Evaluation of International Strategy of Hilton Food Group Plc

This report evaluates the current international strategy of Hilton Food Group Plc, a food packaging business, and provides recommendations for a suitable new market and entry mode. It also analyzes relevant global trends such as the impact of Covid-19 and changing global trade trends.

nternational businessI
Management

Contents
Contents...........................................................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................1
International Business..................................................................................................................1
Evaluation of organisation’s current international strategy.........................................................1
Market selection...........................................................................................................................2
Entry modes.................................................................................................................................4
Relevant global trends impact on international expansion like impact of covid-19 and
changing global trade trends........................................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................7
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
International business can be described as a trade for purpose of trade of goods, services, capital,
knowledge and technology across international boundaries at a large scale. It is a business which
is providing different opportunities to a business by allowing them to expand its operation. There
is a different threat for business which can create an impact on its operation in the international
factor (Aguilera and Grøgaard, 2019). This project report includes analysation Hilton Food
Group Plc which is a food packaging business. It is a company which is listed on the London
Stock Exchange and is also a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. It is a company which was
founded in the year 1994 in the UK. There are around 4900 employees working in organisation
which was operating in different countries in the international market. This project report
includes an evaluation of the current international strategy of the organisation. It is also including
justified recommendations for purpose of a suitable new market to enter in the new market that
provide supporting evidence as well as reasoning. Moreover, it also includes a justified
recommendation of a suitable entry model to use the evidence and reasoning.
MAIN BODY
International Business
International business can be described as a business that is operating across international
borders for purpose of sales of goods and services. Expansion of business at the international
level also provides an opportunity for businesses as it helps them purpose increasing market
share. It also allows business to sell their products in both domestic as well as a foreign market
which allow business for purpose of increasing the profit share of the company (Buckley, 2021).
It provides the opportunity for businesses to access different valuable resources which will
improve the quality of the products and services. It is a business that is also focusing on making
the firm more aggressive and diverse. It will diverse the revenue of the firm as if the firm is
facing loss in one country, then they will cover it in another country.
Evaluation of organisation’s current international strategy
There are different types of strategy to be adopted by business of Hilton Food Group Plc in
international market. These strategy helps business for purpose of getting success and also for
attainment of goals and objectives. Explanation of some of these strategies adopted by company
is mentioned below:
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Support perception of customer: It is one of strategy which is providing support to customers
and also the development of the company in the local market. It is essential in order to get
sustainable growth in the marketplace. It assists business for purpose of getting success in the
marketplace and also for maintaining reputation in the market. In order to build more trust with
consumer, company is maintaining honesty, transparency, well invested facilities (Dimitrova and
et. al., 2020). In order to get success in the marketplace, business of Hilton Food Group Plc
needs to more invest in consumer insights which allow them to adopt consumer trends.
Adopting new technology and facilities: Hilton Food Group Plc is one of the business which is
focusing on adopting new technology in their organisation. It helps them for purpose of
improving the business efficiency and also for purpose of reducing the total cost of the company.
It will also increase the reach of the company and also helps them to promote the offering of the
company without incurring much cost.
Maintaining food safety, quality and integrity: Hilton Food Group Plc is one of organisation
that is maintaining a higher standard of food, ensuring food safety and integrity in their business
(Zhao Zhang and Kwon, 2018). It is important for them in order to increase their popularity in
business and also allow the company to build a positive image in minds of customers. It increase
the demand and sales of the company in the marketplace.
Market selection
Hilton Food Group Plc is a food company which is offering food packages in different countries
in all over the world. It is one of the organisation which has around 4900 employees in all over
the world in order to serve its customers. It is an organisation that is offering its products in 15
countries in European Union, Australia as well as New Zealand (Dörrenbächer and
Gammelgaard, 2019). It is an organisation that is also getting a profit in organisation and also
performing well. It is an organisation that is planning to expand its operation in China.
China is one of the developing countries and is also an attractive country in Asia for
purpose of business. It is a company which provides economy of business that create opportunity
for them. There is cheap resources, labour and machinery and equipment and other things which
provide opportunity for purpose of business in order to reduce cost of the company and also for
increasing the profitability of the company. It is one of the most populated country which has
around 1.4 billion people and also considered as the second largest economy after the USA.
Expansion of business in China provides a different opportunity for business but at the same
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time, it also creates different types of challenges for business. It will allow the business to offer a
great product and also to offer competitive prices for purpose of success in China. There are
different opportunities and threats for the business of Hilton Food Group Plc for purpose of
expansion of business in China.
In order to understand the different threats and opportunities for business in China, managers of
Hilton Food Group Plc can consider PESTEL analysis. It is essential for the business to conduct
PESTEL analysis in business as it allows them to identify political interference in business,
economic conditional, cultural and social factors, advancement and development of technology,
environmental condition and legislation (Fatehi and Choi, 2019). An explanation of these
component in the context of the company is mentioned below:
Political interference: It is one of the important factors for the business of Hilton Food Group
Plc as it can create both opportunities and threats for them. In China, political interference of
government in business is high which provides an opportunity for them. The government
monitor activities of international business and any mistake committed by them will results in the
end of business in that country. Expansion of business in China will also provide opportunities to
the business of Hilton Food Group Plc as the government of China is inviting different
international companies to their country for purpose of development. It will help Chinese people
to earn money and also get employment opportunities.
Economic factors: Economic condition of China is good as it has high GDP which reflects that
the purchasing power of people living in this country is high. It provides an opportunity for the
business of Hilton Food Group Plc as they can sell their offering to Chinese people. Another
factor that provides an opportunity to business is labour cost in China is low which will allow the
business of Hilton Food Group Plc to reduce the total cost of the company (García-Lillo and et.
al., 2019). The increasing inflation rate, as well as the increasing cost of purchasing property in
China, is creating a threat for business as it creates a negative impact on the economic growth of
the country.
Social factors: Hilton Food Group Plc is one of the organisation which will also be impacted by
social factors in China as Chinese people are highly sensitive to their religion. The education rate
in China is also high which provides the opportunity for the business of Hilton Food Group Plc
as they can get skilled and expert labour from China at lower employment cost. In China, there is
changes occur in taste and choices of people that provide an opportunity for business as they
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prefer to eat food from food package. In China, a number of people is using the internet which
provides the opportunity for the business of Hilton Food Group Plc to sell their products at
online sites. It also creates a threat for business as it will increase the threat to data of the
company from hacking and other activities.
Technological factors: There is increasing advancement and innovation in technology for the
business of Hilton Food Group Plc in China that will change the ways of production. It will
allow the company to produce their food in an effective manner and also it helps them to reduce
waste. China is inspiring people to focus on innovation which is essential for purpose of growth
(Hernandez-Pozas and Carreon-Flores, 2019). It is also giving support to different e-commerce
businesses which is important for them to expand business successfully. It is also important for
businesses as it make it easier for them for purpose of increasing the sales of products of
company.
Legal factor: There are different types of laws and legislation in China which make it difficult
for business of Hilton Food Group Plc to operate. There is ban on different types of social media
platform like Twitter, WhatsApp, YouTube, Facebook and others. It makes it difficult for the
business of Hilton Food Group Plc to promote their offering over these platforms. China is also
making various restrictions over foreign companies which will restrict the business of Hilton
Food Group Plc. In China, different types of E-commerce laws help business of Hilton Food
Group Plc to protect their business from fraud.
Environmental Factor: With the growth in the economy of China, the environmental
conditional of the company is also affected. In order to operate in China successfully, business
needs to follow all the guidelines which is important for them in order to improve the standard of
the environment (Hooper and Holtbrügge, 2020). China is a country which is also focusing on
the increasing use of electrical vehicles which is essential for business as it allows the business of
Hilton Food Group Plc to use these electric vehicles for the transportation of goods which will
create a positive image of the company in minds of Chinese people.
Entry modes
There are different types of modes of entry in international business which provide opportunities
to businesses to enter in the international market. Hilton Food Group Plc can adopt any mode of
entry to expand its business in other countries. All these modes have its own advantage and
disadvantage for the business. The selection of mode of entry is dependent on the situation and
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requirement of the business. All these functions create opportunities and threats for the business.
An explanation of these modes of entry in the context of Hilton Food Group Plc is mentioned
below:
 Exporting: It is one of the methods which is linked with direct sales of goods and
services to other country. It is one of the important and best-known methods in order to
enter a foreign market as it consists of less risk. It is also a cost-effective method for
businesses that allows them to invest in different types of production facilities in the
selected country and also invest in foreign countries (Kamp, 2018). It is a method that
allows businesses for purpose of producing the goods and services in their home
countries as in order to produce goods in another country will result in increased
transportation costs in business will also result in increasing exporting costs.
 Licensing: It is one of the methods which allows a person to grant of permission by the
licenser to the licensee in order to allow them for using intellectual property rights like
trademarks, technology, patents, and brand name under specific conditions.
 Franchising: It is a method for purpose of expansion of a business that allows the
business to sell the intellectual rights to the franchisee. It is an arrangement in which the
franchisor grants the license rights as well as authorities o the franchisee. It is one of the
methods which will reduce the risk for business for expansion and major risk is possessed
by the Franchisee.
From above mentioned discussion, it can be analysed that Hilton Food Group Plc should
adopt the franchising method for purpose of expanding of business. It is one of the important
methods which allow franchisors to content local businesses to expand their business in foreign
countries. It will allow the business to take advantage of local business for purpose of expansion
of business in the future period of time. It is a method that creates both advantages and
disadvantages to businesses (Kolk, Rivera-Santos and Rufín, 2018).
An explanation of the advantages of business in the context of Hilton Food Group Plc is
mentioned below:
 Franchising is a method that allows the business to expand without incurring the cost. In
this business, an individual does not need to invest money and all these costs are bear by
the franchisee.
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 It is a business that helps a person for purpose of reaching to the number of customers,
increasing goodwill and also building a brand name.
There are different disadvantages of this method for purpose of Hilton Food Group Plc are
mentioned below:
 It is a method due to which the franchisor loses control over the business by allowing a
third party to expand their business.
 It is also a method that will create an impact on the goodwill of a business as any
negative action of a person results in a negative impact on the image of the company
(Marcus and et. al., 2019).
Relevant global trends impact on international expansion like impact of covid-19 and changing
global trade trends
Global trends can be designed to offer an analytical framework for policymakers in order to
administration for the national security strategy and navigate it for an uncertain future. It is
essential for business to consider global trends in business as it will help them for purpose of
increasing the value of business in the marketplace. There are different changes occur in
international global trends that create an impact on the international business. It is important for
businesses to consider the impact of these trends over the business. An explanation of these
trends and its impact on the business is mentioned below:
Covid-19 impact: Covid-19 has created an impact over the world economy in a different
manner. Due to this, the economy of the different country has shut down for sometimes and
business needs to stop their production. It also changes in taste and preferences of customers that
will also create an impact on the business of Hilton Food Group Plc. Due to covid-19, there is an
increasing threat of disease among people that will results in a change in the preferences of
customers related to as now customers are shifted towards healthy and tasty food (Matheson and
Sutcliffe, 2018). It is important for businesses to consider these factors in business in order to
avoid covid-19 impact while expanding business at the international level. In order to get success
in the market of China, Hilton Food Group Plc needs to offer healthy food in their food packages
which will allow them to increase the demand for their products in the marketplace.
Changing global trade trends: There is changes occurring in global trade trends that will create
an impact on how a business is carrying out its operation. In today’s time, due to the increasing
use of technology, buyers are more informed which will create an impact on the business. Due to
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this, business is now focusing more on quality and prices. It is important for the business of
Hilton Food Group Plc to improve the quality and standards of their products in order to sell it in
the global market. It is important for the business to understand the requirement of customers as
it will also help them for purpose of making the product according to the requirement of
customers.
Focus on technology and innovation: Technology and innovation are one of the important
factors for purpose of business as they will improve the ways of operating the business.
Technology helps business to improve their efficiency of the business and also for improving the
quality of products and services (Vătămănescu and et. al., 2020). Technology and innovation
allow the business to introduce something new in the market which is important for them. It will
help the business to get the attention of customers and also helps them to solve problems. It will
also help businesses to use technology in order to sell their products like on e-commerce
platforms and use of social media for purpose of advertisement of the business.
CONCLUSION
From above mentioned project report, it can be concluded that international business is a
business which operates across the border and creates different opportunities for business. It is
important for businesses as it will help them for purpose of increasing the market share and
profitability of the business. It is one of the important factors for the business to ensure
correction of the current strategy of business which helps them to attain goals and objectives. It
is important for businesses to consider different threats and opportunities of the market while
expanding business. For this, the business can consider PESTEL analysis which includes
different factors that assist them in the purpose of selection of market. In order to enter the
international business, business needs to consider different modes of entry. All these modes have
their own advantage and disadvantage and business need to adopt these modes according to their
requirements. There are different types of trends in the market which cause changes in the
business. It is important for the business to adopt these trends in the market for purpose of
attaining success.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Buckley, P.J., 2021. The role of history in international business: Evidence, research practices,
methods and theory. British Journal of Management, 32(3), pp.797-811.
Dimitrova, M., and et. al., 2020. Forgotten travelers: Adjustment and career implications of
international business travel for expatriates. Journal of International
Management, 26(1), p.100707.
Dörrenbächer, C. and Gammelgaard, J., 2019. Critical and mainstream international business
research: Making critical IB an integral part of a societally engaged international
business discipline. critical perspectives on international business.
Fatehi, K. and Choi, J., 2019. International communication and negotiation. In International
Business Management (pp. 109-143). Springer, Cham.
García-Lillo, F., and et. al., 2019. Identifying the ‘knowledge base’or ‘intellectual structure’of
research on international business, 2000–2015: A citation/co-citation analysis of
JIBS. International Business Review, 28(4), pp.713-726.
Hernandez-Pozas, O. and Carreon-Flores, H., 2019. Teaching international business using virtual
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Hooper, A. and Holtbrügge, D., 2020. Blockchain technology in international business: changing
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Kamp, B., 2018. Expanding international business via smart services: insights from ‘hidden
champions’ in the machine tool industry. In International business in the information
and digital age. Emerald Publishing Limited.
Kolk, A., Rivera-Santos, M. and Rufín, C., 2018. Multinationals, international business, and
poverty: A cross-disciplinary research overview and conceptual framework. Journal of
International Business Policy, 1(1), pp.92-115.
Marcus, J., and et. al., 2019. Capturing intranational cultural variation in international business
research: Microsocietal differences in collectivism across Turkey. Journal of World
Business, 54(6), p.101020.
Matheson, R. and Sutcliffe, M., 2018. Belonging and transition: An exploration of International
Business Students’ postgraduate experience. Innovations in Education and Teaching
International, 55(5), pp.602-610.
Vătămănescu, E.M., and et. al., 2020. From the deliberate managerial strategy towards
international business performance: A psychic distance vs. global mindset
approach. Systems Research and Behavioral Science, 37(2), pp.374-387.
Zhao, H., Zhang, F. and Kwon, J., 2018. Corporate social responsibility research in international
business journals: An author co-citation analysis. International Business Review, 27(2),
pp.389-400.
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