LGI revenues, over $10 Billion - 21,000+ employees

Expanding into foreign countries, the challenges and opportunities
1384_ 5/29/13 - Balan Nair is the Executive Vice President and CTO for Liberty Global a leading international cable operator. Their revenues, over $10 Billion with over 21,000 employees, and active in 13 countries. LGI operates mostly in Europe with operations in South America as well (Chile and Puerto Rico). As a matter of fact a 14th will be added very soon with their acquisition of Virgin Media in the United Kingdom. Balan says they are very bullish on Europe and very bullish on the paid TV business. It's counter intuitive for the macro economic situation in Europe is somewhat challenging - our business has grown right through it. Balan said, "Our customers don't buy luxury goods from us, they buy basic necessities, voice, video and data. Even in the worst of times you really don't want to disconnect that and especially your broadband pipe. And we price them in Europe where it's really affordable and consistent with the competitive landscape there." Larry asked, "If you were talking with a business person thinking of expanding overseas, what advice would you give them?" Balan replied, "There are a number of things I would look at depending on the country you want to get into, and they are all different. Among the local regulations, you ought to look at the labor environment in both hiring as well as firing and what that does to your costs. You'll definitely have exposure to currency fluctuations, so you want to look at that track record. And fourth, definitely the political situation because the political climate drives the other three so you ought to have a good sense of that. Then, you decide if your product is relevant in that environment, that country. Can you price it in the right way and still be competitive." They went on discussing the greatest opportunities and the biggest challenges in doing business in foreign countries and TiE Rockies in Colorado ...listen for more...
RELATED LINKS: Liberty Global || LGI Officers || TiE Rockies Colorado || Podcasting Directory || KEYWORDS: Balan Nair, Liberty Global, Cable Industry, TiE Rockies, Europe, South America, Chile, Puerto Rico, Virgin Media, United Kingdom, Voice, Video, Data > bytes=6800930
LISTEN TO: Balan Nair, Executive Vice President & CTO, Liberty Global

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