8. Should Eli’s consider other methods of market entry such as joint ventures or establishing production facilities abroad? In mid-2004 the president of Eli’s Cheesecake Company, Mr Marc Schulman, was reviewing the policies that had guided the international expansion of the firm. In the 1990s the company had recognized the potential for increasing international sales provided by the Internet and the improvements in logistics. The company had moved quickly to exploit that potential.

Eli’s opened its first web site in 1995. This helped support the company’s policy, ‘follow your customer,’

by making it easier to continually provide up-to-date information to existing and potential customers, and to facilitate ordering and service processes. It resulted in accelerated growth, both domestically and internationally, and Eli’s now exports its products to over 20 countries. In 2003 the state of Illinois gave Eli’s its

‘Exporter of the Year Award.’ In 2004, annual sales passed US$35 million.