The Azure Sky Tea Company offers premium teas and tea blends to customers in the United States. Tea is one of the most popular drinks in the world the company feels that it is now time to consider expanding into new markets. It wishes to open two new international offices. The following will utilize Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions as the basis for the selection of the target companies. This research will explore the two countries and discuss solutions to the obstacles that they may face.

The Azure Tea Company is located in the United States. In order to find a country that is compatible with the United States, it is important to understand how the United States compares with the world on these cultural dimensions. In terms of Individualism, the United States has the highest score in the world. Americans are the most individualistic in the world. The United States has a high differentiation between men and women. Men occupy more roles of responsibility than women. The uncertainty avoidance index is lower than the global average. The citizens do not try to control all possible outcomes in their life and can cope with some uncertainty. The long term orientation index of the United States is lower than the world average. The United States has a relatively short term orientation (The Hofstede Centre, n.d.a).

The United Kingdom is one of the closest to the United States in terms of Hofstede’s dimension. The United Kingdom is only two points lower on the score of individualism. The United States and the UK are the highest scores in terms of individualism (The Hofstede Centre, n.d.b). They are close on masculinity scores too. The UK is four points higher than the United States. This means that competitiveness in the United Kingdoms is even higher than in the United States. The UK is five points lower than the United States in terms of power distance. The United States and the United Kingdom both have relatively low power distance scores. Society is loosely structures, with little expectation of government support for the people (The Hofstede Centre, n.d.b). Uncertainty avoidance is one of the biggest disparities between the United States and the UK. The UK has less tolerance for uncertainty than the United States. One other dimension is worth mentioning in this case. The pragmatism score for the UK is almost twice that of the United States. The United States scores only a 26 on the pragmatism score, while the UK scores a 51. Combined with a higher uncertainty score, this dimension paints the United Kingdom as a pragmatic society that does not like uncertainty.

Australia is another country that has many similar dimensions as the United States. It is only one point below the United States in terms of individualism. It is only four points lower on power distance. In terms of masculinity, Australia is only one point below the United States. In terms of uncertainty avoidance Australia is 5 points higher than the United States. When considered in regards to a five point lower pragmatism score than the United States, it appears that Australians and Americans have a low pragmatism score, but that Australians are more likely to take risks than Americans.

The United Kingdom is the fifth largest tea drinking country in the world at 2.74 kg per year (Mulhall, 2014). Australians consume between .5 to .99 kg per year. Americans only consume .5-.49 kg per year (Lewis, 2012). This means that the market for tea is greatest in the United Kingdom than in Australia or the United States. The Market in Australia is bigger than that of the United States. This greater consumption translates into a higher demand in the chosen countries for expansion than in the home country of the United States.

From the standpoint of demand, the United Kingdom would be the obvious choice. However, there are several obstacles to overcome based on Hofstede’s Dimensions. The most important factor is that the United Kingdom is their higher level of pragmatism and unwillingness to take risks. This may make them reluctant to try a new tea brand. The demand is less in Australia, but their risk taking and pragmatism scores would make them more likely to try a new brand that was introduced into the product mix. The United Kingdom has the greatest potential for market expansion, but it may be slow at first. The brand may have to gain a sense of familiarity on the shelf before UK consumers would be willing to try it. However, once it is established and becomes staple, demand could be expected to be steady but growing. Based on Hofstede’s Dimensions, the brand may experience rapid growth initially in Australia as consumers are eager to try something new.

This translates into a business strategy that has both short and long term characteristics. If both offices are opened at the same time, one in the United Kingdom and one in Australia, the one in the United Kingdom would not be expected to experience fast growth. However, the store in Australia would experience faster initial growth and could potentially make up for slow sales in the UK. As the brands become more familiar and sales begin to grow in the UK, it is likely that sales in Australia will slow as the novelty of the new brand wears off. UK sales will pick up just as the newness of the product wears off in Australia. This represents a solid strategy for International market entrance using Hofstede’s cultural dimensions as the basis for the rationale. It may be wise to open the Australia business first so that the company can realize some immediate revenue from the expansion. This growth will result in the most immediate revenue growth for the company.