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Product cover image for Happy Lamb: Global Expansion at a Crossroads

Happy Lamb: Global Expansion at a Crossroads

Ting Liu, Fangxue Luo, Paul W. Beamish, Liman Zhao

Product #:W50116
Supplier:Ivey
Discipline:International Business, Strategy
Setting:China, 2026
Details:Case (PDF) • 13 pages • 2026-05-27
Your Price:$9.71

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Happy Lamb International Catering Chain (Happy Lamb) was an international hot pot restaurant chain, founded in Boston in 2016 and since steadily expanding to 40 stores outside China. From inception, Happy Lamb remained committed to its core concept of Mongolian hot pot, adopting a strategy focused on Western markets. The company actively pursued localization throughout its globalization process—from building product competitiveness and supply chain infrastructure to employee recruitment and training.

In early 2026, amid fierce competition in the boom of Chinese cuisine being offered overseas, Yang Ou, vice-president of brand at Happy Lamb, was contemplating the company’s next global expansion. The Southeast Asian market offered ample demographic dividends and significant growth potential, but it had already become a highly competitive market. Should Happy Lamb continue prioritizing Western markets or develop Southeast Asia?

Learning Objectives

This case is suitable for undergraduate, graduate, or executive education in courses dealing with international business, multinational management, or global marketing. Using the case will help learners achieve the following learning objectives:
  • Develop an analytical framework for corporate internationalization motives to systematically analyze drivers for entering specific overseas markets.
  • Learn strategies for selecting overseas market entry models to understand corporate expansion patterns.
  • Explore tools, such as the international learning model, to evaluate the applicability of existing corporate strategies and make adjustments.
  • Develop multinational strategic decision-making thinking to provide strategic recommendations for global market selection and resource allocation.
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Case Study: Happy Lamb: Global Expansion at a Crossroads (English version) | Ivey Publishing