The Beauty Market of France

ENTERING THE BEAUTY MARKET OF FRANCE 1 ENTERING THE BEAUTY MARKET OF FRANCE Entering the Beauty Market of France Author 1.0 Introduction: 2 1.1 History of France: 2 1.2. Economy: 3 2.0 Cultural analysis of France: 3 2.1 People: 3 2.2 Culture: 4 3.0 Business culture of France: 5 4.0 Cultural Hofstede’s five-dimension analysis: 7 4.1 Individualism vs Collectivism: 7 4.2 Power Distance: 8 4.3 Uncertainty avoidance: 8 4.4. Achievement vs Nurturing:

Running head: ENTERING THE BEAUTY MARKET OF FRANCE
Entering the Beauty Market of France
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author

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ENTERING THE BEAUTY MARKET OF FRANCE
Table of Contents
1.0 Introduction:.......................................................................................................... 2
1.1 History of France:..............................................................................................2
1.2. Geography:.......................................................................................................2
1.3. Economy:..........................................................................................................3
2.0 Cultural analysis of France:...................................................................................3
2.1 People:.............................................................................................................. 3
2.2 Culture:..............................................................................................................4
3.0 Business culture of France:...................................................................................5
4.0 Hofstede’s five-dimension analysis:......................................................................7
4.1 Individualism vs Collectivism:............................................................................7
4.2 Power Distance:....................................................................................................8
4.3 Uncertainty avoidance:......................................................................................8
4.4. Achievement vs Nurturing:................................................................................8
4.5 Long-term orientation............................................................................................9
5.0 Conclusion:........................................................................................................... 9
References:...............................................................................................................10

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1.0 Introduction:
The aim of the paper is to delve into the market culture of a host country in
comparison to the market culture of a chosen home country. The study considers
Malaysia as the home country and France is the host country. The rationale behind
the choice are, France is one of the richest countries in the world and provides a
huge market to commercial organisations to sell their products and earn huge profits
in Europe. The following sections would delve into important aspects of France like
its culture, history, geography and the attributes of the French people. The paper
would also compare between France and Malaysia based on Hofstede’s five cultural
dimensions.
1.1 History of France:
The history of France dates back to over a million years ago when the early
human beings settled in the country which is evident from their cave paintings.
France, then known as gaul , during the age of Antiquity spanning from 6 th century
BC to 5th century AD came under the domination of several races like the Ionian
Greeks and countries like Rome under Julius Caesar (Greenblatt & Cohen, 2015).
The country consisted of several German kingdoms and Celtic Brittons. It was this
time the name France is derived from the word ‘Francie’ that was the name of the
race who settled down the northern Gaul. It was around this time that French people
embraced Christian Gallo Roman culture and adopted Romanic language. The
dominant language spoken in the country is French, which is a Romanic language of
the Indo-European family (us.france.fr, 2017). France came into contacts with the
other European countries like Britain which promoted to further trade developments.
This resulted in emergence of France as one of largest colonial powers of Europe.
France has taken part in various wars through history including the two World Wars.
Today France is the developed country which receives highest number of tourists
who come to experience this rich history of the country.
1.2. Geography:
France is bounded by the North Sea in the north, the English Channel in the
northwest, the Mediterranean Sea towards its southeast and the vast Atlantic Ocean
in the west. The neighbouring countries of France are Belgium, Luxembourg,

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Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Andorra and Spain. The boundaries of France
are marked by mountain ranges like the Alps and the Pyrenees and the Rhine River
(cia.gov, 2017).
The map of France shows that the ocean surrounds the country from all sides
except in the east, which results in a mild maritime climate. The mountains
experience extremely cold climate with short mild summers.
1.3. Economy:
France has mixed economy and according the European Union, it has second
highest purchase power in the world. The economy of France ranks fourth in Fortune
Global 500 lists of countries with Fortune 500 companies. The economy has an
extensive transport network consisting of road, air and waterways. The mild climate
of France keeps the roads, airways and ports free ice which allows movement of
goods all the round within the country and outside it. The geographical position of
France shows that the country is surrounded by the wealthy markets of Europe like
Germany and Belgium. This country is connected to the markets of Asia, Africa,
America and Australia by airways and waterways. This allows movement of goods
from these markets. France is a member to several international bodies like the
European Union, which allows the country to avail free trade facilities with the other
EU members like Germany. These economic factors result in robust flow of
resources and capital in and out of the country, thus making it one of the developed
markets in the world.
2.0 Cultural analysis of France:
France is known for art, music, beauty, fashion and culture. The capital city,
Paris is one of the most sought after tourist destinations of the world. The city is one
of the world’s most important cultural centres, particularly fashion and beauty. The
following section would delve into the French people and their unique cultural
components:
2.1 People:
The people of France are famous all over the world for their culture, manners
and modesty. France with a population of over 67 million consists of people of Celtic,
Germanic and Latin origin. The nation is also a home of a huge population of

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immigrants from Europe, Asia, America, Australia and Africa. The first unique
characteristic of the people of France are they are hospitable and tolerant towards
people from other countries and races. An analysis of the French population shows
that it consists of people from all across the world (Wu & Chen, 2014).
The second unique cultural aspect of the people of France is that they love
culture. France is a long history of being ruled by Kings and has participated in
international cultural exchanges especially with Europe since ages. The country is
home to forts, churches, palaces and museum, which reflect its rich culture and
history. The people of the county are proud of their culture and display their culture
on special occasion by decorating these cultural structures. The French safeguard
these architectures as a part of their culture and do not accept criticisms against
them.
The third unique aspect of the people of France is their strong French values.
The French people are proud of their country, government and do not tolerate any
hate speech against them. They value etiquettes, integrity and equality among the
citizens. The French people are very particular about addressing others and greet
each other warmly. Kissing is a positive gesture of welcoming people and depends
on the level of intimacy two people share. The acquaintances are kissed twice while
old friends are kissed six times.
2.2 Culture:
As discussed above, France is known for its culture and the French are proud
of their culture. There are certain salient features in the culture of France makes the
country and its people unique.
The first cultural aspect of France is its love for fashion, beauty and clothing.
The people of France like to dress and use cosmetics of various types. This has
made the country a centre of fashion and beauty. (Blanchard et al., 2013). The
French judge each other by the ways of dressing and styling. Dressing up and
fashion as a result form important component of their social behaviour.
The second cultural aspect of France is its arts and paintings. The art,
architecture and literature of France are famous all over the world. The paintings,
architecture and literature are famous all over the world (Kleiner, 2016).

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Another culture of France, which makes the country unique, is the style of
hosting gatherings and treating guests. The French wait for their guests and serve
food and drinks only after all the guests arrive. They consider it rude to start the
festive meals before the guests arrive (Lebreton et al., 2017). The guests are always
served food and drinks and self-serve is not unaccepted. They consider over
drinking and wasting food extremely rude. The French accept sophisticated gifts like
chocolates and flowers. Wine and foreign goods, unless highly branded are not
considered for gifting.
A striking aspect of French culture is vous & tu, which refers to addressing
and calling people. The French usually address strangers and people with whom
they have formal relationships using the formal or ‘vous’ form of addressing. They
address the people they know in ‘tu’ or informal ways using their first name (Murphy,
2015).
3.0 Business culture of France:
The business culture of France is very extravagant and shows the influence of
the geography, rich heritage and culture of France. Geographically, the country is
surrounded by rich European countries like Belgium and Italy. Economically, the
country trades with far off but important markets like Asia and America through the
air routes and the sea. The country is a leading member of international
organisations like the European Union. The market of the country has the presence
of several multinational companies from diverse industries like BNP Paribas from the
finance sector and L’Oreal from the fashion industry. The people in the country are
extremely proud of their culture, etiquettes and high fashion. This emphasis on
fashion and sophistication plays a very role in the business culture of France as well.
These geographical, economic and cultural factors have resulted in a rich business
culture (Pradhan, 2017).
The first business cultural aspect of France is that the main language of
business is French. The French prefer to speak and be spoken to in French during
business transactions. The business language of Malaysia is English but the
languages from India and China are accepted in formal meets.
(theaustralian.com.au, 2017).

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The second business cultural aspect of France, which the Malaysiaan
cosmetic company has to consider, is their style of business meets. The French
businesspersons consider it important to take prior appointments and sudden visits
are considered rude (Adams et al., 2015). However, the French are not strict about
punctuality. The business culture in Malaysia is strict about punctuality and expects
the people to inform of their late arrivals.
The third aspect of French business culture is, giving gifts and greetings. The
French do not exchange gifts on the first business meet and prefer to throw a dinner
as a sign or corporate relationship. The Malaysians on the contrary exchange gifts
as a part of professional conduct (Graycar & Jancsics, 2017). The French business
culture does not consider it professional to warmth and generosity during meetings.
The business culture of Malaysia places high importance on gifts and greetings of
parties to business contracts.
The fourth aspect of French business culture is dressing patterns during
business meets. The French prefer highly sophisticated formal wear. The Malaysians
too prefer formal wear during meetings. The women can hold high in business
organisations in both France and Malaysia. Hence, the women of both the countries
wear sophisticated formal wears requiring sophisticated use of cosmetics like
makeup (Vithiatharan & Gomez, 2014).
A very important aspect of business culture in France is its resistance to
corruption. The country has very strict laws to regulate corruptive business practices.
The government often launches investigations to probe into corruptive practices in
the country. The government has declared offering or promising bribes a crime.
Malaysia in comparison to France is a highly corrupted country. The government, the
corporate organisations and the political parties are parties to the corruptive
practices. This enables smooth business transactions in France, which makes it one
of the richest countries in the world. The business environment of France is
transparent which enables smooth business transactions. The Malaysian business
environment is dependent on bribery and corruption to enable business transactions.
This corruptive nature of business culture in Malaysia makes its environment
unfavourable for business transactions for foreign companies, which tend to enter its
markets (Chong & Ahmad, 2015).

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Another striking aspect of French business culture is that the people of France
are comfortable in entering into business deals with unknown people. They prefer
taking calculated risks while conducting business. The people of Malaysia are more
risk taking and take business risks.
4.0 Hofstede’s five-dimension analysis:
Hofstede’s five-dimension model shows that impact of the culture on the
values of people. The study of the culture, business environment culture and the
economy of France and its comparison to Malaysia reveals that there exist cultural
differences between these two nations. The Hofstede’s model shown below study
the cultural differences between France and Malaysia on five grounds namely, power
distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long term orientation and
indulgence.
Figure 1. Hofstede tool showing comparison between Malaysia and France
(Source: hofstede-insights.com, 2017)
The comparison between France and Malaysia are as follows:
4.1 Individualism vs Collectivism:
Individualism refers to the degree of interdependence among the members in
the society. As shown in the figure above, France scores high individualism index,
which means that people in France give opportunities to display of individual
emotions. Malaysia on the other hand is more collectivistic where the people give
less priority to personal emotions. The Malaysian companies, while entering France

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should be very careful of this aspect while promoting its products. For example, the
companies should position themselves as companies whose products personify the
strong individualism of the French. This would allow the companeis to attract
premium customers in France and earn profits by offering them high quality
products.
4.2 Power Distance:
Power distance refers to the difference in privileges the people in the society
enjoy. The people in France score low on power index as per the figure above. This
can be attributed to the importance of equality in French culture. The women can
hold important positions in French business organizations. The Malaysian society
scores high on the power index and women hold secondary positions. The positions
of the people are dependent on their roles in the society. The senior most member of
a group like the family takes the most important decisions. The children are generally
expected to obey the adults. There are however incidences of unequal treatment of
woman employees in small French organizations but such treatments are not
common. The French hold women in hold higher regard compared to the
Malaysians.
4.3 Uncertainty avoidance:
Uncertainty avoidance scale reveals the propensity of people to face
uncertainties in both personal lives and professional lives. The figure above shows
that the culture of France shows high uncertainty avoidance against the low
uncertainty avoidance propensity of Malaysia. This shows that the people of France
are apprehensive about using new products. The people of France usually do not
accept gifts from strangers and avoid business transactions in the first meetings. The
Malaysians show greater risk propensity compared to the French.
4.4. Achievement vs Nurturing:
This scale shows the extent to which people of a particular culture control
their emotions. France shows high degree of achievement display while Malaysia
shows low degree of achievement display as shown the figure above. The French
encourage people to display their individual achievements and regard them as signs
of motivation. The Malaysians compared to the French, believe in collectivitism. They

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regard achievement of social groups like families more important than individual
achievements.
4.5 Long-term orientation
The long-term orientation scale shows that attribute people of a culture to
maintain relationships and support each other. The comparison between France and
Malaysia in the figure clearly shows that the latter scores higher than the former. The
French, though proud of their culture, do not emphasize on maintaining long-term
relationships. The Malaysiaans on the other support each other and maintain long
term relationships. The French are normally formal with business partners and
concentrate on the profit earning aspects. The relationships they make with people
are more straight forward and short-term compared to the Malaysians.
5.0 Conclusion:
.The above study shows that France has unique attributes pertaining to
history, geography, culture and economy. The country has a rich history, which
contributes to a rich art, architecture and literature. The unique geographical
attributes like being surrounded by rich European nations like Germany and having a
long coastline has helped its trade and economic development. The country has its
unique culture pertaining to areas like food, clothes and behaviour. The huge
population and increasing demand for products have made the market of the country
home to several multinational companies. These attributes of France make it an
ideal host country.

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