Chocolate was imported in Europe in 1494 by Christophe Colomb. It was considered a medicine and then as a sweet. However, this product was used since long time by the Aztec and Mayans to fight against tiredness. In fact, chocolate has been used since V century BC.
Thus, this product has become common in households for health and pleasure reasons. In 2002, 0.97 kilograms of chocolate was consumed per person in the world. As a consequence, it is evident that the chocolate market is a large one where competition is tough.
For this reason, we will analyze the introduction of Lindt in a foreign country, Finland. In the first part, we will describe and analyze the company, its range, and its strengths and weaknesses. Then, in the second part, we will conduct a macro-environmental analysis to determine the most appropriate country where it is exported. And, in the third part, we will undertake a micro-environmental analysis of the Finnish market to determine the competition, opportunities and threats. Finally, in the fourth part, we will determine our strategy to tap the Finland market and the appropriate marketing mix.
[...] Threats of new entrants It is felt that the threat of new entrants is not high because all big chocolate providers are present in the Finnish market. Thus, just small companies could come into the market and is not a present threat. Threats of substitute products There are many threats of substitute products. Thus, the chocolate industry is a large industry where innovation is the most important factor. In consequence, every year, sweet providers launch new products that are directly in competition with traditional chocolates. [...]
[...] Billboard Campaign We will put a billboard campaign in place in the five most important cities of Finland to show our product and communicate on the high quality. This campaign will represent 100 billboards per city, and a total of 500 billboards in the country. Television campaign This campaign promotes the product and is of high quality as the billboard campaign. There will be a spot of 10 seconds in the most important channels. As we want to tap active people, we will put our spot between 12:00 a.m and 2:00 p.m and between 6:00 p.m and 10.00 p.m. [...]
[...] Thus, with more than 5,300 thousand habitants in 2009, the Finland market represents more than 35 million kilograms of chocolate per year. Moreover, the company has a distribution channel in Sweden and thus, it could begin to tap Finland. Objectives Our objective is to tap the Finland market in two steps. The first step will be to introduce one product to test the market. The second step will be to introduce the entire product range. In order to test our success, we will analyze our sales and we will do a study every year to analyze the Finnish knowledge about our brand. [...]
[...] This product seems to be the most adapted to tap the Finnish market for various reasons. The first reason is that a foreign product has received a good recognition by the Finnish. Thus, Paris is seen as the fashion capital in the world. In consequence, this product guarantees a high quality and an exotic feel to it. Thus, our positioning is directly demonstrated with the product name: the premium market. The second reason is that it is a large sampling of the Lindt chocolates. [...]
[...] Lindt has become a leading company in the premium chocolate market in the world. The company began to export its products in 1947 to Italy, in 1950 to Germany, and in 1954 to France. At present, the company exports to more than 100 countries. In 2008, the company has generated revenue of M€2,000 for a net income of M€180. The company has 8 manufacturing centers in the world: 6 in Europe and 2 in the United States. The company realized 71% of its revenues in Europe in America, and in other parts. [...]
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