Case Name :      China Kelon Group (A): Diversify or Not?

Authors :           Justin Tan, Paul W. Beamish

Source :             Ivey Publishing

Case ID :            903M04

Discipline :        General Management

Case Length :    09 pages

Solution Sample availability : YES

Plagiarism : NO (100% Original work)

In 1998, the soon-to-retire founder of China Kelon Group, a major home electrical appliance manufacturer, was confronting issues of market diversification (urban to rural), product diversification (now also produced air conditioners), and the evolution of his senior management team (from an entrepreneurial firm to one managed by a professional manager). This case illustrates to a non-Chinese audience just how rapidly local Chinese manufacturing has developed and that such firms are future competitors for foreign companies.