1. What are the advantages Blades could gain from importing from and/or exporting to a foreign country such as Thailand?
2. What are some of the disadvantages Blades could face as a result of foreign trade in the short run? In the long run?
3. Which theories of international business described in this chapter apply to Blades, Inc., in the short run? In the long run?
4. What long-range plans other than establishment of a subsidiary in Thailand are an option for Blades and may be more suitable for the company?

MINI CASE

Blades, Inc., is a U.S.-based company that has been incorporated in the United States for three years. Blades is a relatively small company, with total assets of only $200 million. The company produces a single type of product, roller blades. Due to the booming roller blade market in the United States at the time of the company’s establishment, Blades has been quite successful. For example, in its first year of operation, it reported a net income of $3.5 million. Recently, however, the demand for Blades’ “Speedos,” the company’s primary product in the United States, has been slowly tapering off, and Blades has not been performing well. Last year, it reported a return on assets of only 7 percent. In response to the company’s annual report for its most recent year of operations, Blades’ shareholders have been pressuring the company to improve its performance; its stock price has fallen from a high of $20 per share three years ago to $12 last year. Blades produces high-quality roller blades and employs a unique production process, but the prices it charges are among the top 5 percent in the industry.