1. Many retailers that have been outstandingly successful in their home markets have experienced poorer performance when they entered overseas markets. Examples include Tesco, Marks & Spencer, Laura Ashley, and Body Shop in the UK; Best Buy, Sears, Macy’s, and Walmart in the US. Their performance outside their home market reflects:

Lack of major efficiency benefits from international scope combined with the need for national differentiation

Limited opportunities for exploiting learning benefits in retailing (e.g., by transferring best practices)

Lack of economies of scale in retailing

Large investments required to build brand recognition in foreign markets.

2. _____ A learning curve or improvement curve is described by the relationship:

Each time the output doubles, the unit labor hours are reduced at a constant rate

Each time the output is reduced by half, the unit labor hours are increases at a constant rate

Each time the output remains constant, the unit labor hours are reduced at a constant rate

Each time the output increases, the unit labor hours are increased at a constant rate

Each time the output is reduced by half, the unit labor hours are reduced at a constant rate