Why there's no longer such a thing as an 'Asia strategy'

For decades, global companies have approached expansion with a familiar playbook: identify the world's fastest-growing markets, assess population size and GDP, find a local partner, and scale. 

According to Merrill Pereyra, CEO of Domino's Australia and New Zealand, that playbook no longer works. 

Drawing on more than three decades spent expanding and transforming global brands, Pereyra argued at MARKETING-INTERACTIVE's inaugural EXPAND to Asia conference that businesses need to abandon the idea of an "Asia-strategy" altogether. 

"The real strategy has to be how you go about building a portfolio of marketplaces," he said. 

Rather than viewing Asia as a single growth opportunity, businesses need to understand that every market comes with its own consumer behaviours, regulatory landscape, operating model and competitive dynamics. Success, he argued, depends less on entering Asia and more on understanding the realities of each market before making the leap. 

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Looking beyond the numbers 

Pereyra believes businesses often become fixated on the size of an opportunity before understanding what it actually takes to succeed there. Headline figures such as population size and GDP may capture attention in the boardroom, but they reveal little about the operational realities waiting on the ground. 

India, he argued, is perhaps the clearest example. Frequently viewed as the ultimate growth market because of its population, the country also demands extraordinary patience from brands hoping to succeed. 

Reflecting on his time working with McDonald’s as it looked to expand into the market, Pereyra recalled how early projections envisioned thousands of restaurants within a relatively short period. Decades later, reality has proven the ambition to be far more complex. 

"I've always said this to everyone: patience is important. India must be a long term plan. There's no way you can enter India in and out and make a ton of money," he said. 

The challenge, he explained, lies in treating India as a single market. Different states bring different languages, eating habits and consumer behaviours, meaning strategies often need to be adapted market by market rather than rolled out nationally. 

The implications extend well beyond marketing. Affordability becomes a competitive advantage, pricing strategies need to reflect local purchasing power and distribution networks must accommodate vastly different operating environments across the country. 

Meanwhile, Indonesia, where Pereyra spent over three years in, presents a different challenge altogether. While many businesses see a market of almost 300 million consumers, Pereyra argued that successful companies recognise those consumers are spread across more than 17,000 islands. 

His point was simple- market size alone doesn't determine opportunity. Understanding how a market actually functions is what separates successful expansion from expensive missteps. 

Localisation runs deeper than the product 

If choosing the right market is the first challenge, building a business that genuinely belongs there is the second. 

Throughout the discussion, Pereyra argued that localisation is often misunderstood. It's not simply about adapting products or translating marketing campaigns. Instead, it requires businesses to rethink everything from pricing and operations to leadership, partnerships and decision-making. 

As he puts it:

Protect the brand focus, and then adapt the expression.

That same philosophy extends to leadership. Rather than relying indefinitely on expatriate executives, Pereyra argued that businesses should invest in local leadership teams capable of making decisions rooted in cultural understanding and market expertise. 

As local brands continue to mature across Asia, international companies can no longer rely on global recognition alone.  

Pereyra also pointed to Luckin Coffee's rise in China and Jollibee's dominance in the Philippines as examples of homegrown Asian brands building stronger cultural relevance and deeper consumer connections within their own markets. 

Localisation, however, extends beyond consumers. It also shapes who businesses choose to work with. Whether entering through a joint venture or master franchise, Pereyra stressed the importance of choosing the right local partners, conducting rigorous due diligence and understanding the regulatory environment before committing to a market. 

Taken together, Pereyra's examples from India, Indonesia, China and the Philippines all pointed back to the same conclusion. Businesses looking to expand beyond China can no longer rely on a single regional playbook or expect one strategy to translate across multiple markets. Instead, each country demands its own pace, partnerships and understanding of local consumers. 

For companies planning their next phase of Asian expansion, Pereyra's message was clear:  Stop searching for an Asia strategy. Build a portfolio of market-specific ones instead. 

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