Both Sides of the debate.

Scenario:
As a senior financial analyst for Fresh Juices, Inc., the largest fresh fruit drink company in the United States, you are a key player in corporate finance for the business. You are consulted on major capital projects, prepare analysis for executive officers, present material at senior management meetings, and play the overall role of advisor to executive and senior officers.

Fresh Juices, Inc. has witnessed its sales grow from US$1 million in the first year of operations in 1970 to US$1.5 billion last year. The company started as a regional supplier of fresh fruit drinks in California and initially expanded in the West. However, over the last 15 years, the company has moved further east, north, and south. Today, the company's lines of products can be found on the shelves of any major grocery store in the U.S., and its market share of fresh fruit drinks is 80% in the United States.

The Drive to Expand Internationally
On a recent trip to Canada and Latin America, Hector Vasquez, the company's chief executive officer (CEO), noted the lack of fresh fruit drinks in the supermarkets. When he returned, he brought in all of his senior officers and said, "I want to be international in a year. We have a great product, and I think we can compete effectively in North and South America, Europe, and Asia. My recent travels confirmed my suspicion that fresh fruit drinks like ours do not exist outside the U.S.," he said. "Furthermore, with the U.S. market growing at 2% annually, we need to find other markets that have the potential to grow at a faster pace."

Mr. Vasquez asked your boss, Bonita Galloway, to head up the team to do the analysis on international opportunities and report back to him in the coming weeks. With that, he dismissed the meeting, and the senior officers left.

The Meeting
The U.S. business was so mature and was not growing rapidly, so Ms. Galloway thought international expansion might be just what the company needed. She was concerned that the company's profit margins would start to be squeezed in the company years if the firm did not find other sources of revenue growth. This would force the company to make drastic cost cuts and could potentially impact Fresh Juices' ability to compete.

Given your role in the organization, Ms. Galloway immediately thought of you as the finance lead on this project. She called you to her office to discuss what happened at the meeting with Mr. Vasquez.

After briefing you, she said, "I want you to be the primary contact on this. I will need you to work closely with the various departments that will be involved with this effort. Specifically, I need to lean on your analytical capabilities because we need to make objective decisions. I need you to give me the facts?not what you think I want to hear. This is important to the future of the company. I know I can count on you."
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There appears to be two schools of thought that have developed within the senior officer team with respect to Canada's currency. One school believes that the currency will decline against the U.S. dollar because as one executive put it, "The U.S. economy has a history of outperforming the Canadian economy." The other thought is that the Canadian dollar will be strong relative to the U.S. because "Canada's economy is poised to perform better in the future," as articulated by one senior officer.

Bonita wants to get your thoughts on both sides of the debate, so she asks you to send her an e-mail. Compose an e-mail to Bonita outlining your views.