Manchester's industrial history laid crucial foundations, now it is regarded as a significant economic hub in the United Kingdom, with several thriving industries, including property development.
Over recent years, Manchester has also become home to several burgeoning businesses and start-ups, including eSports studios.
Here are a trio of success stories:
Missguided
Missguided is one of the country’s most popular online retailers. Since its launch, growth has been rapid.
Missguided offers both online shopping and brick-and-mortar shops, and the company has started offering its services in France and Germany.
That was a smart move on the company's part, as expanding into other markets is one of the best ways for companies to reduce their dependence on their home countries.
Missguided could have chosen to only focus on the UK, but companies that stay stagnant lose their competitive edge. Expanding into other markets is the best way to maintain it.
Interestingly, the global expansion of companies like Missguided is why we're seeing an increasing focus on language learning in business.
Why? Because knowing the language of the country, a business is moving into helps employees build better relationships with international consumers.
It's also a contributing factor to more job-seekers taking up a second language since it improves their chances of securing a position at a multinational corporation.
For example, according to a 2021 Preply language report, a large percentage (30%) of Kenyans are learning French due to the multitude of French companies that have been involved in the expansion of Kenya’s infrastructure.
Co-Op
It all started in Rochdale back in 1944 for Co-Op, which is now one of the United Kingdom's most recognised brands with 7,000 locations nationwide.
With more than 63,000 employees throughout the country, the Rochdale brand operates in food retail, legal services, funeral services, insurance, and pharmacies.
The company has significantly developed over the years, bringing in various cooperative organisations and retailers.
Its success as a food retailer enabled it to build on other services, including pharmacies and wholesale.
Similar to expanding into other countries, moving into different product markets and industries is another way for companies to improve their potential for growth and expansion.
JD Sports
JD Sports Fashion plc was launched back in 1981 by John Wardle and David Makin. The headquarters were founded in Bury, Greater Manchester, where they remain today.
Over the years, the company has expanded to various countries such as the US, Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. It’s also publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange.
JD Sports' success has sponsored many big sports teams and acquired other sporting brands such as Champion and Fly53.
Across all its locations, the company employs around 35,000. While admirable, this connection between entrepreneurship and sports is not new. Some of the biggest stars in the world have had huge successes in business.
Manchester is a vibrant, innovative, and exciting place to be and live, with many successful businesses to be proud of. It’s not hard to see why people want to invest in it, as supporting local economies is incredibly important.
Doing so can help encourage economic growth locally and propel businesses to the levels of success described above.
However, it’s not just up to local communities to promote these businesses. Companies looking to expand need to prepare themselves thoroughly, which includes learning the language of the market into which they are moving.
