| Topic Name: |
Bain, India |
| Message Name: |
just |
| Date Posted: |
02/21/2006 |
| In Reply To: |
You know, Bain has been fighting an uphill battle for market share all over the world since 1973, when the firm was operating out of a Beacon Hill apartment with zero clients and 0% market share. Since then, the firm has grown to be almost the size of BCG in the markets where they compete. If it were so hard to steal market share in this business, Bain would still be a little one-office firm in Boston.
It's true that strategy consulting is about relationships. So what? It's true that first-movers in emerging markets might have first-crack at developing relationships, but they also bear a lot of risk. At the time of market entry, there were no Chinese or Indian firms that knew how to engage a strat consulting firm. Educating the market for what to expect from consultants is very difficult--and it can result in a lot of disappointed clients. Even today, 80% of strategy consulting business in China is with multinationals, not Chinese firms.
Bain does pay consultants according to local market conditions. (market = country). However, as the recent Economist profile of Orit Gadiesh noted, Bain does not discount its services. A $1M project in one office costs $1M in any office. But the model works... it's kinda fun to win a bake-off when Bain is the highest bidder, sometimes charging twice as much as second-tier competitors. |
| Message: |
one point:
in 1973 the whole industry was tiny...
I think for example BCG's revenues were well below $ 5 million at that time
it was not like gaining market share in a mature industry (which indeed would be difficult/a great accomplishment)
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