Thoughts on Orkla and Singapore

Media has recently written about Orkla's success with Pierre Robert underwear in the Norwegian market.  Those of you that are interested in the Norwegian market knows that Orkla is looking to extend their house of brands. I find this pretty interesting. I just past the Orkla headquarter here in Singapore, saying that Orkla was established in 1659 or so? Regardless,  Orkla has sold their activities within chemicals and are looking to focus more on their branding. In so I find the asian market in consumer goods to be quite intriguing. It seems difficult to establish salience in this market, especially considering all the action going on. Here in Singapore there are a lot of actors and as we said passing all the electronics shops; "I've never been closer to P=MC". So how could one establish a successful brand? I do believe one should consider the five cultural dimensions by Hofstede when deciding on a concept, while also making sure that salience is achievable in the respective market. I have to admit, branding of consumer goods here in Singapore seems rather inconsistent and confusing. Should Orkla look to the asian markets or should they stick to their core activities back home in good old Scandinavia? What do you reckon?