International Business Plan - PDF

International Business
Plan

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1............................................................................................................................................1
Covered in PPT.......................................................................................................................1
TASK 2............................................................................................................................................1
Macro and Micro analysis of SBU and Dove soap................................................................1
PESTLE analysis....................................................................................................................3
Porter's five forces analysis....................................................................................................4
McKinsey 7s model................................................................................................................6
Ansoff Matrix model..............................................................................................................7
Smart objective.......................................................................................................................9
Style of entry into country......................................................................................................9
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
A business plan is a written statement demonstrating the feasibility of new business
plans. It is a roadmap which provides directions according to which all the activities should be
carried. Companies prepare international business plan before entering the international markets
in which goals and objectives are defined along with raising and allocation of resources for
getting desired outcomes (Abdelal, Blyth and Parsons, eds., 2015). It is bifurcated into different
sections for the ease of following the plan. This report has been drawn upon Unilever which is a
British_Dutch company having its headquarters at London, United Kingdom and Rotterdam,
Netherlands. Furthermore, it covers background of the company and its proposal by describing
the product chosen in this report. Along with this, macro and micro analysis, Porters and
PESTLE analysis and other models, theories etc. are included to show the detail information of
the international business plan.
TASK 1
Covered in PPT
TASK 2
International strategic business unit (SBU), specific product and company market information
Strategic business unit (SBU) refers to an unit in large corporation which may have a
different business and other plans for carrying its individual business activities. Generally, a
brand focused on its profit making SBU for adding more profit which can benefit the overall
organization. In this report, Beauty and Personal care of Unilever has been chosen as SBU which
is considered a profit making unit of the entity. In this, the product “Dove soap” is selected on
considering which all the analysis will be done (Monaco, 2014). This product of Unilever has
gained popularity because of the quality and social initiatives it took in the past. It started the
business in domestic market in UK and Netherlands but after few years, it researched about
opportunities in international market. The outcomes were positive because of which it expanded
the business in different countries by setting manufacturing units and making the products
available in 150 countries.
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Annual report
The financial condition of Unilever is strong because of which it has made the proposal
to invest in Bhutan's market in order to launch Dove soap there. The market of Bhutan is
growing rapidly at the rate of 7.5% which is a good number. Furthermore, there are only few
competitors such as Artemisia which is the top competitor. Unilever has a good position in
global market therefore, it can launch Dove soap there. The main benefit that Dove will get are
increased customers with expanded market area. In this way, Dove can be made a global product.
Fig 1. GDP of Bhutan, 2019 (In USD)
Fig 2. Population of Bhutan
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Macro and Micro analysis of SBU and Dove soap
In order to understand the viability of the SBU and the product Dove soap, micro and
macro analysis which are as follows:
Macro factors-
The suppliers: There are many suppliers in this industry all over the world except some
countries reason being it is high revenue generating industry. Therefore, the decision of Unilever
to expand beauty and personal care can become successful. In terms of Dove soap, it has huge
suppliers providing the same raw material which is required by Unilever which makes the price
affordable (Hill and et. al., 2012).
The resellers: Beauty and personal care involves lots of intermediaries who are engaged
in making the product available from manufacturing unit to final customer. With regard to Dove
soap, it is a popular product in many countries because of timely delivery and availability of
Dove soap in retail and other outlets.
The customers: Almost all the customers in the world uses the products belonging to
beauty and personal care to maintain healthy skin and personal hygiene. Hence, a good industry
to invest into. Dove soap has gone through number of changes in its composition for making it
suitable for large number of customers.
Micro factors-
Demographic factors: Beauty and personal care industry is greatly affected by differ
choices and preferences of people from different dimensions. This increases the risks in this
sector. In relation to Dove soap, it is a successful product which is used by every sort of
customers with different perceptions and views.
Economic factors: The products of beauty and personal care are always in high demand
which has pushed the entities to manufacture variety of goods in this sector. With the increase in
demand, Unilever has launched different types soaps for kids and men. This is to satisfy the
customers (Micro factors of beauty and personal care, 2019).
Political factors: This is a sector which has high number of legislations and government
policy because of companies using ingredients which may affect the sentiments of the people
using the products. Therefore, Unilever has to follow political requirements. In terms of Dove
Soap, Unilever never faced any issues with political issues which means that, it can be safely
launched in international markets.
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PESTLE analysis
The target market of this product is those areas, where people rely on soaps. Mainly,
women are its main customers to which it sells Dove soap. In recent years, it has started
manufacturing Dove soaps for men and kids because of high demand of this product in the
domestic as well as international markets. In order to show the competency of this brand and
product to set up business in Bhutan (KYUNGHOON, 2012).
PESTEL analysis is a tool used by organizations for assessing the business environment
in which they are operating or planning to operate in future. Hence, it has been conducted in
respects of Dove soap which is as follows:
Political factors: These are the elements such as policy made by the government which
may impact the business in a significant manner. Dove soap falls in the category of beauty and
personal care which emphasizes on abiding by different legislations with regard to components
using in it. Before launching the business in Bhutan, Unilever should have the knowledge about
statues and rules which are applicable on making such products so that it can carry its business
carefully. Furthermore, it should be aware about government policies regarding MNC setting up
business in Bhutan.
Economical factors: These are the factors which are responsible for affecting the
performance of the economy. These include interest rates, foreign exchange rates, economic
growth patterns etc. In the context of launching Dove soap, it should consider inflation rate while
fixing the price. Also, purchasing power of Bhutan's customers and suppliers should be taken
care of. Furthermore, it the foreign exchange rate is an important element which may affect the
business hence, enhanced attention should be provided it Unilever is transporting any substance
outside Bhutan (Hawn and Ioannou, 2016).
Social factors: These are related to social environment of the market which cover
cultural trends, demographic, population etc. Unilever should target the teenagers and young
girls who are attracted to beauty products. Furthermore, it should be careful about choosing
regions in the market which it wish to focus. In addition to this, Dove soap should be supplied to
those areas which have high demands but unavailability of beauty and personal care products.
Also, it should track the seasons in which sales can be increased.
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Technological factors: The factors which have impact on the advancement of technology
are known as technological factors. Unilever uses innovation in technology for manufacturing its
products. Bhutan is not into technology hence, if Unilever brings advance and innovative
technology then it will be able to provide Dove soap in the outlets within the time. This will help
it achieve high profit and sales as customers like fast services and delivery.
Legal factors: Laws are a big part of a business which helps it carrying different
activities in lawful manner. A company should abide by different statutes, rules and standards for
meeting legal requirements (Addo, 2013). Unilever gives importance to legislations applicable
on it. Furthermore, Dove soap is product which is applied on the skin hence, Unilever should
understand and abide by the legislations which are provide by Bhutan's government for such
segment. Also, these should not be contravened otherwise hefty penalties can be charged on the
company.
Environmental factors: These are the factors which are responsible for influencing the
environment. Some of these factors are geographical location, global changes in climate etc.
People around the world have become conscious about nature and ensure to act in a way which
do not harm the nature. Hence, Unilever should consider that it does not use any such elements
which is harmful for the skin.
Porter's five forces analysis
This model is used for identifying and analysing competition in the industry. It is useful
in ascertaining the strengths and weaknesses for the organization so that it can make effective
decisions and strategies. Porter's five forces analysis of Unilever by considering Dove soap is as
follows:
Threat of new entrants:Every market offers opportunities which attract new entities to
enter the market. This creates increased competition by adding more competitors in existing
number. Bhutan is a developing country which is hub for beauty pageants because huge number
of girls take participation in such competition every year (E. Dobbs, 2014). Also, there has been
seen the shortage of beauty products in the country which has increased the chanced for new
corporations to enter the market and establish their business in the field of beauty and personal
care. Hence, Unilever can successfully launch Dove soap because of low number of entrants are
there and demand of beauty products are high.
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Bargaining position of suppliers: Suppliers are the parties who supply raw material for
making a final product which is to be sold to the ultimate customer. The price depends upon the
price charged by suppliers. Bhutan is small country with limited suppliers which may increase
the prices of the raw materials because their bargaining position is high. Hence, Unilever should
negotiate the prices with the local suppliers for supplying the components required to make Dove
soap. Only those suppliers should be contacted having the raw materials which are appropriate
for making the products. Furthermore, the final price should be affordable for which it can have
its own manufacturing unit (Bunduchi, 2013).
Bargaining position of buyers: Customers are the important element for a business to
make it successful. Bhutan is a country which is currently having shortage of beauty products.
This is a clear witness that customers have high demand of such products. High demand gives
the power to a company to sell the products in the price it thinks appropriate provided the quality
is good and increases the customer satisfaction. In short, the good should fulfil the requirements
of buyers in Bhutan. Therefore, they have low bargaining position and cannot fluctuate the
prices.
Threat of substitutes: This means that good or products of different brands falling in the
same category are available in the market. A customer has choice to choose between alternatives
which are of good quality and cheap as compared to other products. There are competitors in the
market who deal in similar types of products at different prices. Companies that produce goods
or services for which there are no close substitutes will have more power to increase prices on
favourable terms. Bhutan have limited suppliers or outlets selling beauty and personal care
products therefore, if Unilever launch Dove soap then it will be benefited because of lack of such
goods.
Competition: Every industry has high competition due to number of entities operating in
the same sector which creates competition (Kaur, Arumugam and Yunus, 2013). It is important
to have competitive market in order to have innovation, better customer service, fair trade etc.
Unilever may find Drocosca as one of its main competitors which has business set in the
domestic markets of Bhutan. If an industry has variety of entities offering undifferentiated
products and services then it will reduce market attractiveness.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
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 Popular brand name in the world.
 Variety of products.
 Good quality with competitive
advantage.
 Advertisement controversies.
 Huge number of competitors.
 Not so popular with men, only famous
in women segment
Opportunities
 More customers
 New opportunities for growth
Threat
 Intense competition for Dove soap.
 Fake imitations of the brand can affect
Dove's image.
McKinsey 7s model
This model was developed by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman who were working at
McKinsey at the position of consultants. It is a tool which used to analyse organizational
structure on the basis of seven different elements. The same has been explained in the context of
Dove Soap which is as follows:
Strategy: It is basically a plan which is designed by an organization to achieve the goals
to remain competitive in the industry (Singh, 2013). Generally, it is prepared for long-term
comprising of vision, mission and values which is aligned with the overall objectives of the
company. Therefore, a co-ordination should be formed within the strategy with other elements
for getting desired results. Unilever may have strategies related to marketing, production, selling,
and many more in respect to the product Dove. The strategies should include main objectives and
purposes.
Structure: This element is about how different units and divisions of of an entity are
organized. To be more precise, it includes top to down or down to top approach, division of work
and many more. It defines the hierarchical stages of an organization. It is important to have the
right structure for making profit and for the growth of business. It increase transparency because
of high accountability. Furthermore, it should be flexible so that changes can be made according
to business environment. In the context of Dove soap, it should follow top to down approach
which is centralisation in which all the decisions will be made by the top management. This will
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reduce disputes and mismanagement in overall activities. Also, every individual will be allotted
work as per their capabilities and skills.
Systems: It refers to processes and procedures by which are followed for conducting
daily activities for making decisions in order to apply them for creating positive results. These
are responsible for provision guidance and directions in which all the business activities are to be
carried. Besides, management should give attention to this factor for making modifications on
the basis of environmental changes taking place. Unilever should set up its business process and
procedures according to which it will establish the place of business in Bhutan (Shiri, Anvari and
Soltani, 2014). Business process may starts from defining goals for launching Dove soap, plan
the activities, make proposal to be presented to stakeholders, examine the process to remove the
drawbacks and so many other steps as well. This will ensure that Dove soap become a hit in this
market.
Shared values: This point is focused on organizational culture that exist in an entity. A
company like Unilever operating at international level may have employees belonging to diverse
backgrounds. In such as a situation, every employee may have different beliefs, views, opinions,
and moral values which should be respected by each other. Bhutan is a country which follows
their traditions and customs. Hence, Unilever should have its own set of values which are
required to be followed by every employee who will be appointed in new retail and wholesale
stores in Bhutan (Channon and Caldart, 2015).
Style: There are variety of management or leadership styles which can be opted by
entities for getting the work done effectively and efficiently. Leaders are necessary for leading
the team by providing guidance and directions so that each employee can complete their tasks
within the time allotted to them. This helps in developing more leaders in the organization who
can work with increased productivity for achieving the overall goals. Unilever can opt for
democratic style of leadership which will give some authority to the leader appointed for
introducing Dove soap and make it successful in Bhutan. Furthermore, it should not be rigid that
changes can not be made with the time and industry requirements.
Staff: Employees play a huge role in achieving the goals by applying their ideas, skills
and talent. Unilever is a globalised organization which may have appoint individuals from
different backgrounds to be posted in the Bhutan branch of Unilever for successful launch of
Dove soap. This can be achieved when their job roles have been divided appropriate depending
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on the skills and competencies. The staff should be given training for understanding the policies
and become familiar with the new market in Bhutan so that it can accomplish the objectives
properly.
Skills: These are the abilities of each personnel working in the organization. These
include capabilities and competencies that staff is putting for the attainment of goals. Skills need
to be updated with changing business environment (Hussain and et. al., 2013). In this context,
Unilever is required to hire skilled employees who are capable of performing well. They must
prefer individuals with experience in the field of beauty and personal care in Bhutan. This will
increase the chances of high sales leading to increased profit.
In order to launch Dove soap in the market of Bhutan, there should be a particular
structure which should have proper strategy in order to carry the activities. Furthermore, staff is
the important part of entity which should posses skills and should understand the style which is
followed by the management of Unilever for the Dove soap. Along with this, every person
working in the organization should follow the shared set of values as mentioned by the Unilever.
Ansoff Matrix model
This model holds the importance for strategic marketing planning for identifying
opportunities to grow revenue by introducing new products and services or expanding in new
markets. It is also known as “product-market matrix”. Revenue can be increased by increasing
the sales which is possible through strategies by using different alternatives. It was developed by
H. Igor Ansoff which helped number of leaders and entrepreneurs to take risks for earning for
growing the business. Ansoff Matrix of Unilever for Dove soap is as follows:
Market penetration: In this strategy, a company introduce its products or goods in
existing market. The motive behind this is to expand the market share with this strategy. It can be
implemented in many different ways such as by decreasing price, increase promotion or by
acquiring competitors in same marketplace (Taylor, 2012). This helps in gaining competitive
advantage and dominance in the market. For this, companies can restructure their business for
removing the competitors out of the industry to create a monopoly. This strategy cannot used by
Unilever for launching Dove soap in Bhutan because the market is entirely new. Therefore, this
strategy will not serve the purpose.
Product development: In this, an organization focus on producing new products to be
launched in the existing the market. The market remains the same but new goods are introduce.
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This requires extensive research and development for expanding the product range. It is
important for the firm to know their current position in the industry. Hence, it can be said that if
a firm has good understanding of its existing market then it can produce new products to be sold
in the same market. Merger is an option which can be considered in this to cater the needs of the
customers. Furthermore, strategic partnerships with others entities can help it improving supply
chain through which it can have effective distribution channels. Unilever is not considering this
strategy because it wish to have presence of Dove soap in new international markets.
Market development: This strategy is used when an organization is planning to introduce
existing products in new markets. It is a way for expanding the business into new geographical
areas, customer segments, etc. An enterprise can build strategies for selling the products to
different customers, or expanding the business in domestic or internationally (Ang, Benischke
and Doh, 2015). As the name suggest, the market is developed with the existing products.
Generally, goods having increased brand name are launched in new markets to attract huge
customers. Also, entities can opt for different pricing policies by analysing number of factors
such as demand and supply, per capita income, standard of living, quality, brand name and value
etc. It involves high risks as investment is huge. It is the appropriate strategy for Unilever, the
business plan is to launch Dove soap in Bhutan which is a new international market. In this way
Unilever can expand the business in beauty and personal care segment. It will be offering the
Dove soap at low price with discounted offers in order to attract the young customers. This will
be for initial few months of the launch.
Diversification: In this strategy, the firm enters a new market with a new product. It is
considered the riskiest but offers huge opportunities for increasing the profit. The investment is
also high because both market and product are required to be developed which increases the risks
which can be reduced with diversification (Boeh and Beamish, 2012). Furthermore, it done in
two ways viz. Related and unrelated. This strategy is not useful for Unilever as Dove soap is not
a new product. Also, investment is limited to market only because Dove soap is an existing
product which can be launched easily.
Smart objective
An entity make goals and objectives which are attained by it within the allotted time.
SMART objective is prepared to have clear focus and direction for carrying business objectives.
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It is the abbreviate form which stands for specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely.
By using this this, the chances of achieving the goals get increased. SMART objective of
Unilever for introducing Dove soap in new market is as follows:
“To launch Dove soap in Bhutan for increasing the business presence in international market
within 6 months through expansion”.
This objective will be achieved by opening retail and wholesale stores in different parts
of Bhutan.
Style of entry into country
There are different kinds of entry modes by using which a company can enter the foreign
markets. Each of them should be evaluated on the basis of suitability so that appropriate mode
can be chosen through which business of business of Dove soap can be expanded. Some of the
entry modes to enter foreign market are as follows: Direct exporting: This is the way in which a firm export its goods directly to
international market. No intermediaries are present in between. It is considered as the
fastest mode of entry into international business. This method is not suitable for
introducing Dove soap as Unilever is considering exclusive stores for this product. This
method is suitable for supplying the goods directly to an importer instead of establishing
own retail business outlet. Licensing: In this mode, there is an agreement of license in which licensor in the target
country grants license to the licensee for using the property of the licensor for carrying
the business. The licensee pay a fee and risk is also minimal which provides a great way
to launch business in international market at low cost. There is no requirement to acquire
any property. Joint Ventures: It is a most common way of modes of entry international market wherein
the brand, knowledge and expertise are shared. In this, the entity planning to enter into
foreign market may form a joint venture with local businesses for sharing the profit, risks
and losses. It is suitable for the countries wherein the governments do not permit to have
100% foreign ownership. However, it is limited to some industries only. Unilever should
avoid going for this mode as there is no such restriction by the government and it wants
to have absolute ownership in the outlets it is proposing to open.
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 Merger and acquisitions (M&A): This method is about making purchase of entities
existing in the international market. It requires good amount of investment in order to
make a deal of acquisitions in a foreign country. On the other hand, merger is way in
which a company merger into corporations already operating in the concerned
international market. This mode of entry can be used in which Unilever can acquire or
merge into already existing business in Bhutan for launching the product Dove soap.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been concluded that international business plan is a
significant element which is to be prepared before launching new products or enter in
international market. This report has been drawn upon showing the competency of a product
which is chosen in this assignment. For this, different kinds of models and theories have been
used such as Mckinsey 7s, PESTLE to evaluate business environment, Porter's five forces for
analysing the competition in the market, Ansoff Matrix to identify what strategy should be
designed to attain the objectives. All things are needed in a business plan according to which it
can carry the business.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals:
Abdelal, R., Blyth, M. and Parsons, C. eds., 2015. Constructing the international economy.
Cornell University Press.
Pour, S., Bakhshizadeh, A. and Barati, E., 2012. An empirical study to measure the relationship
between management style and conflict management. Management Science Letters.
2(6). pp.2249-2254.
Monaco, L., 2014. Global luxury goods: today and tomorrow.
Hill, S.E., and et. al., 2012. Boosting beauty in an economic decline: mating, spending, and the
lipstick effect. Journal of personality and social psychology. 103(2). p.275.
KYUNGHOON, B., 2012. Improving Competitiveness Of Company.
Hawn, O. and Ioannou, I., 2016. Mind the gap: The interplay between external and internal
actions in the case of corporate social responsibility. Strategic Management Journal.
37(13). pp.2569-2588.
Addo, A., 2013. Customizing global brands: An evaluation of external factors that affect brand
strategies.
E. Dobbs, M., 2014. Guidelines for applying Porter's five forces framework: a set of industry
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Bunduchi, R., 2013. Trust, partner selection and innovation outcome in collaborative new
product development. Production planning & control. 24(2-3). pp.145-157.
Kaur, K., Arumugam, N. and Yunus, N.M., 2013. Beauty product advertisements: A critical
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Singh, A., 2013. A study of role of McKinsey's 7S framework in achieving organizational
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Shiri, S., Anvari, A. and Soltani, H., 2014. An assessment of readiness factors for implementing
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Channon, D.F. and Caldart, A.A., 2015. McKinsey 7S model. Wiley encyclopedia of
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Hussain, S.,and et. al., 2013. ANSOFF matrix, environment, and growth-an interactive
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Ang, S.H., Benischke, M.H. and Doh, J.P., 2015. The interactions of institutions on foreign
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Online:
Financial position of Unilever. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.unilever.com/investor-relations/annual-report-and-accounts/>.
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Unilever's strategy. 2019. [Online]. Available through: <https://www.unilever.co.uk/about/who-
we-are/our-strategy/>.
Success and failure of Dove soap. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.prweek.com/article/1582147/doves-real-beauty-campaign-won-nearly-
lost-its-audience>.
Micro factors of beauty and personal care. 2019. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.mintel.com/press-centre/beauty-and-personal-care/the-trends-driving-
growth-in-the-uk-beauty-market>.
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APPENDIX
Chairman's statement
Independent Auditors' reports
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Economic scale of Unilever
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It is a prominent company which offers variety of products worldwide and also the products
mainly belong to beauty and personal care category.
Unilever's Share market value
Consolidated Income statement
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Consolidated Cash flow
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Consolidated Balance sheet
Financial performance of Unilever
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The shareholders of the company have been getting the returns at a higher rate as compared to
previous years. This is because of the good sales and higher profit margin due to which the
company was able to pay higher return.
Competitors' analysis
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Market share of Unilever worldwide
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