive when you consider that digital camera prices are rapidly falling (approximately 15% in 2004 and a further 10% in 2005). Even in this challenging market Canon has managed to increase revenues shipping 16.8 million cameras in 2005, compared with 14.8 million units in 2004.
Example: Brand building
Company: Louis Vuitton
Year: 2005
In October 2005 French luxury goods brand Louis Vuitton opened its new flagship store on Paris’ famous Champs – Elysées. Upon casual inspection there is nothing unusual - it is a vast multi-floored luxury brand experience store, whose center-piece is an instillation by the Danish artist Olafur Eliasson which whisks customers via a 40 second sensory depravation ride in a pitch-black elevator to the top of the store, from where they can wander down a succession of terraces arranged in a spiral pattern. The interesting thing about the store is how its design ignores traditional Parisian ideas of luxury shopping. There is no sense of height, no grand staircase, or extravagant vaulted inner courtyard, the interior favours low ceilings with products arranged in a number of individually designed niche boutiques.
In fact according to a Louis Vuitton spokesman the design of the store is not aimed at Parisians, rather it is focussed upon the tastes of wealthy tourists from the Near East, Central Europe, and particularly Asia for whom a trip to Paris would not be complete without the chance to shop for the latest bag, shoes, or suitcase bearing the LV logo. As Eric Carlson, the American born architect of the store says ’Asian shoppers are a large part of our customer base. They are extremely sophisticated, not only in terms of personal taste but also architecture and design. What they demand from a luxury store is a décor which integrates art and culture.’
This strategy of targeting Western luxury goods at an Eastern market seems to be working, in 2005 LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton announced that profit rose 21 percent as European and Asian shoppers bought more Vuitton handbags and clothes.
Example: Brand revival
Company: Harley-Davidson, USA
Year: Early 1980s onwards
When the USA motorcycle market shrank due to the 1981-82 recession Harley Davidson found itself facing a surge of Japanese imports, which caused a glut of unsold bikes that artificially depressed the market and threatened Harley's viability.
The US International Trade Commission found that increased imports of heavyweight motorcycles threatened serious injury to the domestic industry, and the President imposed temporary import relief to allow the industry time to adjust.
Harley-Davidson used this time to use design to improve manufacturing efficiency and product quality. As a result the company was able to significantly improve its market share - currently it is the clear market leader with 47% of the large motorcycle market in the USA (2002).
Although more expensive than local competitors, Harley-Davidson motorcycles are in demand around the world. 22% of the motorcycles produced in the York, Pennsylvania final-assembly plant are produced for export. Much of Harley-Davidson's growth in recent years has been due to growth in exports, for example in the Japanese market the market for Harleys has been growing at an annual rate of approximately 43% since 1996. In 2005 Harley Davidson’s international sales grew 15% year on year.