Global Marketing: Coles Supermarket's Entry Strategy in Japanese Market

This study discusses Coles Supermarket's entry strategy in the Japanese market through global marketing initiatives, marketing mix strategies, and communication promotional mix. It also includes economic evaluation and people strategy for sustainable position in the market.

Running head: GLOBAL MARETING
Global marketing
Name of the student:
Name of University:
Author's note:

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Executive summary
In the discussion of assignment 1 and 2, it has been identified that the company Coles
supermarket, has decided to develop its business in Japanese market. Examining the market
opportunities of the company, target market has been selected. In case of entering in the Japanese
market, the global marketing strategy has been highlighted. Analyzing both the external and
internal environmental opportunities, the global international marketing initiatives have been
highlighted. In case of gaining the competitive advantage from the japan market, Coles has
decided to expand its business so that it can get the chance to expand its customer base. In this
study, the marketing mix strategies have been discussed. It has been identified that in case of
expanding its business Coles has decided to use the traditional tools such as direct exporting,
indirect exporting and cooperative exporting. In this study, the entire global marketing plan with
the proper action has been discussed. The study has shed light on the importance of training and
budgeting for the efficiency. At the end of the study, merge and acquisition strategy has been
highlighted as the exit strategy of Coles Supermarket from Japanese retail industry.

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Table of contents
1.0 Summary of second assignment................................................................................................3
2.0 Marketing mix...........................................................................................................................4
2.1 Product strategy.........................................................................................................................4
2.2 Pricing strategy..........................................................................................................................6
2.3 Place strategy.............................................................................................................................8
2.4 Communication promotional mix..............................................................................................9
Total Market Calculation...............................................................................................................12
4.0 Implementation and control.....................................................................................................14
5.0 Communication plan................................................................................................................16
6.0 Action plan...............................................................................................................................17
7.0 Contingency plan.....................................................................................................................18
8.0 Reference and bibliography.....................................................................................................19

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1.0 Summary of second assignment
Examining the situation in international market, it has been identified that Coles
Supermarket has various benefits in the Japanese market to expand its business. It cannot be
denied that Japan is being considered as largest market in the global industry. In case of gaining
the competitive advantages from the market, the growing economy of Japan can bring various
opportunities. It cannot be denied that in case of gaining the competitive advantage, the Japanese
market is suitable for Coles supermarket. Analyzing the impact of business elements in the
global market, it has been assumed that the Japanese food industry can easily accept the
organization. Target market plays an important role in business develop in the Japanese market
Coles supermarket has targeted the premium and middle class customers in Japanese market.
Depending on the customers’ preference the target market has been selected. Mainly the children
and young people have been targeted by the company in Japanese market. It has been identified
that in case of entering in the Japanese market, the company has decided to use, exporting,
licensing and direct investment mode. It has been identified that the company has decided to use
the traditional tools for entering in the foreign market. Using the licensing mode, Coles can be
able to use different property and resources in the Japanese market.

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2.0 Marketing mix
2.1 Product strategy
Figure: Product life Cycle
(Source: Holzbaur, Ross & Rothrock, 2016)
In the words of Pérez, Pieri and Rodriguez (2015), the term product Life cycle is being
considered as an important concept of marketing. There are five stage in the PLC. Product
development, introduction, growth, maturity and decline. In case of Japanese market, with the
retail products Coles supermarket can be placed in the introduction stage as it is new in the
market and has not created any product development process.
Analyzing the product quality of Coles super market, it has been identified that it has
established its strong customer base for providing standard quality of products. In the new
market, it will be the aim of the company to provide standard quality of product so that it will be
able to develop strong impression on customers mind.
It cannot be denied that branding plays an influential role in case of increasing the value
of the company in market (Todor, 2014). It is also very important for encouraging the purchasing
decision of the customers. Branding has higher level of contribution in the market, therefore, in

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this case the both the online ad off line promotional activities can be beneficial for branding. As
the organization has already expanded its business in international market, therefore, it will be
easier for the people to accept the products of the company with the attractive branding.
Labelling and Packaging are another important element in sales distribution as it
provides the information regarding brand name, price, quantity and grade of the product
(Baumeister, Scherer & Wangenheim, 2014). In the Japanese market, the Prime labels can be used
by the company. In this types of labelling the business practices the products are being labelled
at the center so that it can be easily noticed. In case of packaging user defined packaging style
will be followed by Coles supermarket in Japanese market.
In the demographic segment, the company has chosen age, gender and income level. In
case of entering in the Japanese market, Coles supermarket will target the children and young
customers who have interest in the branded products. Depending on the psychographic
segmentation lifestyle, aspects and opinion of people have been highlighted by the company.
Depending on the behavioral segment, the brand performance, desire and prior purchases have
been selected by the company. Urban area will be chosen from the geographic segmentation so
that large number of target customers can be attracted.

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2.2 Pricing strategy
Figure: Porter’s generic strategy
(Source: Wicker et al., 2015)
The Coles Supermarket needs to follow the market development strategy in the Japan
market. With this initiative, it will be easier for the company is to gain the competitive advantage
from the retail market. It cannot be denied that the company has already established its strong
image in the international retail industry. In this situation, if the company will focus on the cost
leadership strategy, it will be beneficial for developing its sustainable position in the Japanese
market.
Factors Justification
Average
income
On the other hand, in case of engaging large number of customers
depending on the average income of the people the people in japan, the
pricing strategy will be developed. It has been analyzed from the above table
that average annual salary of a person in the age of 20 is $32182, where it is
$42,455 in 30s, $51273 in 40s and $63727 in 60s. Therefore, analyzing the
above table, it can be said that the company needs to set different types of

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product ranges so that different income group of people can be able to
purchase. As the company has decided to target the upper class and middle
class customers in the market, therefore, the pricing of the retail products will
be starting from $ 50 up to $ 250.
GDP Analyzing the GDP rate of Japan it has been identified that in the year 2016
it was 4.94 lack cores. If the economic growth rate can be analyzed, it will be
identified that it has a slowly growth economy, which has high contribution
in lifestyle and behavioral aspects of the customers
Tax In the current situation, the corporate tax rate in japan is 32.11 %. It has been
identified that the government has taken the initiative to reduce the tax and
make it 30% in the year 2016 so that the rate of foreign investment can be
increased (Mueller, 2016). Therefore, it can be said that it will be beneficial for
the company.
Currency
exchange rate
Currency exchange policy highly impacts on the foreign trade (Yermack,
2015). Analyzing the foreign exchange rate it has been identified one
Australian dollar represent 79.95 Japanese Yen, therefore, it can be said that
it will be beneficial for the Coles supermarket to invest in the Japanese retail
industry (Ilzetzki, Reinhart & Rogoff, 2017).
Average
Competitors
Price
Analyzing the existing retail organizations in the Japanese market, it has been
identified that UNY Company Ltd, Aeon Company and The Dalei Inc are the
major competitors of Coles supermarket in Japan (Seo & Takashima, 2017).
Analyzing the pricing strategies of the organizations it has been identified
that the target market of the organizations are same. These can create the
challenges for the organization. These organizations provides lower range of

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products to the customers.
Cost:
- Production
Cost leadership strategy will be followed by the organization so that the rate of
production can be reduced.
- Distribution Using the connectivity n networking facility in Japan, in products will be
distributed.
- Labor It cannot be denied that japan has lower employment rate and availability of
the women workforce in the industry is very less. However, in the recent
year, the unemployment rate has decreased 5.1%.
- Material Material will be collected from the local market as the bargaining power of the
suppliers in this industry is low.
- Marketing Social media marketing, direct and indirect marketing will be followed for grabbing
large number of customers attention.
Figure: Average salary of Japan by Age
2.3 Place strategy
On the other hand networking and connectivity in Japan is well structured, which can
influence the supply chain process (Christopher, 2016). It will help the Coles supermarket to
maintain the uninterrupted raw material supply chain. The distribution intensity indicates the

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availability of products selected by the organization in a market. Depending on the market size,
target market and capacity of production Coles supermarket will distribute its products. As the
target market is large and due to this reason the company has decided to involve large number of
retailers for managing the product distribution process. With this initiative the meeting will be
arranged with the local retailers who will take franchise of Coles super market.
2.4 Communication promotional mix
Figure: Promotional mix diagram of Coles supermarket
(Source: Oladepo & Abimbola, 2015)
Integrated marketing communication is very effective in case of dealing with the
different forms of communication (Sagala et al., 2014). It is being considered as an effective
promotional tool for Coles supermarket.in case of Japanese supermarket, both the direct and
indirect market strategy needed to be followed by the company. In case of maximizing the sales
in the foreign market, the company needs to focus on introducing different campaigns that can
help to grab large numbers of customers attention. Using the Facebook and twitter accounts the

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products can be introduced in the market. It will be beneficial in terms of developing the
effective relationship between the customers and employees. On the other hand, for developing
the communication with customers, a 24hrs customer service will be introduced in by the
company. In the customer service center Coles supermarket will appoint the Japanese employees
so that it will be easier to solve the quarries of the customers. In case of developing the public
relation, different promotional schemes can be introduced by the company through different
festivals. With this initiative, it will be easier for the company to get connected with the
customers. In the direct marketing, different campaigns can be introduced with the celebrity
endorsement. It cannot be denied that celebrity endorsement is very effective to garbing the
attention of large number of customers. Through the traditional channels in Japan, the TV
promotions can be done. This can help to increase its popularity in the market. Analyzing the
market segmentation policy of Coles super market, it can be suggested that it can sponsor
different sports events for attracting the large number of customers.
2.5 People strategy
People are essential element in the marketing mix as in the current business scenario, the
products are being sold through different retail outlets. People are important in case of handling
the entire process. It cannot be denied that in the service marketing, people are important for the
product development process (Le Roy & Czakon, 2016). By recruiting the efficient people in
different positions of the company, Coles will be able to gain the competitive advantage in the
market. Therefore, it is clear that the people who are associated with an organization are essential
for influencing the organizational performance. In case of Coles, it needs to focus on improving
its efficiency for developing sustainable position in the market. With this initiative it will be
easier for the organization to deal with the foreign market. Effective leadership strategies needs

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to be developed in the workplace. In case of Japanese market the transformational leadership
strategy will be followed by the company. As the Japanese market tis totally new for the Coles
supermarket, therefore, the company needs to focus on understanding the market situation.
Research and development is needed for understanding the needs and demands of the customers.
In this situation, recruiting large number of Japanese employees can help to gain the trust of the
local people. on the other hand, contributing in the Japanese employment rate, the company can
be easily highlighted in the Japanese retail industry. In case of maintaining the employment
standard, the proper healthy and safety regulations need to be followed by the company. It will
be beneficial in terms of avoiding the employee movement in the foreign market. On the other
hand, it is true that proper training and development process needs to be followed. In this case
the experimental learning theory can be applied for increasing the efficiency of the employees.
3.0 Economic evaluation
The term economic evaluation is being considered as the systematic process that helps to
valuate and measure the output and input of the two alternative activities. It is also very
important in case of understanding the competitive advantage from the market. It cannot be
denied that depending on the economic evaluation process has higher level of impact on the
innovation adaption cycle. In case of adaption process of Coles supermarket by the Japanese
customers, in the below diagram the 5 stages have been shown.

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Figure: Adaption Cycle
(Source: Kolarik et al., 2016)
In the above diagram, file categories such as innovators, early adaptors, early majority,
late majority ad laggards have been shown. Innovators are those who can easily adopts the new
ideas. They have the nature of exploring thinks on their own risk. Early adaptors have similar
quality of the innovators, they are conscious regarding their reputation and due to this reason
they appreciate the innovation for gaining popularity. Early and late majority are similar in case
of gaining the practical benefits. In case of early majority, they easily accepts the ideas, however
the late majority people always search for someone’s support to take the risk. Laggards very
slowly adopts the new idea. After accepting by the society, the Laggards accept the innovation.
Therefore, it can be sad that these 5 types of adopters can impact on the sales revenue of Coles
supermarket in Japanese market.
In the year 2016, the total population in japan was 127 million. The Coles supermarket
has decided to target the innovators and early adaptors within coming 2 years. On the other hand,

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the company also aims to grab the attention of early majority within coming 4 years. The
company has aimed to increase its market share near about 10% within coming 5 years.
Total Market Calculation
Total population of Japan= 126.75 Million
The target market of the business will be children and young generation belonging to upper class
in society in the first year and the target segment will expand gradually in the second and third
year`.
Total market in the first two years is deemed to be 126.75 Million (3.5% + 14.5%) = 18%
So the target market that will be focused on by the business for the next three years will be =
126.75 Million * 18% = 22.8 Million
The business has estimated to attain 15% market share over the three years span focusing on the
target consumer population of 22.8 Million.
In such scenario, the anticipated revenue of the business is = 22.8 Million * price ($ 15) = $34.2
Million. This is the anticipated revenue the business will earn after three years span per year.
Considering the same,
In the first year (Year 1) the business anticipates to attain market share of 5% for attaining
revenue of $ 25.8 Million.
In the second year (Year 2) the business anticipates to attain market share of 10% for attaining
revenue of $ 30.1 Million.

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In the third year (Year 3) the business estimates to attain market share of 15% for attaining
revenue of $34.2 Million.
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
Series1
Figure 1: Revenue and Market Share Growth Over Three Years
(Source: Authors Creation)
4.0 Implementation and control
Activity Responsible Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun
Market research
Political, Economical condition,
Social and culture,
Technological factors, Legal
factors, Environment (PESTLE)
Marketing
team
Market Survey
Research Analysis
Production Plan
Sourcing local manufacturers Production

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teamSourcing local suppliers
Production sampling
Analyzing the sample result Production
and Marketing
team
Marketing Plan
Market Analysis Marketing
teamCompetitors Analysis
Distribution research
Sourcing effective local
distributors
Marketing
team
Recruitment
Local employment HR team
Training
Training program HR team
(Source: Created By author)
Explanation:
In the market research it has been identified that both the macro and micro environment
of Coles Supermarket is in favorable condition for the company. With increasing economic and
technological opportunities, it will be beneficial for the company to develop its business. In case
of Japanese market, the Raw materials will be collected from the local suppliers. On the other
hand, for developing effective relationship with the local retailers, the company aims to develop
different meetings. The company will recruit the local employees and will provide training for
increasing their efficiency. In case of gaining the large numbers of customers’ attention different
promotional schemes will be introduced by the company.
5.0 Communication plan
Activity Responsible Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

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Promotion Plan
Event sponsor planning Trainer,
marketing
manager
Social media creating
Sale promotion planning
Budgeting
Costs Analysis Finance
manager
Pricing
Estimating Price Finance
manager
Product Launch
Launching the Product into
the market
Marketing
manager
Feedback
Collecting feedback of
customer satisfaction and
sale
Customer care
Annual report
Providing relevant
information for Annual
report
Finance and
operation team
(Source: Created by author)
Explanation:
In the Japanese market, Coles super market will promote its products through social media such
as Facebook and twitter. On the other hand, through the traditional channels the product will be
promoted in the market. For the promotional cost, the company has decided to invest 20000
dollar for first year and second year it will reach 25000 dollar. In case of understanding the
growth strategy of the company, the annual report from the previous years will be analyzed.

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6.0 Action plan
To: Director of Coles Supermarket
From:[e-mail]
Date: 12/12/ 2018
Subject:
Analyzing the business opportunities of the company in japan market, it can be assumed that in
the increasing economic opportunities in the market, it will be easier for the company to achieve
its business objectives. In the environmental analysis, it has been identified that technological
innovation in this country can help in terms of increasing its market share. In the market
research, both the secondary and primary data have been collected so that the needs and demands
of the customers can be analyzed. After the research plan, with in three months meetings have
been arranged with the local suppliers to get the knowledge regarding sourcing of raw materials.
Through the agents advertisements will be done in social media and local channels. After
completion of budgeting the products will be launched through the celebrity endorsements.
7.0 Contingency plan
After examining the entire marketing plan of the company, it can be said that as the company has
decided to invest big amount in the initial stage, therefore, it may be quite risky for the
organization. As it is new in the market, therefore, if the market plan will be discussed with the
local renowned authority, it will be beneficial for the company. On the other hand, it has targeted
the premium customers, where there are also other organizations those have targeted the same
segment, this can create the challenges for the company. In this case it can be suggested that the
company can increase its budgeting for the promotional activities so that large number of

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customers can get attracted. Merge and Acquisition can be effective strategy for this organization
if any case the business will face the failure. By merging the similar company, it will be easier to
manage financial loss will be faced.

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8.0 Reference and bibliography
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importance of product brands, ownership status, and spillover effects to parent
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Christopher, M. (2016). Logistics & supply chain management. Pearson UK.
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Turkey. Princeton University Press.
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Successful Management Phase. Value in Health, 19(3), A109.
Ilzetzki, E., Reinhart, C. M., & Rogoff, K. S. (2017). The Country Chronologies to Exchange
Rate Arrangements into the 21st Century: will the anchor currency hold? (No. w23135).
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Ekstrom, A. D. (2016). Impairments in precision, rather than spatial strategy, characterize
performance on the virtual Morris Water Maze: A case study. Neuropsychologia, 80, 90-
101.
Lockwood, W. W. (2015). Economic Development of Japan. Princeton University Press.
Mueller, H. J. (2016). Corporate Tax Inversions: A Brief Overview.

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Oladepo, O. I., & Abimbola, O. S. (2015). The influence of brand image and promotional mix on
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Vermeulen, S. J., Dinesh, D., Howden, S. M., Cramer, L., & Thornton, P. (2018).
Transformation in practice: a review of empirical cases of transformational adaptation in
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