Nine markets, four languages, one overstretched leadership team. Expansion had been the strategy for a decade, and it had worked — until the markets that made money began subsidising the markets that made news. The question nobody wanted to own was which ones to leave.

Making the subsidies visible

We allocated central costs the way an acquirer would, market by market. Three markets consumed disproportionate management attention, capital, and logistics complexity while returning less than the group’s cost of capital. Growth had a source, and it was being starved to fund its imitations.

Leaving well

Exits are executed decisions, not announcements. Over fourteen months the company withdrew from three markets, honouring every customer commitment, and redeployed the capital into its two strongest product lines. The share register noticed before the press did.