A Family Focus

Raynonplus is a small, family-owned eyewear business located in Ottawa, Canada. Founded by Pierre Dupuis in 1952 under the name Visionplus, the company has been exclusively owned and operated by the Dupuis family for more than half a century. Currently, the businessa sole proprietorshipis owned and managed by Gerald Dupuis, grandson of the original entrepreneur. The Dupuis family changed the business name in 1957 to capitalize on a trend in polarized sunglasses that swept the neighbouring French-speaking province of Quebec.

Traditionally, Raynonplus sold a wide range of generic and brand name eyewear including prescription lenses, contact lenses, frames and sunglasses, but no proprietary goods. After Gerard took over the business in 2004, he and his fashion designer wife, Dominique, introduced their own brand of sunglasses under the trademarked name of Ray Porter. Initially, the brand was marketed as an alternative to lower-end or generic prescription sunglasses. The demand for these sunglasses, fueled by the bold and unconventional styles and materials used by Dominique in her original designs, soon elevated the Ray Porter brand into designer label market status. Customers from Quebec made up a large part of the target audience, accounting for 35 percent of sales.

Looking to France

One of Ray Porter's biggest customers is Quebec pop sensation Zo, an international superstar in the French-speaking world. In addition to wearing them in her everyday life, Zo incorporated custom designed Ray Porter sunglasses as part of the wardrobe for her European concert tour. The unsolicited celebrity endorsement sparked a frenzy of demand for the sunglasses in France.

Envisioning the Future

Having been a relatively small, family-owned business selling goods exclusively in Canada for half of a century, Gerald Dupuis now had to decide his best market strategy for his newfound international success. Taking a cautiously optimistic approach to their new opportunity, Gerald and Dominique decided to keep the manufacturing of Ray Porter's sunglasses in-house, initially by contracting local artists and art schools to meet demand.

Determining the optimum way to sustain the market momentum as well as to effectively and efficiently distribute the goods in France was the biggest dilemma for Raynonplus. Gerald was not convinced the success was more than a trend and wanted to preserve the business as a family operation for as long as possible. As such, he was reluctant to relinquish operational control or jeopardize the existing business success in Canada.

After careful research and consultation with specialized trade lawyers and experts in international marketing, Gerald narrowed his choices to either contracting with an international sales agent or finding a distributor in France. He chose a small, established upscale chain of family-operated accessory stores named Le Seul Choix (which translates to 'the only choice") as a distributor.

Ray Porter continues to sell well in France, accounting for 20 percent of all the overall sales for the Raynonplus proprietary brand.

Learning Outcomes

This case study relates to the following learning outcomes from the moduleRisk Analysis and

Managementin the courseFeasibility of International Tradeand the moduleLaw and Ethicsin

the courseInternational Market Entry Strategies:

- Identify the intellectual property (IP) assets and potential risks associated with IP infringement in order to ensure business viability within both the domestic and international target markets.

- Mitigate identified intellectual property (IP) risks associated with IP infringement in order to ensure business viability within both the domestic and international target markets.

- Describe the relevant legal environment related to international market entry and the factors that can restrict or support international trade ventures, including international, national and regional laws and regulations, international treaties, international business governing organizations, and domestic and international legal and court systems.

Case Study Questions:

1. What are some of the benefits that would have compelled Raynonplus to choose a distributorship agreement over an international sales agent agreement?

2. List another possible form of international business endeavor Raynonplus could have considered as a market strategy in France. Given the details of this particular business case, would this option have been right for Gerald?

3. (a) When negotiating the distribution agreement, as the parties determining applicable law for the distribution agreement, what are some of the options Raynonplus and Le Seul Choix could have chosen to govern the distribution agreement?

(b) Which one will be used to determine the outcome of disputed issues where governing law has not been specified?

4. With regards to IP, what measures will Gerald need to take to protect Ray Porter from losing financial compensation and creative control of its brand?