Beating the Global Consolidation Endgame: Nine Strategies for Winning in Niches

As industries worldwide move toward consolidation, niche companies need to take advantage of strategies that are forward-thinking and anticipate new trends. Beating the Global Consolidation Endgame identifies nine key strategies that niche companies must master in order to outperform their markets and gain the largest benefits from consolidation. It draws from a landmark study conducted by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney of more than 600,000 small to mid-sized niche companies over a 15-year period.

A.T. Kearney thought leaders Dr. Fritz Kroeger, Dr. Andrej Vizjak, and Michael Moriarty reveal nine successful Endgame niche strategies while explaining how these strategies are most viable at certain points during consolidation. In order to time the strategies accurately, all decision makers must know what stage of industry consolidation they're in, along with the implications of each stage. This ensures a company's survival and success against global consolidators.

Taking you through the Merger Endgame Theory lifecycle, the authors show you how to develop stable niche strategies by:

• Determining your industry's Endgame position and expected evolution of consolidation in coming years
• Identifying industry sectors with comparable models to illuminate strategic success factors for your sector
• Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of Endgame consolidation winners and losers
• Spotting potential market splits and new configurations for the value-creation chain
• Determining the best niche options and the best sequence for executing them

These action steps are supported by case studies of leading companies around the world, including BMW, NetJets, Swatch, Ducati, and KPMG--which show how these niche fighters developed competitive advantage, survived market collapses, and delivered superior customer service while increasing their market share.