Introduction
Market expansion is a common phenomenon in the business environment especially with multinational organizations. The increased competition and the desire to expand into external markets have made many businesses in the work place to go global. Consequently globalization has become a tradition that is admired by every business entity. The pressure to record high profit margins, reduce operational costs, and maintain competitive strategy has plunged most organizations in to a flurry of activities. With changing customer preferences and needs it is significantly improving a reality in the field of research and development that new product versions and designs hit the market almost on a daily basis.
In this situation we see Anthropologie a large scale retailer with a bid to venture into Thailand’s retail industry specializing in fashion designs and clothing attires. The business must have made careful considerations before reaching this decision. The ability of a company to undertake market expansion decisions reflects what kind of visions it has for the future. Thailand is a growing economy with the increasing tourism activities, and represents the pattern in the current economic trend and therefore requires aggressive retail investment that is likely to take into account the growing demand.
Successful implementation of this idea is likely to lead to Anthropologies’ international market positioning and established customer satisfaction in global brands. However a number of issues should be thoroughly understood before the actual business commences. This is to help determine the probability and possibility of any unexpected events whose occurrences are likely to cause potential damage to the entire development phases of this idea. These issues relate to the extent of data analysis and the feasibility studies.
Overview of Data
Market expansion is a large investment that requires heavy financial outlay in addition to time, personnel and careful planning. This means more spending and organizations should carry out a cost benefit analysis to determine the economic viability of such projects. In this scenario we are going to perform a critical evaluation to the type of information provided to us by the respondents in order to ascertain the validity and authenticity of this interview. We have three different types of respondents i.e. the Thailand customers, Thailand professionals working in the central stores and the response from the management of Anthropologies.
Thailand customers
As a business it is important to obtain information from customer that should become your target. This information concerns their preferences, their economic status and their religious and cultural diversities. From the different customers interviewed it may be easy for one to deduce that Thailand clients like shopping at malls and marts. This will act as a guide in informing Anthropologie that they should reserve more capital to build marts and malls since they are the preferred shopping centers.
Most Thai customers do not restrict themselves to their country’s home made products but are ready to buy from anywhere as long as the products are appealing and attractive. In the modern world most markets have been liberalized and the traditional rigid procedures are now history. Consequently local markets have become flooded with foreign products. This signifies that most customers have been exposed to the outside world and part of their tastes is constituted by foreign goods. This is likely to provide a strategic advantage to Anthropologie. Again one can reasonably believe that the Thailand economy is not doing bad, this is evidenced by the fact that out of the three customers interviewed the least amount that they can spend is 1000 Baht. This means that if this idea is implemented then the stock turn over will be very high.
In an economy where people have free flowing money retail industry will grow with the surcharges in seasonal demand occasioned by the customers growing desire to buy more and more goods. Anthropologie should take advantage of this situation. At least one out of three customers knows the existence of Anthropologie. This is already an added advantage to the company.
Those who work at the Central Department store
Most managers believe that expansion into Thailand market is actually a good idea. Since the company is unique in its presentation and structure it will definitely attract large fanatics that with time may grow into solid customer base. This is the feeling of Yuwadee Chirathivat who is the president of central department store. The same feeling is shared by Natira Boonsri the manager in charge of special projects of central department store though slightly different, he says that already Anthropologie has customers in Thailand and given the fact that it’s positioning is unique and suitable design for the Thai customers the expansion is highly possible.
The most important information that one gets out of this company is that it has established a strong competitive advantage that is not easily breakable. This implies that managers are constantly working both day and night to ensure that Anthropology meets its core objectives. The presence of numerous fashion retail shops and marts suggests that there is fierce competition between the players in the industry.
In any market there must barriers, however for Anthropologie these barriers could prove breakable. In this industry the government has decided to raise the import tax to 30% a figure that has left many international key players reconsidering their investment decisions regarding the Thailand market.
Finding a suitable location for this retail fashion marts could be another barrier. Remember that the success of any retail outlet may be largely influenced by its location, strategic places such as towns and urban places are desirable for such retail outlets. Anthropologie should determine the best place for such investment in order to be able to attract a good public attention.
Despite the current economic downturn retail future prospects are still eminent in the Thai markets. This is being occasioned by the growth in the tourism sector and the Thais cultural buying habits, the ability to accept and nature their tastes towards the ever changing world’s economic modern trend in foodstuffs and fashion wares. This is likely to be a big boost to Anthropologie that prides itself of being unique in offering client tailored fashion designs and clothing attires.
Competition is critical in any industry however in the Thailand market most retail marts focus on client requirements by stocking different product versions, charging low prices and constantly relying on good customer care. These are very important information that Anthropologie should be able to take into account in order to position itself to better serve the Thai. To be able to catch up with the competitors it is therefore the responsibility of the management to evaluate their scales of operation. Already there are many different types of retail outlets and shopping with big financial influence in the market.
The managers from Anthropologie
Managers are willing to undertake expansion responsibility and expect the company to increase its market niche and eventually increase its revenues and profitability. They are also looking at it from diversification perspective, where they intend to diversify their markets to include Asia. This they argue will lead to established brand awareness and popularity that will make Anthropologie to stand a better chance to achieve current and future profitability.
The modern business society requires that entities become flexible. This is the value that Anthropology cherishes; managers assert that they are flexible and thus responsive enough to customers. They stock and provide customers with products that reflect their needs and carry regular research on customers changing requirements today and in the future. This is enough to inform anybody that Anthropology is a customer focused organization.
Summary of findings
Thailand market is competitive. Any organization that wishes to enter into this environment should be adequately equipped to better face the challenges. Competition is in terms of price, product differentiation and customer service. For Anthropology to enter and catch up it must be able to produce different product versions, charge lower prices and focus on customer attention.
Most buyers shop at retail fashion outlets, malls, marts, supermarkets and hyper marts. Organizations with ambitions to expand into this market should focus on establishing these infrastructures in order to meet the expectations of many Thais. These outlets are readily available the urban centers, towns and busy places are instrumental. To enter this market one needs to accept to pay the high import tax which is charged at 30%, identify strategic locations for these marts; be able to maintain the prevailing market standards. If this is not done then success in the Thailand market can be hard to come by.
Currently Thailand lacks a multi-concept store like Anthropologie where fashionable women can shop for apparels accessories, jewelries and home products in one place that is fascinating. This is a business for many entrepreneurs who may be willing to venture into the Thai markets. Thais also have a vibrant economy characterized by a relatively low poverty index. This has ensured that there is sufficient money in circulation and therefore people are able to spend reasonable amounts shopping at their convenience.
Conclusion on the overall findings
The rational behind carrying out research is to investigate the immediate cause of a problem and find solutions for it. At times it may involve establishing the truth about something or finding the requirement about phenomenon. This interview is not an exception; the purpose of this research is to look into circumstances under which successful market expansion can be achieved in Thailand.
The institution or person in question wants to identify factors to consider before venturing into Thailand’s market. These factors can be broken into two main categories i.e. external and internal. Under external we have seen how taxation can influence a business. The import tax for operating into Thailand’s market is charged at the rate of 30%. This means that for one to trade in this market it must record high profit margin in order to absorb this taxation cost. In my opinion I would request the government of Thailand to review its taxation so that it can be able to attract more foreign investments in the country.
Another external factor is competition; in this environment we have found out that there is an intense competition. This has been occasioned by similarity of goods and small scope of markets. To survive this competition Anthropology must be ready to offer different but quality products cheaper than its competitors and ever focus on customer requirements. The success can only be realized when the identified factors are implemented. Design products which are tailor made, qualitative but cheap and efficient in favor of the company. Maintain client’s relationship through formation of reward schemes where loyal customers are rewarded on attendance.
Limitations of the Findings
Biasness
The use of interviews as a method of data collection may encourage stereotyping and subjectivity. Where this is the case the desired information may not be obtained. This can adversely affect the research out come. In this case only a few people are interviewed and these guys do not represent the whole population in Thailand. It can therefore distort and mislead the researcher.
The finding only focus on competition, legislation, location, tastes and preferences, the buying power, and the future performance but fails to recognize the human population that creates market for commodities in the marts and malls. Studying the Thailand’s demographic trend can provide important information about the future and help an entrepreneur strategize. This is not discussed any where in the interview. This may question the validity of this process. The current economic world requires that enterprises diversify their products in a vibrant economy, our finding are limited to the fashion design and clothing attires. This may complicate matters incase one may wish to diversify its products in the future. Product diversification can also be a competitive advantage especially where the probability of risk occurrence becomes high.
Our finding is again restricted to individual’s buying behavior and hence fails to recognize the organization’s behavior. The research is tailored towards individuals but not organizations. We have corporate organizations like hospitals, schools, colleges, clubs and societies. How do they benefit from a single fashion mart? What is the marketing plan appropriate for them, what influences their tastes and preference for instance? These are the few areas that our interviews failed to capture.
Conclusion
When carrying out research it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine the most appropriate method to use. Obsolete and invalid methods of data collection may distort the required information and hence mislead the researcher in the overall objectives. Sophisticated methods are equally unreliable because they may require complicated tools interpretation. These tools are expensive to use and buy. The purpose is to pass important information that can be relied upon by third parties.
In this chapter is about market analysis. The reader should be able to understand the different ways of analyzing markets whether it involves the SWOT analysis or not. This particular chapter talks about market analysis through the use of Michael Porter’s Five Force Module though not exclusive as it is. For Anthropologie to score it must be ready to implement the research findings.
Overall conclusion and Recommendation for the topic
In research data analysis forms the heart bone of core activities. It is a process that requires accuracy, careful thinking and high integrity. We have analyzed data from the Thailand market, this data is subsequently going to be used by the management of Anthroplogie a company that specializes in offering women fashion design with ambitious plan to venture into Thailand’s retail industry. If these data is not carefully interpreted then there will be no basis for carrying out the research.
If Anthropology really wants to venture into this market then the following recommendations should be considered:
Thais’ are fashionable and always accept foreign products. This means that customers in this region like new product versions. Anthropologie should therefore have the capacity to revitalize its products in order to capture the attention of the market.
Secondly there is a strong competition here. In such situations only strategic organizations survive. In order to succeed there are two possible competitive strategies that the management of this company can adopt; cost leadership, this involves producing the same products as competitors but selling them at relatively lower price than competitors. This is target price sensitive customers. The next one is price differentiation. This refers to making its products completely different from its competitors by presentation, design, grading, quality, packaging and etc. if this is put into consideration in addition to superb customer focus then Anthropologie is likely to succeed.