Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017: Analysis and Recommendations for Expansion

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of Duque Papetiers Gros, a stationery business in France, and explores the feasibility of expanding to Germany. It examines the German wholesale stationers market, analyzes Duque's financial performance, and evaluates the potential benefits and challenges of international expansion. The report also delves into customer satisfaction, cost analysis, and the importance of adhering to international standards. Recommendations are provided to guide Duque Papetiers Gros in making informed decisions regarding its future growth.

Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
Report for Duque Papetiers Gros
Date:
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
Table of Contents
1. Introduction..................................................................................................................................3
2. Analysis of Issues for Duque Papetiers Gros..............................................................................4
2.1 - An Overview of the Wholesale Stationers Market in Germany..............................................4
2.2 - Annual Spending on Writing / Drawing Materials per Capita................................................5
2.3 - Analysis of Duque’s last three financial years of sales data (2015-2017)..............................6
2.4 - Feasibility of Expanding to Germany & International Standards...........................................7
2.5 - Costs of a New Building.........................................................................................................9
2.6 - Mean Value of Orders...........................................................................................................10
2.7 - Customer Satisfaction............................................................................................................11
3. Conclusion.................................................................................................................................14
4. Reference list.............................................................................................................................15
5. Appendices................................................................................................................................16
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
1. Introduction
The Germany stationeries market is a prolific one. As per the research of the Association of
German Stationery Brands, total sales of the stationery market of Germany had grown by around
3.5% between the years 2014 and 2015 (Isokane et al., 2017). This has been the outcome of
increase in Germany’s domestic demand of stationery items by 2.5%, along with an increase in
the demand outside Germany by 5% (Muller et al., 2017). This report discusses about Duque
Papetiers Gros, a stationeries business in France and identifies the scope of expansion of this
business to Germany. The different kinds of issues that the business has been facing and the
possible ways with which they can be overcome have also been stated.
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
2. Analysis of Issues for Duque Papetiers Gros
2.1 - An Overview of the Wholesale Stationers Market in Germany
The position of the stationery industry is currently quite well. As per the HBS (Trade Association
for Office Supply and Writing Materials), the total sales of the entire stationeries industry is
above 14.8 million Euros each year and it is equal to all individual spending above 182 Euros
annually (Ti, 2018). Around 35.2 Euros of this amount is spent over drawing and writing
materials that ranks Germany as the second among the best countries among the EU as per
spending on stationery materials (Ti, 2018). From further analysis of the market of Germany, it
can be analyzed that more than 70% of German stationery companies have experienced increase
in their sales margins during 2015 (Ti, 2018).
The research of the structure of the wholesale market of stationeries in Germany indicate that
around 2200 wholesale business are operating in the stationery industry of Germany and almost
half of these business comprises of net turnover more than 500,000 Euros (Krapp and
Pannowitsch, 2017). This shows that the wholesale stationers business in Germany is quite
successful. It can also be analyzed that the wholesale market of stationery in Germany comprises
of dealers who sell products over the internet through e-commerce. For instance, Alibaba is the
online shopping site in Germany, which is involved in the selling of wholesale stationeries in the
country (Clark, 2016). In case if any wholesale stationeries business is looking forward to a new
location, Germany will be the most suitable one.
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
2.2 - Annual Spending on Writing / Drawing Materials per Capita
The graph, which has been presented in Appendix 1, shows that the per capita spending of
people of twelve different countries around the globe annually, including France as well as
Germany based on drawing and writing material purchase. From the contrast of the spending
shown in the graph, it can be found that France as well as Germany is the countries, which are
leading. The first place is occupied by Switzerland, while the second place is occupied by
Germany. Austria stands at third while France is at the fourth place. The eight other countries
stand after one another after the fourth position held by France. Czech Republic and Croatia are
the last ones among the twelve.
The comparison and interpretation of the per capita spending of people of twelve different
countries around the globe annually indicate that France as well as Germany is among the
highest positions in terms of drawing and writing material purchase. Hence, from the analysis of
investments on drawing and writing material purchase, it will be profitable for any wholesale
stationery business to start a business in Germany or France.
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
2.3 - Analysis of Duque’s last three financial years of sales data (2015-2017)
(a)
Items or products 2015 (Total
sales in Euros)
2016 (Total
sales in Euros)
2017 (Total
sales in Euros)
Shredders 25,000.00 29,000.00 29,000.00
Writing or drawing
materials
25,000.00 30,000.00 32,000.00
Printers of low cost 15,000.00 18,000.00 18,000.00
Supplies related to
general office goods
25,000.00 27,000.00 23,000.00
Paper based supplies 25,000.00 27,000.00 27,000.00
Cartridges of printers 25,000.00 26,000.00 22,000.00
Furniture for office 25,000.00 25,000.00 27,000.00
Total Sales 165000.00 182000.00 178000.00
Formula and chart presented in Appendix no. 2
(b) Presented in Appedix no. 3
(c) Presented inAppendix no. 4
From the calculation of the correlation coefficient, which has been done above, it has been found
that R2 is among 1.0 and 0.0. When the R2 value lies at a point nearer to that of 1, the forecast or
prediction is considered weak and vice versa. In case of this sum, the R2 value is 0.53 (rounding
off the decimal points), which is a reflection that R2 is neither too strong nor too weak. It stands
at a moderate position.
(d) Presented in Appendix no. 5
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2.4 - Feasibility of Expanding to Germany & International Standards
(a)
(b) According to Taylor and Joudrey (2017), international standards can be referred to as the
standards and the principles, which are developed and introduced by the International Standards
Organization and provide a detailed framework, requirements, guidelines and specifications for
being used in companies all over the world. There are wide ranges of international standards,
which are used within each and every European company and must be complied with for so that
the activities of the company can be performed. The international standards, which are used
within each and every European company such as Duque Papetiers Gros must be complied for so
that the activities of the company can be performed are as follows -
 International Standards 26000 - As stated by Moratis and Cochius (2017), ISO 26000,
which is also called the ISO SR, is an international standard that states specifications and
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
regulations for the contribution to global sustainable development of organizations in
order encourage the practice as well as the adoption of corporate social responsibility.
 International Standards 45001 - According to Darabont et al. (2017), ISO 45000, which
is commonly called the ISO for occupational safety and health, is also an international
standard. This standard has been introduced for the decrease of the burden of the
employers by creating safe and better working culture, improving employee safety,
confirming that risks in the workplace are lower, etc.
 International Standards 31000: 2209 - According to Olechowski et al. (2016), ISO
31000: 2209 is an international standard that has been framed for managing risks of an
enterprise. This standard enhances the likelihood of organizations for accomplishing of
objectives, improvement of the identification of threats and opportunities, allocation of
resources in an efficient manner, etc.
 International Standards 50001 - As stated by Yuriev and Boiral (2018), the ISO 50001
is one of the most important international standards, framed for managing energy in a
firm. The standard provides regulations, rules, framework and guidelines for management
of energy of industries, commercial organizations or any other organization.
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2.5 - Costs of a New Building
Appendix 6 to be considered for the formula used
(a) Principal (P) amount of the mortgage = 2,000,000.00
No. of years (t) of repayment = 30
Size of the payment (r) = 5000
(b) Principal (P) amount of the mortgage = 2,000,000
No. of years (t) of repayment = 30
Conversion period (n) = 360 days
Conversion years / period (m) = 12
Rate of interest (R) = 10%
Rate of interest each year (I) = 0.0083
Size of this payment (r) = 17551.43
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2.6 - Mean Value of Orders
Mean worth of the 0 hypothesis = 240 Euros
Magnitude = 240 Euros
However, from the view of other strategies, mean value lies closer to 240 Euros but it is not
exactly 240 Euros
Similarly, the magnitude is also not 240 Euros
The following are the expressions of the hypothesis
H0: μ = 240 Euros
H1: μ ≠ 240 Euros
In case if the significance level is considered 5%, then the average standard deviation is taken
rather than taking the actual value
SD = 43 Euros (SD stands for standard deviation)
As per the value mentioned, this case can be said to be reasonable
From this analysis, it can be considered that the standard error is as follows -
Thus, (228, 252) is found to be standing at the interval and can be analyzed that it is possible for
every random sampled mean to fall amongst the values that have been mentioned
Hence, Duque Papetiers Gros’ value, which is stated to be 230 Euros, can be stated as a middle
component of the interval that has been mentioned. However, it is only when the 0 hypothesis is
worth 240 Euros (H0:μ= 240 Euros)
Conclusion - Therefore, it can be concluded that the mean value, as believed by Donald, stands
at the approximate value of 240 Euros.
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
2.7 - Customer Satisfaction
(a) The questionnaires, which had been sent through e-mail by the business Duque Papetiers
Gros had quite disappointing responses. This is mostly since most of the customers have not
replied back to the questionnaires, which had been e-mailed to them. The critical analysis of the
reasons for which customer responses have been such poor shows that there may have been two
reasons due to which the responses of the customers had been so poor. One of the reasons due to
which the customers’ responses had been poor can be the improper time during which the
questionnaire was sent. The questionnaires had been sent in the month of December, when
customers are generally celebrating Christmas and New Year Eve and usually do not check their
e-mails as they are busy with celebrations. On the other hand, numerous clients are not
acquainted with technology and the mails sent to them remains unchecked. Due to this reason,
the business Duque Papetiers Gros is recommended on shifting the time in which it sends
questionnaires for feedback to its customers along with searching new channels of
communication in order to reach out to more customers.
(b)
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
PRICE VALUE SALES STAFF QUAL P&S CUST SERV
Mean 1.950 3.450 3.150 3.500
Standard
Deviation
(S.D.)
0.510410 0.825570 0.366340 0.760880
From the analysis and calculation of Duque Papetiers Gros’ standard deviation and mean values
that are sales staff, customer service, price value and quality indicate that the business is
operating in France from a number of years. However, in spite of being in the market for such
long time, there has been loss of clients as well as lowering sales revenues because of several
factors. Between the four factors discusses above, the two most important concerns of the
business Duque Papetiers Gros are the price value of its products and the quality of the business’
goods and services. The other factors, however, are not of major concern. However, the business
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
is required to take necessary steps on the improvements of the business’ product quality along
with reducing the price value of the business’ products.
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
3. Conclusion
The analysis of the stationery market and the stationery business of Donald Duque named Duque
Papetiers Gros from Task 1 to Task 7 indicates that the stationeries market in Germany are quite
prolific in nature. It can also be analyzed that the demand of office stationeries in Germany is
quite high and the market looks prospective as well. Since Donald Duque is interested in setting
up a new stationery business in either Belgium or Germany, he is recommended on selecting the
location to be Germany rather than Belgium, as the market of Germany looks prospective in
nature. From the analysis, it can also be determined that Duque Papetiers Gros requires the
incorporation of a wide range of modern technologies in order to carry out its business
operations. The lack of modern technologies in its operations has resulted in the negative attitude
of customers towards responding to the questionnaire survey of the business. A digitized method
would have been more effective for the business in order to gain customer feedback. Duque
Papetiers Gros must also be obeying the clauses mentioned in the international standards for
staying clear to the social and governmental issues. In addition to the above points, the
estimation of risks must be an integral part of the operations of the business Duque Papetiers
Gros as well.
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4. Reference list
Clark, D., 2016. Alibaba: the house that Jack Ma built. HarperCollins.
Darabont, D.C., Antonov, A.E. and Bejinariu, C., 2017. Key elements on implementing an
occupational health and safety management system using ISO 45001 standard. In MATEC Web
of Conferences (Vol. 121, p. 11007). EDP Sciences.
Isokane, M., Tadokoro, C., Sasaki, S. and Prakash, B., 2017. Influence of Ink Composition on
Tribological Properties of Ballpoint Pen. Tribology Online, 12(5), pp.257-261.
Krapp, M.C. and Pannowitsch, S., 2017. Patterns of changing knowledge orders: insights from
German and British labour market policy. Evidence & Policy: A Journal of Research, Debate and
Practice, 13(1), pp.97-115.
Moratis, L. and Cochius, T., 2017. ISO 26000: The business guide to the new standard on social
responsibility. Routledge.
Muller, J., Dotzauer, V. and Voigt, K.I., 2017. Industry 4.0 and its impact on reshoring decisions
of German manufacturing enterprises. In Supply Management Research (pp. 165-179). Springer
Gabler, Wiesbaden.
Olechowski, A., Oehmen, J., Seering, W. and Ben-Daya, M., 2016. The professionalization of
risk management: What role can the ISO 31000 risk management principles play?. International
Journal of Project Management, 34(8), pp.1568-1578.
Taylor, A.G. and Joudrey, D.N., 2017. The organization of information. ABC-CLIO.
Ti, N., 2018. Malaysia-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, otherwise known as AHK
Malaysia, is the official representative of German Industry and Trade in Malaysia.. [online]
Malaysia-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, otherwise known as AHK Malaysia, is
the official representative of German Industry and Trade in Malaysia. Available at:
https://www.malaysia.ahk.de/ [Accessed 26 Jun. 2018].
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Yuriev, A. and Boiral, O., 2018. Implementing the ISO 50001 System: A Critical Review. In ISO
9001, ISO 14001, and New Management Standards (pp. 145-175). Springer, Cham.
5. Appendices
Appendix 1: Graph of per capita annual spending of people in various countries
Switzerland
Germany
Austria
France
Slovenia
Italy
Slovakia
Hungary
Spain
Poland
Croatia
Czech Republic
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
35.5 35.2 35
28.3
20.4 18.6
9.8 9.6 8.9 8.5 7.9 7.6
Spending per capita
Appendix 2: Formula in excel for total sales
Total sales = Sum (Column x: Column y)
Appendix 3:
Sales for 2016
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Report for Duque Papetiers Gros 2017
14%
15%
10%
14%
16%
15%
16%
2016 Sales (€)
printer cartridges
general office supplies
low-cost printers
office furniture
shredders
paper-based supplies
writing/drawing materials
Sales for 2017
12%
13%
10%
15%
16%
15%
18%
2017 Sales (€)
printer cartridges
general office supplies
low-cost printers
office furniture
shredders
paper-based supplies
writing/drawing materials
Appendix 4: Scatter diagram and correlation
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2014.5 2015 2015.5 2016 2016.5 2017 2017.5
155000
160000
165000
170000
175000
180000
185000
190000
Total sales (in €)
Total sales (in €)
Linear (Total sales (in €))
Appendix 5
2014.5 2015 2015.5 2016 2016.5 2017 2017.5
155000
160000
165000
170000
175000
180000
185000
190000
f(x) = 6501 x − 12929000
R² = 0.534886670106354
Total sales (in €)
Total sales (in €)
Linear (Total sales (in €))
Linear (Total sales (in €))
Appendix 5: Formula for compound interest
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Compound interest
P = R x [{1- (1 + i) - n)} / i]
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