Abstract
The international school market has grown almost exponentially over the past decade. To the point where in some metropolitan areas it has been observed in the press, that schools are not reaching a sustainable level of profitability. This has led to schools being sold off to international management companies, school chains having to rationalise operations through consolidation, wholesale changes in marketing strategy, to outright closure. The flow of red ink across balance sheets should be a harbinger, that there are severe financial risks in the international school market. In previous research of one metropolitan market, where more than fifty percent of the international schools were actually losing money, in the market analysis, it was found that the Rule of Three (Henderson, 1976, and extended by Sheth, Uslay, & Sisodia, 2020) was accurate in identifying segments of the market as well as anticipating the the losing position of schools languishing behind the top three earners within their strategic group. The author presents here the results a similar market analysis on a larger metropolitan area, with a larger population of international schools. The resulting collection of data illustrates the potential applicability of the Rule of Three in analysis of this industry. This research has value to existing schools’ management teams, as well as potential investors, in determining position, financial and competitive risk. Which with such forewarning and market knowledge, management teams and investors will be able to focus on strategic change, in search of sustained profitability.
Author Information
Kenneth Tuttle Wilhelm, Riviera University, France
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