Based in Charlotte, North Carolina, American Colonial Heritage, Inc. (ACH) was a top-ten U.S. furniture manufacturer focused on the upper end of the indoor home furniture market. The head of the International Division had just asked Alexandra Jones to join the International Expansion Team. Jones had joined American Colonial Heritage Inc. (ACH) almost a year earlier, after graduating from a top business school. She worked in the International Business Division on several projects related to the company's limited sales abroad, primarily to Canada. During those first months at headquarters, she learned the basics of ACH's operations, both in the U.S. and its limited business abroad. She followed the company's initial discussions about international expansion and expressed her interest in getting involved in the project as soon as it started. The case details what Jones needed to consider and how she approached her first assignment— to recommend the country into which ACH should expand first. Note: The company, the characters, and the quotations in this case, unless otherwise stated, are fictional and were created by its authors. No reference is intended to any person.
