Introduction

3M was established in 1902 with an aim to change the world with its innovative technology.
3M is situated at Minnesota in U.S. currently they are running their operations in 60
countries. They work in various industries such as, worker safety, health care, consumer
goods etc. They produce vast range of products lines like orthodontic products, medical
supplies, paint protection etc. 3M basically exports their products to different market. After
successfully capturing a market they shift to localization strategy for their expansion. To
manufacture the product they collect raw materials from the local sources also integrate their
supply chain with the localization strategy. With this strategy they gain exposure and increase
revenue in the local market.

Fig: 3M Logo
Market 1: Back in 1984 a foreign company could not wholly owned a Chinese company.
Despite the fact, the Chinese government allowed 3M own 100% of Shanghai Electrical
Machinery Co. (Luo, n.d.) Back then China had high demand in producing electrical and
telecommunication products. 3m decided to invest in this field. The mode of entry of
successful although there were some difficulties. Chinese government did not want to take
responsibility of their loss and success. The government wanted to experiment whether
allowing foreign company would be beneficial or not. They were wholly owned subsidiary
yet they were doing operation under joint venture. The risk for 3M was they had to bear all
the risk. The business in Chinese market was successful. Many foreign company come to
china for their low cost manufacturing and R&D facility. But 3M wanted to China for
capturing China market. They did not want to develop manufacturing plant in China and
export globally. They wanted to capture the local market. Now 3M china holds $ 3 billion or
10% of their entire global business. The R&D facility in China is one of the largest outside
the US. (Mahajan, 2014)
Market 2: 3M entered India in 1988 with an aim to manufacture telecommunication
connectors for medical purpose and chemicals. 3M went on a joint venture with Nav
Electromed Pvt. Ltd. Later in 1992 3M decided to own 75% share of the company and
became partly owned subsidiary company. ("3M India History | 3M India Information - The
Economic Times", 2020). The mode of entry was successful because initially 3M was able to
enter in the South Asia region then they saw potential market scope in this region because of
the lower manufacturing and operational cost. This led them to expand their business
operation. Over the time 3M developed various range of products such as, high quality
commercial tapes, stethoscope, secotchliten LCD panels etc. The business was success in
Indian market because over the years they managed to partner up with different companies.
They acquired Mahindra Engineering & Chemical Products Limited. 3m's significant growth
in India attracted electrical business. The acquisition with Mahindra Engineering & Chemical
in 2006 opened up an access to the manufacturing facility of energy and strong distribution
channel in India. (Reporter, 2013) In 2011, 3M India was announced as the biggest
distribution with 14 filed patents and ranked 4th as the "Most Innovative Brands" in India.
Market 3: 3M decided to enter Brazil back in 2007. The reason behind choosing this market
is for the expansion of their orthodontic product. They closed a deal with Abzil Industria e
Comercio Ltda by acquiring most of their company's share. Abzil is known as the second-
largest manufacturer of orthodontic product in Brazil. The acquisition was successful because
it helped 3M in expanding its range of orthodontic products and in manufacturing facility.
The business was success in the new market. 3M has the global resources and expertise in
distributing mass range of products in orthodontic and succession in proving 14000
orthodontic products and solution worldwide. (3M News Center, 2020)The support from
Abzil helped 3M to grow their business vastly in this geographic location. 3M saw potential
business scope in Brazil and started creating portfolio. In 2010 the company invested US $50
million and achieved a growth more than 6% for this the company decided to invest up to US
90 million in 2011. (Econômico, 2010). They wanted to increase their organic growth in
Brazil. They developed manufacturing plant for their items.
Conclusion
3M managed to successfully enter in China, India and Brazil market. Entering into china and
establishing a successful market by capturing the local market was an excellent for this 3M in
china hold significant amount of their revenue. Also setting up in manufacturing facility led
them in low production and operation cost. That helped them in gaining the access to export
their product in large scale. Their expansion in Brazil for their orthodontic product not only
provided them with the best manufacturing facility but also helped them in capturing the local
market as well.

References:
(2020). Retrieved 3 June 2020, from https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/company-us/about-
3m/history/.
Luo, Y. How to enter China (p. 323).
Mahajan, N. (2014). 3M Company: In China for China [Blog]. Retrieved 3 June 2020, from
https://knowledge.ckgsb.edu.cn/2014/02/13/china/3m-company-china-china/.
Econômico, V., 2010. 3M to put US$ 90 million to grow more in Brazil. Investe SP, [online]
p.1. Available at: <https://www.en.investe.sp.gov.br/news/post/3m-to-put-us-90-million-to-
grow-more-in-brazil/> [Accessed 3 June 2020].
3M News Center. (2020). 3M to Acquire Abzil Industria e Comercio Ltda., p. 1. Retrieved 3
June 2020, from https://news.3m.com/English/press-releases/press-releases-details/2007/3M-
to-Acquire-Abzil-Industria-e-Comercio-Ltda/default.aspx.
Reporter, B. (2013). 3M Electro to acquire M&M's cable business. Business Standard, p. 1.
Retrieved 3 June 2020, from https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/3m-
electro-to-acquire-m-m-s-cable-business-106120901051_1.html.
3M India History | 3M India Information - The Economic Times.
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https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/3m-india-ltd/infocompanyhistory/companyid-
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