Country Manager

-Play the role of a Toothpaste Category manager
-About to enter the Asian market
-Toothpaste brand called “All Smile”
-8 Year project

-6 countries offer viable market potential
-China, Japan, India, S Korea, Philippines. & Thailand
Goal: to develop a regional presence in Asia

4 Competitors Internationally
-B&B Healthcare
-Caremore
-Driscol
-Evers
-Plus regional and local competition

Consumers
-Defined by lifestyle (young, families, older) and Primary Need (economy, whitener, health, kids)
-Consumers differs cross-nationality
-Toothpaste size and delivery system, texture pref
-Needs: prevent cavities, whiter teeth, good taste
-Price sensitivity
-preferred store and distribution outlet

Packaging and formula variations
-Size: travel, personal, and family
-Delivery: tube, pump
-Texture: paste, gel
-Formulation: basic, whitener, healthy, kids

-The firm has 21 different combinations of these available to introduce as unique SKU’s (stock keeping unity)

Key Strategic Decisions
What countries and markets to enter?
-Consumer segments to target within countries entered
-Choice of distribution channels within the countries entered

Where to source production
-Home and/ or one Asian country

Issues in Market entry and exit
-Market potential and growth
-General economic and political outlook
-Competitive intensity
-Synergies w. other/existing markets
-Regional Customization vs standardization
-Distribution
-Cost structure- production/distribution
-Shipping and tariffs

Issues for plant location and sourcing
-production takes place at home until asia plant opens
-Only one plant may be built in Asia
-1 yr building capacity
-Any production necessary to meet demand in asia beyond plant capacity takes place at home
-local production goes to local market first

You have entered China, India, and S. Korea
• Based on your decisions, demand in China is 40million units, demand in India is 20 million units, and demand in S. Korea is 30 million units
• You choose to source demand in China and India from the plant in China, and S. Korea from the Home plant
• Example 1: Your plant is located in China, with 30 million units of productive capacity

What Happens?
• 30 Million units of demand in China will be sourced from the plant in China
• 10 million units of demand in China will be sourced from Home
• All demand in India and S. Korea will be also fulfilled from the Home plant

You have entered China, India, and S. Korea
• Based on your decisions, demand in China is 40 million units, demand in India is 20 million units, and demand in S. Korea is 30 million units
• You choose to source demand in China and India from the plant in China, and S. Korea from the Home plant
• Example 1: Your plant is located in China, with 50 million units of productive capacity

What Happens?
• 40 million units of demand in China will be sourced from the plant in China
• 10 million units of demand in India will be sourced from the plant in China
• The other 10 million units of demand in India and all demand in S. Korea will be fulfilled from the Home plant

Once you’ve determined the market you would like to enter you must decide how to launch your product -Selection of SKU’s
-Price of each SKU in local currency
-Ad campaign
-Selection of channels and channel support

• Set your regional strategy first
• Overall strategic framework drives country-level decisions • Plan for the long-term
• Decisions 1-3 = focus on awareness, gaining distribution • Decisions 3-5 = build market share
• Decisions 6+ = now aim to be profitable
• Recognize regional strategic issues
• Trade agreements
• Standardization vs. Customization
• Don’t forget the basics!
• 4Ps – Product, Price, Promotion, Place
• Competition

All Star Brand overview
-ethical pharmaceuticals, Over the counter drugs (OTC), and consumer products -8.9 billion dollar firm formed in 1924

Country Analysis and Entry Decsions
-Asia has had large economic growth
-india IT power house
-Japan and Hong Kong leaders in modern expansion
-China and India w. huge population have become economies to watch as their GDP per capita and middle class continue to grow

-Asia is home to 60% of worlds population

World Toothpaste Market
-Sales: 20 Billion
-Largest market is US w. 3.4 billion spent last year

Focus of the toothpaste
-Families with Children- cavity protection
-Young singles- white teeth
-Middle age- tarter and gingivitis
-Children- taste

-Toothpaste Market is a mature market in US, Europe and Australia so growth is very slow
-Line extension to increase brand curiosity
-Allsmile whitening, allsmile tarter control and allsmile kids

After initial entry into a regional market with a limited number of SKUs, expansion in the region might proceed as follows:

• _Periodically, market penetration and growth rates for each country manager will be reviewed. Based on achieving these goals, additional SKUs may be introduced in the initial market. _After successful entry into one market the country manager can expand their operations into other countries in a similar fishion. The products can be the same as those marketed in the intitial country, or they may be entirely different SKU:S