02-05-2025
The US Is Turning Into an Emerging Market
For as long as any of us can remember, emerging-market companies have tried to learn from US companies. Diversified conglomerates have turned to the US to master the art of corporate focus. The heads of family companies have sent their children to Harvard Business School. Ambitious managers read the writings of Western business gurus such as Michael Porter and Gary Hamel.
Now US companies need to return the compliment. The US is rapidly shedding its Western skin and turning itself into an emerging market. And nobody knows better how to navigate the pitfalls — and exploit the opportunities — of such a market than companies that have been doing it all their lives: Think of Mexico's Grupo Bimbo SAB, founded in 1945, which endured national and international turmoil to emerge as one of the world's leading bakeries; India's Tata Group, founded in 1868, which has survived colonialism, national liberation and the neoliberal revolution; or Turkey's Koc Holdings AS, founded in 1926, which has thrived in one of the world's most turbulent corners.
