Taking Business Abroad - Essay Example

, between 2012 and 2013, seen basically flat sales (221M in 2013 and 222M in 2014), which is a problem for achieving growth for this High Street firm. The company was, however, able to raise its net income from £3.1 million to £5.3 million between 2013 and 2014 as a result of reduced selling, general and administrative costs in its operational model (Bloomberg). In 2011 and 2012, the company reported no profitability. Thornton’s, as a High Street company, provides gourmet chocolate products under a premium pricing structure to cater to the higher resource consumer in the United Kingdom.

It is positioned in its market against quality, attempting to build a premium brand identity to gain interest from its more affluent target customer segments. The firm’s recent advertising strategies included The Art of the Chocolatier and Chocolate Heaven since 1911 as a means of using traditionalism and quality/sophistication to gain interest in markets that lean toward premium products. Fortunately, Thornton’s does not operate in a highly saturated competitive environment, competing against such brands as Cadbury which are not targeted at the high resource consumer.

After 103 years of operations, Thornton’s has managed to create a brand that stands out among lower cost, less quality chocolate products and has a reputation for superiority with many UK consumers. Thornton’s, with flat sales volumes, requires a strategy to achieve growth in a market where consumption levels are not growing sufficiently. In the UK, Thornton’s is in its maturity stage which makes it difficult to achieve revenue growth without altering its existing business model and seeking new markets.

This report identifies opportunities for Thornton’s PLC to enter the Chinese market as a means of enhancing sales growth and improving the financial position of the firm. The company’s most significant competitor is Cadbury, a company that produces chocolate products targeted at mass markets, but