INTERNATIONAL MARKETING

I. MARKETING STRATEGY OVERVIEW

A. Marketing Strategy Statement

The intention of this marketing plan is to expand Whole Foods, Inc. into Kuwait. Whole Foods Inc. is a retailer of organic foods that operates in the US, Canada and the UK (Reuters n.p.). This company now needs to expand to Kuwait. The company now needs to expand to Kuwait.  This will require the company to create several stores in the country along with a supply chain.

B. Objectives

To expand to Kuwait, a variety of objectives will be met. First, the company will seek to create a group of five retail in the country. These will be placed in three of the largest cities in the country. This will require to be done over a period of two and a half years where a new store is opened every six months. The company also wants to make profits of at least 5 million dollars in the first year. The company will mainly outsource most of its products. It will, however, produce a small amount of its products by creating one manufacturing company each year. These manufacturing companies will also produce and sell products at wholesale to other retailers. The company will seek to obtain a customer share of a minimum of 25 % within a period of five years.

The company will also seek to expand its stores each year. After the first three years, the company will seek to increase its profits by 40 % each year.

II. STRATEGIC MARKETING COMPONENTS

A. Branding

The company is advantaged by the fact that it will be the sole producer of organic products in the US. The company will identify ways to promote its products, especially through advertising. The company will also improve its customer service so that the company becomes the preferred company. This will improve the company’s brand equity.

C. The Target Market

• The company will target nuclear families in the Kuwait. The company will target these families, especially with high quality of food products. The company will take advantage of parent’s need to provide them with well balanced and high quality foods (Whole Foods Market n.p.). The company will also take advantage of its ability to provide high quality products at low costs.
• The company will also target older adults since they are more health conscious than youths. The company will also target schools in Kuwait. Schools are obliged to provide children with high quality and healthy foods.
• The potential of each of these markets is enormous. With proper strategy, the markets are sufficient to meet the company’s goals sooner than expected.

D. Sustainable Competitive Advantage (SCA)

The company produces organic products. The manufacturing process is usually done free of toxins. Most other companies produce similar products either by removing the bulk of nutritional content and adding chemicals that have a potential of being toxins (Gliessman 704). The manufacturing process of the company also ensures that the company does not release excess by-products in the environment. This is especially so because a majority of the products is produced by adding the minimum amount of chemicals.

III. MARKETING TACTICS

A. Product Issues

The company uses papers that are biodegradable for packaging. This wins the company the market share is interested in making purchases only from those companies that use sustainable activities of productivity. The company will rely on the headquarters for its research needs. Products will however be manufactured both within the country and in branches outside the country.

B. Distribution

The company will use a number of trucks to deliver its products to deliver products both to its stores and to schools and retailers where it will be marketing its products. Most of the company’s products will however be sold in the company’s five stores.

C. Pricing

The company will seek to become the price leader in the industry. This will be possible as the company will possess the best technology, hence, enabling it to produce its goods at a lower price. When the company adjusts its prices, other competitors will do likewise.

D. Advertising & Promotions

– Advertising

The company will advertise massively by placing advertisements on the radio, television and print media. These advertisements will mainly concentrate on the company’s abilities to produce organic products.

– Sales promotions

The company will place promotions peak  periods of sales. For Kuwait, these periods include those periods when there are Islamic and national holidays.

– Publicity

The company will attempt to increase people’s awareness of the need to engage in healthy habits, especially, regarding the use of organic and whole foods.

E. Electronic Commerce

The company will engage in various activities online to promote itself. First, the company will create a website that is devoted to Kuwait. This website will provide information about the company on the internet. Moreover, the company will create a second website to market the company’s products online. This website will also sales services through a subsidiary of the company which will deliver products to the company’s online customers (Cherington 223). This website will also seek consumer information through a login form. It will then use this information to understand consumer behavior and to provide these customers with information regarding  the company’s new products, promotions and offers.

Finally, the company will use the internet to share information between subsidiary parts of the company. Inventory information will be sent between them with ease by creating an online database. A database will also provide information between the company and its suppliers to allow various institutions to know when to supply the company.

F. Service Elements

The company has generated products that are superior in the market by ensuring that all its products are organically produced.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

A. Resources Required

To implement the strategy, the company will require an executive team of fifteen members and a minimum general workforce of about 100 people. The company will also require  getting a few trainers from the US firm. These trainers will recruit and offer training to new employees at the company. The company will also require funding from the company.

Time Line

First month – Obtain stock and warehouse

Second month – obtain personnel and rental space within Kuwait

Third month – stock the stores

Fourth month – Open up for business in five stores

End of first year – Open the new manufacturing company

V. EPILOGUE

Kuwait was unknown to me before this work. Upon doing this research work, I also learned a variety of things about the company. The very sustainable behavior about the company is one thing that I learned.  I also learned a lot about the company’s capacity. The company may not be able to open up operations in Kuwait. Opening up with the retail section is the best chance. As the retail section stabilizes with time, the company will become more capable of opening its manufacturing arm of the company.

References

Cherington, Paul T. ‘Marketing Marketing’. Journal of Marketing 1.3 (1937): 223. Web.

Gliessman, Steve. ‘Production Vs. Sustainability?’. Journal of Sustainable Agriculture 34.7 (2010): 703-704. Web.

Reuters,. ‘Whole Foods Market Inc (WFM.O) Company Profile | Reuters.Com’. N.p., 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.

Whole Foods Market,. ‘Company Info’. N.p., 2014. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.