Market Analysis and Entry Strategies for Boots in Australia

This report provides a detailed analysis of the Australian market and buyer behavior in relation to Boots' industry sector. It also discusses the cultural differences and similarities of the Australian target customer for Boots and explores the implications for international marketers. The report further examines various market entry methods and suggests the most suitable method for Boots to enter the Australian market. Additionally, it analyzes the marketing mix elements and how they may need to be adapted to reach the Australian Boots customer.

Formative feedback on Draft:
Australian cultural market analysis:
 You need to demonstrate more in-depth market and cultural research of the Australian
market and buyer behaviour in relation to the industry sector Boots operates in
 Try to avoid just describing each of Hofstede’s dimensions. You need to provide a
deeper analysis of the cultural differences and similarities of Australian target customer
for Boots.
 Delve deeper into the implications for the international marketer of cultural differences
to show deeper cultural knowledge and understanding. What are the MARKTEING
implications? How might being a low PD country impact on customer decision making?
Try to consider customers as well as staff (HR focus)
 Room to consider wider range of cultural theory, beyond Hofstede.
 You need to include more academic references and supporting evidence and examples
of cultural research into the Australian culture and behaviour of customers in relation to
Boots
Market entry
 A weak section on market entry. You MUST support your ideas with academic
underpinning/evidence of wider reading
 You MUST ANALYSE. You need to identify and analyse impacting factors (e.g.
risk/control) in relation to specific market entry related decisions.
 You do not need to mechanically ‘describe’ lots of different entry methods. You should
identify one, perhaps two, and JUSTIFY which wuold be best for Boots to enter Australia
based on the market conditions in Australia, Boots international experience, etc.... You
should use your knowledge from your cultural / market analysis above.
International Marketing mix
 It is unclear who the target customer is in Australia?
 Don’t just describe what Boots do.
 Try not to just describe the marketing mix of Boots. ANALYSE! Consider how the
marketing mix elements may need to be adapted to reach the Australian Boots
customer, and why (in light of cultural differences).
 You must include relevant academic or theoretical insight into the international
marketing mix strategy. E.g. product/promotion/pricing strategy, etc... E.g. READ and
use relevant vocabulary (e.g. product life cycle, product portfolio;
product range/product line, etc…. or Communication process theory – encoding of the
message/noise/which communication methods to use);
 You need to read around the key theory relating to marketing mix elements. Use your
lecture notes and text books

International Marketing
Strategy

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Issues faced at the time of entering into new country market................................................4
Market entry methods.............................................................................................................6
Marketing mix decision..........................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
International marketing strategy is defined as the market expansion done by businesses
in international markets. This strategy is having various dimensions such as cultural dimension
and marketing dimensions. There are so many factors which are required to be taken by a
business while their business expansion in global market. In order to understand these concepts
this report is prepared with the background of Boots UK Ltd. The company is a retailer of health
and beauty products. The company is headquartered in Beeston, UK. The company is having
high end market in UK and they operate in a very prominent manner and cater huge population
of UK. They are having more than 600 optician places and 490 hearing care solution centres.
This makes the company to establish distinct identity within marketplace. Boots is serving in
majorly five countries named Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and Thailand and now they
are planning to expand their business in Australia. For this the company have examined so many
factors which are included in this report. (Hapsari, Stoffers and Gunawan, 2017).
MAIN BODY
Issues faced at the time of entering into new country market
When a business gets entered in a nee country then they may face so many issues due to
variation in cultural background and marketing barriers. These issues are to be analysed by the
company in order to have high access in market and to get high capture over customer in
prominent manner. For resolving these issues impactful strategies are to be made so as to tackle
the same and obtain business benefits from those (Gama, 2017). In the context of Boots UK Ltd
as they are planning to enter into Australian market so this is required by them that they analyse
market condition and cultural dimensions in appropriate manner so that appropriate strategies
can be formulated by them. In this market expansion there are two kind of major issues which
are faced by Boots UK Ltd such as cultural and marketing issues. These issues are explained in
detail as under:
Cultural issue: These issues are associated with education of population, their used languages,
community which they belong to and many more factors. Within this concept Boots UK Ltd is
required to put their emphasis on the same as they are planning to expand in Australian market

and this issue is having prominent impact on their business as this factor is directly associated
with people. Culture is everything for a business to get succeeded as culture is having power to
accept and deny something, and this could be a product or company as well. With the help of
Hofstede's six Dimensions of Culture this concept can be connected to expansion of Boots UK
Ltd.
Hofstede's Six Dimensions: This model of culture explains about the concept that when
businesses are planning to expand their business at some global level then there are some factors
which works as a barrier and motivator as well. So with the help of these five dimensions:
1. Power Distance Index (PDI): This is known as degree of inequality accepted by the
population who is having power and who don’t have. If PDI is high then
organisational hierarchy are complex which gives power to a single authority and
leader is treated as the superior person. Similarly if a country is having low PDI then
it is having flatter hierarchy of organisation and all the employees are considered as
equal there is no gaps in delegation and all the working personnel are taking part is
decision making process. With this concept Australia is having relatively low PDI
that means Boots UK Ltd is required to make their business organisation such
efficient that leader is taking care of all the internal working so as to obtain
operational structure according to the country’s culture. This is having high impact on
decision making of staff as this lead them to have high controlled organisational
culture by which robust strategies can be formed for marketing the product within
customer. (Beugelsdijk, Kostova and Roth, 2017)
2. Individualism Versus Collectivism (IDV): This factor is defined as strength and
relations hold by an individual with their society and fellow member within overall
society group. This factor is considered as a prominent one because with the help of
this direct human contact is elaborated. High IDV is representation of weak
interpersonal skills in which high degree of individual freedom is seen. On the other
side low IDV is representation of high harmony in groups along with overall interest.
In the context of Australia they possess high IDV which means society is loosely knit
and culture existed is individualism. Within this context Boots UK Ltd is following

this culture and makes their offering in that way only that it satisfy needs of each and
every customer in individual manner (Triandis, 2018).
3. Time orientation: This is defined as the links maintained by society with their past
so as to deal with challenges faced in future. By this it can be concluded that society
is how much reactive to the prevailing market changes. In the context of Australia
they are having normative culture in which people of Australia are more emphasized
on traditions and they are having doubt with societal changes and do not accept the
same in easy manner (Qian and et. al.., 2019).
4. Masculinity: This is defined as the prevailing stereotypes existed in the market which
is masculine or feminine. Masculine values means society is driven by competition
and achievement of men and women whereas feminine values are defined as taking
care of each other and admit what is best for the society. In the context of Australia
they are having masculine society in which people are striving for be the best. In this
context Boots is having lesser market opportunities to market their beauty products in
the market due to this culture which makes them aware about market scenarios and
lead them to implement robust marketing strategy (Favaretto and et. al., 2016).
5. Uncertainty avoidance: This aspect includes that how the population of the country
are managing future uncertainty. Here weak UA means society is prone to take risk
and exhibits opinions. On the other hand high UA means they are aggressive about
their future uncertainties. Within this context Australia is intermediate in this
dimension that means population have moderate thinking about future uncertainties
and this may give high business benefits to Boots UK Ltd is positioning their brand in
the Australian market. (Dihl and et. al., 2017).
6. Short term VS long term orientation: Within this aspect two goals are made by the
company which is for short run and long run. In the context of Boots short term goals
may can be to enter with appropriate entry method in Australia and long term goals is
to position their brand in such a manner that they can become market leader.
Marketing issues: These issues are associated with understanding market trends such as content
marketing, peer marketing, SEO approach and establishment of communication with people,
emerging trend in CRM and many more. These are the issues which are to be taken by Boots UK
Ltd in their process of market expansion in Australia. With the help of social media marketing

these issues can be eliminated. As social media is an emerging concept and may be helpful for
Boots UK Ltd to understand buying behaviour of their target audience. This is helpful for them
in making their brand highly recognisable and succeeds.
Market entry methods
In order to get entry in international market robust strategies are required to be framed by
them. The method of entry is having high significance in business success within international
market. Target market for Boots in Australia is those premium customer who are not sensitive to
prices and highly focused on using premium quality products in heath and beauty aspect. With
the help of apt market entry method target market can be served by business in appropriate
manner. In the context of Boots UK Ltd the company is willing to expand in Australia and with
the help of effective market research they are required to get to know about the most suitable
method to get entered in that market in order to get high business success (Chiang, 2018). Here
are some entry methods which are discussed in relation to Boots UK Ltd, which are elaborated as
under:
Joint venture: This form of entry includes having two parties to the agreement in which
they are together form an agreement containing to form a new company which is having distinct
identity and policies for its operation and functions. Within this market expansion strategy two
parties get agree for the same contract and they forms policies regarding trade and operation on
mutual basis. Within this rights and duties of both the parties are pooled together so as to initiate
sell agreement and to share risk and rewards in predefined manner. This is another form of
partnership and parties are involved for a particular agreement only. This is a safe method, so
Boots UK Ltd may use this method in order to perform their business expansion in Australia. By
using this businesses may have high expectation of success in international markets as this
method give high market coverage and exposure. Within this method Boots UK Ltd can initiate
their joint venture with some successfully established company in Australia so as to create path
for their business expansion and success as well. (Cäker and Nyland, 2017). One of the
prominent disadvantages of joint venture is that Boots cannot have full-fledged control over the
business.
Direct export: This is known to be the most preferably used methods in business expansion by
companies during their market expansion within international market. Within this method a

company plans to sell their product or services directly in the market in which they are planning
to expand. This helps them to directly break off the market without any prominent dodge. Under
the first step of this method is to make dealers and agents in the target market by which goods or
products will be purchased by customers. They act as a face of the company so they must be
reliable and risk takers. This is similar way to sell goods within domestic market so all the other
factors of the company are constant. In the context of Boots UK Ltd, they can use this method
for their market expansion in UK in order to conquer high market and success as well. The major
disadvantage of direct export is that if agent is not efficient then this can damage the whole
image of Boots which could lead them to sacrifice market share as well.
Franchising: Within this method of market entry an agreement is made between two parties in
which license is given by one party to another in order to share their rights and authorities to
another party for market expansion. This is known to be a contractual agreement in which the
involved two parties are called franchisor and franchisee. Further franchisor is the party who
renders rights to franchisee for using their intellectual property rights within another market for
market expansion. Business may have high chances of success by using this method as identity
of business remains the same along with business working. So in this context Boots UK Ltd can
use this method for their market expansion in Australia as this will help them to enhance their
brand identity and market capture. (Hoffman, Munemo and Watson, 2016). The major
disadvantage of this method is that all the rights are sold to some unknown party which may
damage overall brand image of Boots if they do not comply their operations in effective manner.
Greenfield investments: This method is also known as foreign direct investment in which
investment is made in another company as in form of plant, site and building within the place in
which expansion is to be made. This method is quite expensive as this involves governmental
interventions. Further the company who is willing to invest within Greenfield investment will
have to bear all the risk and cost due to which this is known to be the most risky strategy. Huge
amount of research and development is required within this method as all the factors of foreign
market is to be understood and then only decision can be framed for investment. In this context
Boots UK Ltd can use this method within their market expansion in Australia as this method will
help them to get investment help in land and building.

From the above discussion it can be concluded that franchise could be the best method
which can be adopted by Boots UK Ltd as in this method they may have high control over the
business in Australia and risk will also be very low. This method leads them to earn high
goodwill within Australian market as they are having robust brand equity in UK. Similarly in this
method franchisor renders full support by which this is profitable for Boots UK Ltd in their
successful market expansion.
Marketing mix decision
Marketing mix: This is known as a marketing concept under which various decision are taken
by the company in order to make the product a market success and this will help them to position
the product within market in prominent manner(Abril and Rodriguez-Cánovas, 2016). This
strategy includes four dimension of the company which includes product, price place and
promotion. These are called as most essential aspect in which so many crucial decisions are
taken by marketing manager. In the context of Boots UK Ltd as they are planning to expand their
business in Australia so they are required to undertake this concept of marketing. Marketing mix
in relation to Boots UK Ltd is elaborated as under:
Product: Boots UK Ltd is known as a multi retail store in UK. They operate in various health
and beauty product such as their own food and drink items and optician and hearing care
solution. The company is having high end market in UK and they operate in a very prominent
manner and cater huge population of UK. They are product portfolio of healthcare and beauty
products and they have various product lines in their products which are majorly divided into
two sections. Their offerings are sum of services and products so in their own way they are
distinct and unique. The company is having two types of stores number one is local pharmacy
and other one is flagship stores. Local pharmacy stores are tiny in size and are focused on
rendering health care services on the other side flagship stores involves product and services both
so they are large in size. In their Australia expansion Boots UK Ltd can focus on both their store
as they both have unique feature and identity. (Wu and Li, 2018)
Price: Boots UK Ltd deals in portfolio services and products so they are having diversified range
of pricing within their product and services. Their beauty and healthcare products are having
huge competitors within market so for these they have competitive pricing and for rest of the
services they keep exclusive prices. The main motive of the company is to cater more and more

customer by their service and product offering so their prices are moderate as compare to their
brands and companies. On the other hand Boots UK Ltd is having so many brand collaborations
such as Tony & Guy and many more due to which for some beauty products like shampoo etc.
they have premium pricing as this collaboration is with luxurious brand and this is helping them
to enhance their brand image. In their market expansion of Australia, as Australians are prone to
use expensive and super quality products so their premium pricing will not be a dodge in this
market expansion. Further due to high healthcare in Australia competition is tough so moderate
pricing is helpful for Boots UK Ltd to place their product in new market. So this aspect of
marketing mix is having high positive implications on Boots UK Ltd as in process of market
expansion in Australia.
Place: Boots UK Ltd is a retail chain of healthcare and beauty products and services. They
export their product in more than 130 countries within global periphery. Boots is serving in
majorly five countries named Ireland, Italy, Norway, the Netherlands and Thailand. Within these
countries they are having two kinds of stores such as local pharmacy and flagship stores. The
company is highly focused on local pharmacy as they consist of low investment but at the same
time customer capture is high. They are delivering their product by online delivery also by this
they are acquiring high market and customer so as to earn market sustainability. In their context
of Australia expansion they must be focusing on flagship stores as people of Australia prefers
mall over tiny shops. This can give them high advantages over market success and sustainability
as with the help of online platform larger audience can be captured by them which may enhance
their brand value in economic cost. Boots UK Ltd is having high market capture in UK as every
person over there can access to a Boots within 10 minutes and this is the main reason of their
success in that market. So in their new market expansion this factor is required to be handled in a
proper manner so as to maintain their distinctiveness.
Promotion: Boots UK Ltd is highly focused on simple and innovative advertisement programme
as this give them high coverage over customers and making loyal customers. They are having a
loyalty programme within their store in which they provide loyalty card named Boots advantage
card to their customer in which additional discounts and other privileges are given to them.
Further they use modern method to promote their brand and products as well. They are having
various celebrity endorsements and hairdresser partnerships such as John Freida, Charles

Worthington, Trevor Sorbie, Nicky Clarke and Lee Stafford etc. Within this Boots manufactured
products and sold them under these celebrity endorsements. These celebrity endorsements is
highly profitable for the company as in UK across 250 stores name of their products are
showcased which is giving them high brand popularity and recognition. In the context of their
new market expansion of Australia this is profitable for them to acquire some new celebrity
endorsements as Australians are highly prone to use luxury brand and their products. Similarly
with the help of tie ups form hairstylists they can position their product in market in a prominent
manner. In the context of Australian market as this market is new for Boots so they are required
to adapt direct marketing tool in order to promote their product as this enable them to interact
with high range of audience and this provide them high sales within new market areas.
From the above discussion it can be concluded that marketing mix is an important aspect
of a business in market expansion as these four dimensions are treated as most essential element
as well. Boots UK Ltd is planning to expand their business in Australia and for this they have to
make robust plan including dimensions of marketing mix. For this their major focus needs to be
drawn on promotional strategies as in Australia they are having intense competition and with the
help of promotional activities they can grab distinct position by which they can get popularity nd
success in those markets.
CONCLUSION
From the above detailed report it can be concluded that businesses are required to analyse
so many market dimension when they are tapping in an international market within market
expansion. With the help of entry strategies such as joint venture, direct exports and many more
success can be embraced by them in considerable manner. Similarly with the help of proper
study of factors of marketing mix appropriate decisions can be taken by the business which is
helpful for them to get high profitability and sustainability. At last there are some issues related
to culture and marketing which are to be resolved by companies with the help of requisite tool.
(Hollensen, 2019)

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