One of the early entrants providing ride-hailing, food delivery, and transportation, Uber decided to leave the fragmented Southeast Asia (SEA) market. Likewise, after operating for 15 years in Singapore, Carrefour has decided to exit Singapore as one of the main reasons is its inability to differentiate from its competitors and retain customers.

Undoubtedly, Market Entry is a complicated activity involving many strategic business decisions that even multinational corporations can fail. It consists of developing and re-evaluating the product and its positioning in the market. In addition, the company will also need to consider various factors such as barriers to entry, the cost of marketing, sales and delivery, and the estimated demands to enter the new market.

The company's challenges are even more significant when entering a foreign market that bears little resemblance to its home country. Southeast Asia is one such region that companies have difficulty establishing a foothold.

According to the Asian Development Bank data, Southeast Asia grew at a robust 4.8% in 2019 and has been touted as one of the fastest developing regions globally, attracting companies with its increasingly educated and affluent workforce. However, in recent years, attempts to wholesale-replicate business models that succeeded abroad in Southeast Asia have been met with resistance from its residents and the local authorities for various reasons.