Jean Yip International Marketing - Essay Example

International Marketing al Affiliation) Jean Yip is a full-serviced beauty salon dedicated to continuously providing high customer satisfaction by offering magnificent beauty therapy services and quality beauty products at an acceptable price. The company also strives to maintain a friendly, fair and innovative work environment which respects diversity, ideas and hard work. The mission of the company is to help people of the world develop a stronger sense of self-image and confidence by offering effective and quality services. Jean Yip’s motto is to offer effective and quality services by employing the latest state-of-the-art technology and superior products to exceed customers’ satisfaction with the value for money price at convenient locations (Jolivot, 2008). The keys to success in the business are location, convenience and reputation. Location provides an easily accessible platform for customers through close relationship between the customers and employees, business partners and the society at large. Convenience is another factor that the company offers the customers. There is a wide range of services and products in one setting and prolonged business hours. Jean Yip Company has a good reputation of service delivery as well as good work experience. The company’s employees also have a high reputation of providing superior personal series and products (Jolivot, 2008). Company Summary Jean Yip group started as a Jean Yip Salon Limited in the year 1982, and Ms. Jean Yip was its founder. Through her exemplary leadership, the company has outspread from a single outlet in Katong Plaza to more than 60 hairdressing, beauty and slimming outlets today. The outlets in key locations all over Singapore. The company has also expanded regionally in cities of Malaysia, Indonesia and China. The group has a brilliant team of more of more than 800 creative hairstylists and professional beauty therapists making it the leading hair and beauty group in Singapore. The company has eight brands under its umbrella Jean Yip Hairdressing, Jean Yip Beauty, Jean YIP Hub, Herb De Orient, Jean Yip Loft and Jean Yip Academy- the School of Hair and Beauty, Slimatrix, Oriental Hair Solutions. Services Jean Yip being the leading hair salon company, provides a comprehensive range of services that aim at attaining a higher level of customer satisfaction (Corinne, 2007). Its variety of services include hairdressing, face treatment, body treatment and nail care. Jean Yip provides a wide range of hairdressing services with a little bit over 400 gifted and professional artistic hairstylists who can provide; super shine hair treatment services, super silk hair treatment services and amber duo color services. The company also provides face treatment services. Jean Yip has qualified employees who can perform skin lightening, black spot removal, pimple control among many others. The employees of this company are well equipped to perform R6 skin revolution facial treatment. In terms of boy treatment, Jean Yip can conduct a series of treatments that include; Slimming, permanent hair removal and stretch mark removal services. Nail care is another service that Jean Yip offers. The company produces brands that are top notch service such as manicured and pedicured nails are some. Jean Yip specialize in polishing and sculpturing nails too. Jean Yip Company ventured in Sweden because the country has a reduced corporate tax rate as compared to other European countries. SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis is an exercise undertaken by an organization to aid in the identification of the strengths and weaknesses it possesses, aside from the opportunities and threats it faces from outside the organization. Strengths Jean Yip being in existence for the last 27 years has an added advantage, venturing into a new environment because of the experience gained over the years. The group has spread its operations even to countries with strong cultural background as well as those with varied culture, therefore, entering the Sweden market will not be a hard nut to crack. The group has an adequate number of well-trained staff that have been provided by the Jean Yip Academy as well as a manufacturing plant which provides Vertical Integration. These two factors ensure continuous quality and reduced operation costs in the long run. Weakness Being a totally new market, the company is unknown to the locals. Poor market understanding and consumer behavior may create another challenge because it will lead to reduced promotion and an ineffective sales force. Opportunity Existence of market gaps in the form of opportunities is a useful substructure for achieving growth. Jean Yip Group has the required resources, and it may find it easy to penetrate the market. In Sweden, the corporate tax rate is low as compared to other European Countries; this will in return help the group has a higher profit margin. Threat In Sweden, the company faces stiff competition from other well-established brands that offer the same commodities and services as them; some of the companies have been in the industry for a very long time. It is not easy for them to capture the market share given the nature of competition by the giant companies. The Swedish Government does not offer direct incentives to business start-ups this will result to costs incurred in establishing a business in Sweden. STEEP analysis Social The norms and values of the Swedish people such as punctuality and appreciating any gesture of generosity will be an added advantage to the group because these values will help their workers to be highly productive. In Sweden, competition is discouraged too and with these social values followed strictly and will prompt the Jean Yin group to conquer the market easily. Sweden is highly developed and has a higher Gross Domestic Product than any other nation which means the citizens spends more on purchasing. Technological According to the Global Information Technology report of 2009-2010, Sweden was ranked first by the World Economic Forum in terms of business information technology. It shows how much Information and Communication technologies have played a major role in making Sweden an environmentally and economically sustainable nation. Technology will, therefore, play a crucial role in the production and marketing of the products that are produced by Jean Yip. Economical In Sweden, the government offers credit to foreign investors in a fair manner. These investors also have the added advantage because they have been granted the permission to access various credit tools because their banks focus on increasing global cooperation. The company is highly likely to survive the harsh economical and make sure that its brand are the best in the market. The friendly economical conditions in Sweden will not scare jean Yip away, this will create more time for innovations and investment. Environment Sweden is a country that has environmental laws that protect the environment from pollution and harm. Companies are advised to carry out corporate social Responsibility. There is also a voluntary program encouraging private companies to help in dealing with major social and environmental problems. Political Sweden is a politically safe and stable country. The level of corruption is very low; this is because there are very strict laws on corruption that are fully enacted. The business environment is favorable to the company. With zero violence due to political stability, Jean Yip stands a great chance of doing conducting its business in Sweden. Sweden is predominantly a low context culture. The Swedes do not generally form many interpersonal relationships. The social structure of the country is decentralized, such that responsibility is spread across many units. The people do not generally form long lasting relationships. Therefore, Jean Yip will have to offer the best services in the market for it to retain customers and enjoy customer loyalty. Sweden being a low context culture, Jean Yip will have to follow due procedure in its business activities. Porter’s Five Forces. In order for Jean Yin Group to operate efficiently in Sweden, they can easily identify their competitive advantage through using the Porter’s five forces model. The relationship between Jean Yin Company and the industry it operates is explained below. The threat of new entrants in the market For a new company in a new market, there are several requirements required before being fully established. The company needs to hugely invest their resources, product position themselves by building a strong brand name and creating reliable distribution channels (Jolivot, 2008). The group needs to focus on distinguishing their services by offering high quality services in order to fit perfectly satisfy the demand of consumers in the Swedish market. Bargaining power of the supplier In the cosmetic, hair and beauty industry, the suppliers have been increasing due to the fact that service providers have been increasing number. In this industry, the suppliers have little influence on the regulation of prices and therefore have little bargaining power (Corinne, 2007). Bargaining power of buyer The target market of Jean Yip is the upper middle class who are not price-sensitive because they expect quality services in return. In this setting, the buyers have less bargaining power. Buyers might have bargaining power if other rivals intensify the competition by producing similar products and services. Threat of substitute products and services As competition intensifies and buyers get sensitive of the price, the threat of diversifying and offering more services increases in major markets. Consumers’ tastes and preferences might change over time. In order to counter this move, Jean Yip Company will have to train its employees to keep their focus on services that create a stronger, long-lasting brand image among other competitors brand. Competition among the existing rivals This industry is inundated with various companies, others operating locally and others internationally. This means high competition for this lucrative market. Market objectives The entire Singaporean population is less than 5 million people; the global standards consider Singapore’s domestic market as being limited. The global market offers a good platform for the locally produced goods; this is due to the fact that the products will achieve limited market locally as compared to the global market. Building a strong brand foundation for internationalization is a major concept, which is used by Jean Yip to replicate and quickly introduce its brands to another market. The market will then tap the efforts of the same company that produce similar products in the same operating market environment. When a brand is understood by its own unique competency, it has high chances of creating and replicating a sustainable business model (Cateora, 2003). Jean Yip understands that their own unique competency plays a major role in the discovery of the competitive strength of their brands. Customers are drawn by the brand that stands out from the rest of the brands; the key to success is identifying and exploiting the unique advantage (Terpstra, 2008). Understanding the market is the most important step towards internationalization; it determines and proves the market demand for the company’s product globally. There is a reason of coming up with an out and out market entry strategy if there is no available market for your products or services in the global market. The company should carry out a market research, test marketing as well as test opening. Adapting your brand positioning with the intention of catering for the different markets is quite essential. Global markets have different operating environments and the purchasing behaviors of their consumers also varies (Sandhusen, 2000). The demand of Jean Yip’s products in Sweden is high owing to the high living standards in the country, but this is not the case in Singapore where consumers prefer homegrown cosmetics to the mass market of Jean Yip. Due to the high importation duties that are imposed on Jean Yip, the selling points of same product in Sweden will not be affordable to the consumers. In the new international market, Jean Yip is positioned as a beauty product but with a mid price brand. The original location of Jean Yip is Singapore. Apart from Sweden, the company is now eyeing the global market. Jean Yip has introduced a facial cream that competes with other giants in the global market. The combination of tradition and innovation that the company has makes it stand out as a major producer of facial creams. 2013 was a very remarkable for Jean Yip Company, with over 67 outlets that strongly focused on numerous hair beauties, wellness, spa and the new introduction of products. The company is looking forward to expanding and meeting the demands of their customers, both old and young. 2014 is another interesting year for Jean Yip as they are looking forward to welcome their latest series of hairdressing advertising give a picture of magazine covers and thrilling campaigns. The main focus of these campaigns is the trending hairstyles, latest hair fashion and seasonal hair colors ((Mayrhofer, 2004).). Target markets The segment of the market that Jean Yip targets is psychographic. The nature of the services that the business offers appeals to a section of the population that subscribe to beauty products and therapy services. The company is hoping to meet the high demands of the beauty and personal care industry through campaigns. According to a report from Television channel News Asia, the recent market of Jean Yip in Singapore has risen growth is estimated to US$1.46 Billion from 2012 to 2013, the percentage increase is estimated to be about 5.8 percent. The company intends to exceed the standards through campaign and help their customers to achieve their ideal hairstyle. Market positioning Jean Yip group has received the Superbrand Award for the second year in a row for homegrown hair and beauty brand. The award is the 5th Superbrand Award for the company, jean Yip first won the Award in 2002. According to a research that was carried out by The Nielsen Company, it showed that close to 83 percent of the consumers are aware of the brand in Singapore. Another 80 percent of the consumers stated that they are more are most likely to purchase the products and services that are associated with the Superbrand logo (Mayrhofer, 2004). Marketing mix The main purpose of marketing mix is product mix; this is aimed at satisfying the needs and wants of the consumers (Albaum, 2009). Jean Yip mixes a number of beauty care products, giving their customers a variety of products under the same umbrella. Facial care, nail care, hairdressing are some of the services that the company have mixed so as to come up with a whole skin care brand. In order for a company to meet the international market standards, there a lot of effort and professionalism ought to be put in place. A company must be registered and must ensure that its existence is in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the market. The company should be ready for the competitive nature of the industry. Innovation and tradition is a key factor that a company ought to have. Leadership, teamwork and commitment are the core of the company (Mayrhofer, 2004). Prices in Sweden are relatively high, considering the fact that the economy is one of the strongest in the world. However, the business will need to set its prices competitively and in relation to the prevailing prices in the market if it is to attract customers to its premises. In order for Jean Yip to set competitive prices, a study of the market is necessary, so that consumers do not develop the feeling that the prices at Jean Yip are too high. Jean Yip will also need to find a suitable place to set up. The location of the business is key to its performance. The place should be proximal to the target population and should be strategically located for easy access by customers and potential customers. With a strategic location away from direct competition, the business will benefit from the traffic of people. Promotion is an essential part of marketing. In entering the Swedish market, Jean Yip will need to market vigorously so that it attracts customers. Further, the business will need to inform and convince potential customers that their services are better than those of other competing businesses. The products and services that Jean Yip will bring to the Swedish market should be of high value to appeal to the public. The Swedes are by nature people who prefer quality and value for money. Therefore, it is imperative that Jean Yip offers the best quality products and services if it is to survive in the industry and conduct business for a long time in this economy. Action Plan The action plan of a company is a list of activities that the company uses to choose a business based on its skills and interests. It covers the commodities produced by the company, how to sell the product, advertisement, delivery, laws, profit and other factors are outlined in the action plan. An action plan is a very significant document in an organization since it covers the business plan, registration and licensing and as well as other vital actions that the company may undertake in the future. A business plan is the actual stage of planning on how to star up a new business. It is of great significance, because failure to have one may cause the collapse of the company. Jean Yip has a good business plan; it caters for the particulars of the company as well as other important information of the company. Responsibilities The corporate mission of the company inspires Jean Yip to be committed and respond to society. Giving back to the community is one of the top priorities of the company. Jean Yip is committed to making the world a beautiful place for all human kind. The company has several initiatives that they use to impact the lives of people. Such initiatives include the Children Cancer Foundation, the Needy Group and The Breast Cancer Awareness Foundation. Jean Yip is also responsible for both their clients and employees in the development of their products. If there is any kind of accident or harm that is caused by their products, the company takes full responsibility. The company is responsible for creating a healthy and conducive environment for their employees and customers. Jean Yip is also left with the responsibility of creating a competitive nature of environment to the international market. Time Frame The Jean Yip group conduct their business according to the international time frame. The employees work extra hard to make sure that their products are ready within a given period of time that is stipulated. Conclusion The nature of the services provided by Jean Yip produce give the business an advantage, considering the increase of demand for beauty products and therapy services all over the world. The success of Jean Yip will depend on the marketing strategy that the organization adopts to market its products and services. However, the business will need to supply in response to the needs of the market, this market being psychographic. Regular studies of the market would help the company to keep in contact with the changes in consumer preferences and deliver accordingly. The business will also have to provide quality products and services consistently for it to retain customers. References Albaum, G. S. (2009). International marketing and export management. Wokingham, England: Addison-Wesley. Cateora, P. R. (2003). International marketing (9th ed.). Homewood, Ill.: R.D. Irwin. Jolivot, A. (2008). Marketing international. Paris: Dunod. Mayrhofer, U. (2004). Marketing internationally. Paris: Economica. Sandhusen, R. (2000). Marketing (6th ed.). Hauppauge, N.Y.: Barrons. Terpstra, V. (2008). International dimensions of marketing (6th ed.). Boston, Mass.: PWS-Kent Pub. Co.. Read More