INTERNATIONAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT  

Table of Contents

• Brief introduction
• Critical analysis and justification of academic models to be employed
• Analysis of macro-environmental risk factors for each country
• Analysis and comparison of opportunities and threats related to a successful marketing mix for each country
• Marketing mix
• Justification for choice of one country and recommended market entry strategy
• Conclusion
• References

Brief introduction

 

In this report, the business expansion of Waitrose in the potential countries of Africa and India will be discussed where few different factors will be considered. Waitrose is a British supermarket brand, founded by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor in 1904. It is a privately-held public limited company. From a small business selling grocery products, it has become a brand by expanding its business.  Now, Waitrose has 363 branches all over the United Kingdom as of February 21, 2021, and most of the branches are located in England. Other than England Waitrose has branches in Scotland, Wales, Channel Islands also. Waitrose has 345 stores in England, 7 stores in Scotland,6 stores in Wales and 5 stores in the Channel Islands. Waitrose is the eighth-largest grocery retailer in the United Kingdom. Waitrose also exports products to other 52 countries and has a location in the Middle East. The statistic shows that the company earned a total of 6.98 billion British pounds from the year 2009 to 2022.

 

This particular study will critically evaluate the various attributes that are to be taken into consideration by Waitrose for the purpose of expanding its business operations and marketing activities in the countries of Africa and India. The factors like environmental risks, problems/threats and opportunities in terms of developing a successful marketing mix for both countries and evaluating the appropriate methods of market entry will be dealt with in this context. Here, the application of the PESTLE model will be conducted along with carrying out a marketing mix analysis. Apart from this, the theory of the tortoise model of business expansion will be applied herein. Mainly the report considers the circumstances of business expansion in Africa and India. Lastly, a market entry strategy will be proposed and justification for the choice of one country where Waitrose will expand its business operations, in the long run, will be analysed.    

 

Critical analysis and justification of academic models to be employed

Tortoise theory for business expansion is an established theory, which helps to take a clear note of the expansion of the business in different phases. The expansion of the concerned business is based on the break-even phases, ensuring the long-term sustainability of the business. In this theory, the strengths and weaknesses of the business are also analysed properly. Tortoise theory can even be applied to the development of the different aspects of the maintenance as well as expansion of any type of business. The mentioned theory of the tortoise method in business expansion is discussed in the maintenance of a specific aspect of business expansion of the mentioned company named Waitrose, which is a supermarket chain.

This theory can be applied to the development of the supply chain management system, which is an important aspect in the expansion of any type of business. The expansion and maintenance of the system of supply chain management can be done in many ways. In this same context, the maintenance of the food supply chain can be mentioned with utter dexterity. Management of the food supply chain is established for getting food directly from the producers and providing it to the consumers in a safe and professional way. This type of management system is very fast in some regions of the world, although there are a few regions where it is supposed to be maintained in a sustainable and effective way, such as in India and Africa. Africa is one of those regions where it is needed to be maintained as this area has the least score for maintenance of the food supply chain and other aspects of the management system (Bui et al., 2021).

 

This initiative can be helpful for providing proper resources to the people of the mentioned area in a professional and dexterous way for providing proper food to the residents of the region of Africa, as well as the development of the process of expansion of the business of the mentioned company, namely Waitrose. This initiative can also be counted to be useful in the context of providing proper and fresh food to the residents of India. As India is recognised as a developed country in the whole world, it is able to maintain the supply chain management system through the digitalisation of the different aspects of the chain. This can be helpful for the mentioned region in maintaining sustainability in the supply chain and the mentioned company, Waitrose, can face no such problem in maintaining the system in a proper way (Agarwal and Narain, 2018). Apart from this, the food organisations are supposed to be developed in the context of maintaining sustainability as well as expanding their business for the development of the residents of the mentioned region and providing them with fresh food with nutritious values (Sharma et al., 2019).

Apart from the mentioned theory, there can be another type of model, which can be used in the context of international business management. This model is named as Venture Capital Relationship. In the context of maintaining this type of relationship in the process of expansion of a business in any other region of the world, there are a few aspects of the development of the mentioned theory. In this theory, the concerned business organisation is supposed to keep a few aspects of the venture capital relationship maintained in a proper and professional manner. The aspects are, the investors in the business of the concerned business organisation who are also the limited partners of the business, the venture capital firms which are attached to the concerned business organisation which is intended to expand their business, and lastly, the entrepreneurial business firms which are being invested into, in the whole process of maintaining the venture capital relationship. The concerned business organisation is also supposed to make a clear sketch of the engagement of the mentioned actors of the firms of the venture capital relationship, and also to create the partnership structures in the business. This theory of business expansion also helps in the context of managing the return and the risk factors of the business with the limited partners of the business of the concerned business organisation. It also engages the mentioned aspects of the venture capital relationship in the business in the context of raising funds to provide proper resources, especially monetary resources to sustain the growth of the business of the concerned organisation. More on this, different venture capitals have different strategies of operation within the course of a sustainable business of the concerned business organisation, which is willing to expand its business into other regions of the world (Brush et al., 2018). Moreover, this type of approach regarding the maintenance of venture capital relation among the different aspects of maintaining the sustainability of a certain business is helpful in the context of making a noticeable benchmark to identify the difference between the venture capital and the other investors in the business of the mentioned concerned business organisation (Block et al., 2019). In the case of the expansion of the business of Waitrose, the mentioned approach regarding the consideration of the venture capital relationship can be proven to be a profitable move for the betterment of the business and the successful expansion of business in India and Africa.

This mentioned type of approach from the side of the authorities of the business of Waitrose can be proven to be helpful for maintaining sustainability in the business. These mentioned approaches can also be counted to be helpful in the context of the expansion of the business to other countries of the world, especially in the mentioned region of India and Africa. These approaches can be helpful in the mentioned regions, as they are considered to be under development in the world. This type of joint venture can be helpful even for entering the new market of the newly developed region of the company, as well as establishing new trends in the global market of finance.

Analysis of macro-environmental risk factors for each country

 

Basis	India	Africa
Political	The Political stability of India has been significantly weak as per the index revealed from the global economy (2023) that the political stability of the region is -0.62. This signifies weak political stability considering the index that classifies a figure below 2.5 as weak political stability (Oputute et al., 2020). India is one of the largest democracies in the world that runs on a federal form of government. One of the key influencing factors on business operations in the region are the governmental policies that are influenced by the political interests and ideologies that are supported by various political groups. Furthermore, the tax system of the region is well developed that entails income taxes, GST and sales tax that are imposed byu the Union Government.	African political stability is significantly weak in most of its regions. Reports have revealed that during every significant election, there is political instability in the region and a prevalence of bureaucracy and corruption. Political instability in the region dampens the enthusiasm of business owners and potential stakeholders that wish to consider Africa as a viable investment region for the country.
Economic	Although the Government of India has suffered significant economic losses due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy of India has exhibited considerable resilience since as shown during the time of 1991. The economic environment of India entails the reductions of industrial licensing and the liberalisation of foreign capital along with the development of the Foreign Investment Developmental Portal (FIFP). These factors have significantly contributed towards the development of India's economic and environmental growth. The GDP rate of India has been 8.7% at an annual change rate in the financial year of 2021 and the Reserve Bank of India has projected the GDP of the country to be 6.4% for the financial years of 2023 and 2024.    The market insights reported that the use of retail technology has brought higher employment of young workers. This has made the employment level to be increased. It also brought the Indian economy to be highly accommodated to the conditions in terms of the financial gap for India.	The country of South Africa has its fair share of issues in terms of macro-environmental economic concerns such as the all-time low-performing rand, the currency of Africa. There is a presence of Bureaucracy in the region of Africa where the Reserve Bank opts to stay neutral in terms of influencing the currency except during the relation towards its interest. The country's economy is therefore weak in various ways which have a high probability of repelling foreign investments from potential investors and stakeholders, especially amidst the phenomenon of the diminishing value of Rand.   The diminishing rate for South Africa has brought a higher consideration with respect to the market economic depression.
Social	Millennials in the market are highly exposed to retail market demand. The discount supermarket stores grab emotional touch-points with the offers, coupons and the trade discounts for the suppliers. The social ecosystem also makes the utilisation of Gen Z and the millennials from the low-class to middle class be composed of the retail demand.	African senior middle class bring the undertaking of the retail market composed of the food resources.
Technological	Technology in the country of India has significantly influenced the development of its products and services due to new cost-cutting processes. In the country of India, internet-based technology of 3G and $G technology has facilitated several growth projects in the region. Furthermore one of the most robust and resilient IT sectors of the world exists in the country of India which further promotes constant development. Therefore, business concerns and potential investors are more interested in investment projects in their region for incorporation of the domestic technological infrastructures.	The technological factors in the country of Africa are significant as the technological advancement is thin the manufacturing and supply chain of the country. The government of the region is occupied with lowering the rates of employment and the corrupt politicians from the local campaigns along with the currency value devaluation. Technology as a factor of macroeconomic constraint is more likely to be flourishing in the region.
Legal	The legal infrastructure of India shows that the country has undergone significant legal changes that are also related to the natural environmental factors that may be crucial for the organisation of Waitrose for business expansion. These legal factors include the minimum wage increment and the disability discrimination regulations for the business organisations that operate in India.	There are significant labour laws existing in the region of Africa that are similar to that of the United Kingdom's labour laws. This is specifically similar in terms of export laws. The taxation system regulations such as Value Added Tax (VAT) exist in the region. Furthermore, the country of Africa also includes tax regulations that are required for the company of Waitrose in case of business operational expansion such as stamp duty, customs and excise duties, transfer duties, taxation on capital gains and skill development levy.
Environmental	In terms of environmental factors, the country has implemented stricter laws regarding the recycling waste policies for encouraging business concerns operating regions to adopt sustainable practices for business operations. This is further reinforced by the declining condition of Indian Air quality due to adverse impacts caused by rapid industrialisation and urbanisation (Johnson and Iyamu, 2019). The general population of the region are affected by health issues. As a result, the pressures from social groups and environmentalists have the potential to influence the government's policy development within the region regarding the natural environment.	The environmental factors of Africa significantly affect the potential business organisations that look forward to investing in the region as many investors perceive the country as a low-risk country. In the South African region significant additions have been witnessed such as the business operations of Corporate giants such as Uber and AirBnB which signifies that the region is open to foreign investments.

 

 

Analysis and comparison of opportunities and threats related to a successful marketing mix for each country

 

			India		Africa
Opportunities	Weight	Rating	Weighted score	Rating	Weighted score
Privatisation of resources for supply	0.1	3	0.3	2	0.2