International Marketing Plan for Spud Shed: Market Entry Strategy, PESTLE and Porter's Five Forces Analysis

This paper presents the international marketing plan for one of the leading supermarket chains of Australia – Spud Shed. The major objective of the marketing plan was to plan efficient operations for Spud Shed in a new market. The plan includes PESTLE and Porter's Five Forces analysis, market entry strategy, SWOT and TOWS analysis, and marketing mix recommendations.

International Marketing
Spud Shed

Executive Summary
This particular paper presents the international marketing plan for one of the leading
supermarket chains of Australia – Spud Shed. In this context, the major objective of
marketing plan was to plan efficient operations for Spud Shed in a new market. The focus
was on conducting external and internal environment of the company. The external analysis
indicates that there are threats such as intense competition and the online shopping trends that
can have negative impact on the company’s operations in Singapore. The expertise and
functional capabilities of Spud Shed will continue to offer strengths if managed effectively.
The weaknesses of the company makes it essential for it to use advanced quality check
processes for its farm products along with using the strengths for expanding in the new
markets such as China. The marketing plan recommends a Greenfield investment market
entry strategy for Singapore along with a hybrid pricing strategy and innovative marketing
and promotional strategies such as pre roll ads and free potatoes. Lastly, the marketing plan
also offered recommendations for the futures in the context of embedding a culture of quality
at each level of the organization.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................2
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Discussion..................................................................................................................................4
PESTLE Analysis...................................................................................................................4
Market Entry...........................................................................................................................6
Porter Five Forces Analysis....................................................................................................8
SWOT and TOWS..................................................................................................................9
Marketing mix for Spudshed in Singapore...........................................................................11
Customer Relationship Management...................................................................................13
Marketing Strategy in Spud Shed Singapore........................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................15
References................................................................................................................................16

Introduction
A marketing plan can be defined as the comprehensive document or a blueprint that describes
the business activities and marketing and advertising efforts for the future. The activities and
efforts are focused towards achieving certain marketing objectives in a particular time frame.
A marketing plan also helps in perceiving all the factors that can have an impact on the
company’s operations. Before starting a new business or expanding a business in a new
country it is essential to conduct a detailed research so as to avoid unnecessary costs and
resource wastage. This particular paper will focus on the expansion plan of Spud Shed from
Australia to Singapore. Spudshed is a supermarket chain in Western Australia. The
supermarket chain is owned by Tony Galati. The company was started back in the year
1960.The company has a philosophy of offering the healthy and fresh produces to people at
affordable prices (Spud Shed, 2018).
Objectives
The major objective of this international marketing plan of Spudshed is to plan the efficient
marketing operations for Spudshed in Singapore. The marketing plan will focus on some of
the most important aspects including the Evaluation of selected target market, market entry
recommendations, marketing strategy and marketing mix along with customer relationship
strategy for Spudshed in Singapore.
Discussion
PESTLE Analysis
The marketing plan for Spudshed in Singapore will start from the Pestle analysis of
Singapore. The PESTLE analysis is a part of situation analysis that helps in providing a
detailed view about the marketing environment in which the company is going to operate.

The analysis conducted for Spudshed can also be referred to as the environmental audit.
(Rastogi & Trivedi, 2016).
Political Factors
The political risk in Singapore is quite low; in fact the country enjoys the least political risk
across the continent. The country is politically stable that has been translated to better
standard of life and peace. Due to applicability of restriction of free speech, the free speech
activities and inter-party debates are low in the country which results in peace in the country.
Due to political stability, the business opportunities have also been improved in the country
(Banco Santander, 2018).
Economic Factors
Singapore has a vibrant free-market economy and the economy is developing at a very high
pace. The per capita income of the country is the highest in ASEAN region. The business
sector of the country is supported by corruption free environment. It is considered as one of
the most competitive countries and highly educated and motivated workers strengthen the
level of competition. The financial and legal business frameworks contribute as well. The
government is also investing for the diversification of the economy as a result of which,
tourism, pharmaceutical and various other industries are extensively flourishing in the
country. Its strategic geographic location is also one of the main reasons behind the economic
success. The country possesses substantial productive assets and cheap labours from the
neighbouring countries helps in saving lot of costs.
Social Factors
Singapore follows the social trends like any other Eastern country and it emphasizes more on
traditional family values, however, the youth are inclined towards western culture and values.
The inhabitants of Singapore prefer hard working order to fulfil the materialistic desires and
their dedication to work well has contributed a lot to the enhanced productivity of the

country. The business sectors expect higher purchasing power from customers due to this
reason. The literacy rate of Singapore is very high and Singaporeans possess good command
in English and Chinese languages which is an advantage to them and helps them to attract
international trade as well as foreign investment (Kolios & Read, 2013).
Technological Factors
The technological advancement has led to change in lifestyle and quality of life in the
country. The internet advancement has improved communication and increased connectivity
and the cost and time in business processes has also reduced and social networking has
increased. The praise-worthy IT infrastructure of Singapore has increased the penetration rate
for domestic broadband internet to a high level and E-commerce has also flourished. Due to
widespread IT infrastructure, various MNCs from all over the world have established their
regional operations in the country (Sridhar et al., 2016).
Legal Factors
The government supports the growth of E-commerce which in turn relies on transparent and
market favourable legislations and regulations. The authorized, regulatory and business
establishments support industrial development and economic growth of the country.
Singapore has taken several e-commerce policy initiatives such as international e-commerce
rules and policies (Pestle Analysis, 2015). There are some basic legal and technical
infrastructures to support the secured e-commerce which are Content Regulation, Electronic
Transactions Act, IPRs, Amendments to the Evidence Act and many more.
Environmental Factors
The pollution from the transportation is the main problem in urban areas of the country but
the Ministry of Environment and Anti-Pollution Unit of the country is making relentless
efforts to manage environmental issues. The water pollution is another issue due to mixing of
industrial by-products like oil in water resources. However, water is being made useful by

getting it recycled after desalination. Due to a lack of water resources, the country is reliant
on water supply from Malaysia.
All these factors suggest that Singapore is an outstanding country as it possesses talented and
motivated people. There are business opportunities for the new entrant which is highly
benefited by government policies. Its on-going development has made it a major competitor
in the international market.
Market Entry
Market entry strategy can be defined as the planned delivery and distribution method of
goods and services to a new market (Belu & Cărăgin, 2008). There are number of ways in
which a company can enter the international markets including the methods such as
exporting, licensing, partnering, franchising, joint ventures and Greenfield investments etc. a
brief description of these market entry methods is given below:
1. Direct exporting – Direct exporting is a market entry method in which the company
sells the goods directly into the new market by exporting the goods and with an
established sales program.
2. Licensing – Another market entry strategy is the licensing in which the rights of one
company are transferred to another for using the product or service of a firm.
3. Franchising – Franchising is used by the firms that have repeatable business model
that can be easily replicated in other markets.
4. Joint Ventures – These can be defined as the form of partnership that involves a
formation of third company that will be responsible for managing the operations of
company in the new market.
5. Greenfield investment – Greenfield investment can be referred to as the foreign direct
investment (FDI) in which the parent company builds the operations in foreign

countries from the very first level. This also includes the activities such as new
production facilities, offices and hubs (Al-Kaabia et al., 2010).
From the above market entry strategies the strategy chosen for Spudshed for entering in the
Singapore market is the Greenfield market entry strategy. The Greenfield investment market
entry is not an easy affair and it is associated with both the advantages and disadvantages.
This particular market entry strategy will help in offering an advantage of system
customization according to the specific needs and demands of the customers in Singapore.
The Greenfield investment marketing strategy will also reduce the dependence of Spudshed
on its legacy systems to operate in Singapore. If implemented effectively, this strategy will
help in offering costs benefits in long term. The Greenfield investments market entry strategy
is also associated with some disadvantages such as a very high cost as the firms needs to start
from a scratch in the new target market (Chung & Enderwick, 2001) The Greenfield
investment strategy will help Spudshed in maintaining the quality of the products for which it
is widely recognized (Khadka & Akande, 2018).
Porter Five Forces Analysis
Porter five forces analysis

The porter five forces analysis is one of the frameworks that will help Spudshed in
determining the level of competition in the market of Singapore. The five major forces
presented in the above figure provide a view of the competitive intensity and attractiveness of
the market (Indiatsy et al., 2014). The discussion below focuses on porter forces analysis for
Spudshed in Singapore.
Threat of new entrant – The threat of new entrants in Singapore in the supermarket chain is
low because this particular industry is capital intensive and finding a space for super market
chains in Singapore can be very expensive for the new entrants. The established companies
like Spudshed have the potential to expand the business in Singapore.
Threat of substitute product – The threat of substitute is high for Spudshed in Singapore
because of the presence of online shopping trend in Singapore. Online shopping in Singapore
has made large foot prints and people prefer to buy goods of different categories from the
online websites including the food and personal care products. The graph below shows the
evidence for the same. The e commerce revenue is forecasted to increase with the years.
Source: (Statista, 2018)
Bargaining power of buyers – The people in Singapore are wealthy, the GDP of the nation
in the year 2017 was S$ 447,284 Mil and in 2018 was US$349.7 billion (Singstat, 2018).
People in Singapore can switch the loyalties if they do not get quality services.

Bargaining power of suppliers – The Spudshed is also in a strong position in Singapore in
context of bargaining power of suppliers because of the presence of a multitude of suppliers.
This abundance will help in taking an advantage of lower supplier switching cost and the cost
advantages.
Rivalry among the firms – The rivalry among the existing firms of Singapore in the area of
supermarkets is high. There are number of local players including the players such as
Paragon market place, NTUC Fairprice, Sheng Siong Supermarket etc. The presence of local
players in the market intensifies the competition.
SWOT and TOWS
This section will present the SWOT analysis along with the TOWS analysis. The SWOT
analysis is one of the powerful tools that will help Spudshed in uncovering new opportunities
in the market of Singapore market along with an understanding of the weaknesses and threats
that can have negative impact on the overall company’s business.
Strengths – Spudshed is a powerful supermarket brand that offers high quality products at
affordable prices. The company has years of experience in the Australian market that helps in
improving the company’s potential to operate in markets like Singapore. In addition to the
years of experience the company also has competence in the important organizational
functions such as IT, marketing, HR etc.
Weaknesses - There are weak quality checks in Spudshed especially in the area of farming,
this can have negative impact on the quality performance and corporate reputation of the
company. For example: recently the company faced a quality issue when a customer found a
dead mouse in the salad offered by the company (Watoday, 2019). The company has less
global presence.

Opportunities – Spud Shed has number of opportunities such as the company can merge
with global retailers and companies so as to expand in the large markets such as India and
China. New stores in different countries will help Spud Shed in expanding its global
presence.
Threats – There are some constant major threats for Spud Shed that can have negative
impact on the company’s operations and performance. The two major threats include the
farming challenges such as the challenge of pests and insects. Another major threat is the
threat of competition that is intensifying with the technological advancements.
TOWS
Internal strengths
 Powerful supermarket
brand
 High quality products
 Affordable prices.
 Years of experience
 Competence in IT,
marketing, HR etc.
Internal weakness
 Weak quality in farming
 Less global presence
External opportunities
Mergers
Expansion
SO
Spudshed can focus on
expanding its business to
larger markets such as China
with the help of its HRM,
marketing and IT competence.
Spudshed can focus on
utilizing technology for
improving its e commerce
WO
Spudshed can focus on using
its Human resource
competence for improving the
expertise and infrastructure on
the pest and infrastructure
improvement.

business.
External threats
Intense Competition
Framing challenges
ST
Spudshed can use new
technology and ways for
ensuring the quality of farm
products so as to gain a
competitive advantage in the
market.
WT
Spudshed should focus on
reducing the level of
competition by introducing the
quality checks such as -
Quality Assurance/Quality
Control (QA/QC) program.
(Banwo & Adamu, 2003).
Marketing mix for Spudshed in Singapore
The marketing mix can be defined as the foundation model that defines the set of marketing
tools that can be used by an organization for achieving the marketing goals and objectives.
The marketing mix includes all the important decisions that are essential for ensuring the
success of product, service or a brand in the market. The marketing mix includes the 7 P’s
that are essential for a company in context of starting a new business or expanding the
business. The discussion below focuses on the marketing mix of Spudshed in Singapore.
Product – Spud Shed offers a wide range of food and Grocery products in Australia. This
legacy can be carried forward in Singapore as so as to ensure that the customers get every
product related to food and grocery under a roof. The product range of Spud Shed in
Singapore can include – bakery, grocery, freezer, dairy, meat, fruits and vegetables and dairy
products (Spud Shed, 2018).
Price – In order to price the products in Singapore market Spud Shed can focus on a hybrid
pricing strategy including both the Everyday Low Price (EDLP) and (Hi-Lo) Pricing. EDLP
is the pricing strategy in which Spud Shed will use promotional pricing strategies and will

consistently offer the products with a price cut. In addition the special deals of food and
grocery products will also help Spud Shed to attract customers in Singapore (Ellickson &
Misra, 2007).
Place – The place in the marketing mix refers to the distribution strategy that has to be
adopted by the firm in the target market. Spud Shed in Singapore should focus on adopting
an intensive distribution strategy that will help it in distributing its products with the help of
online and offline distribution channels. The physical stores will help in offline distribution
and e commerce website will help is online distribution of goods and products.
Promotion – The promotion strategy for Spud Shed in Singapore will include the
advertisements, public relations and the word of mouth. The potato promotion strategy will
also help Spud Shed in improving its presence and attracting the customers in their stores.
Spud Shed can offer a bag of potatoes to its customers on the first week of store opening in
Spud Shed in Singapore (Community News, 2018).
People – The human resources of Spud Shed is one of strengths and also an asset that will
help the company is facing the competition in Singapore market along with offering high
quality products and customer service to the customers in Singapore.
Physical environment – The physical environment includes the efforts that are taken to
increase the physical evidence of the company in the Singapore market. In this context, the
logo of the company will be offer advantage in the market. In addition to the logos the
physical evidences of Spud Shed will be improved with the help of methods such as
brochures, menu and business cards (Marketing Mix, 2018).

Process – This element of marketing mix focuses on the need of improving the processes
while operating in the market of Singapore. In this context, the focus will be on placing the
systematic procedures at place especially in the areas of customer service, quality checks and
distribution (Tracy, 2004).
Customer Relationship Management
Customer relationship management can be defined as the activity that is used by businesses
for retaining the customers along with amplifying the customer loyalty. CRM has also
become a key success factor that helps organizations in surviving in a highly competitive and
dynamic environment. CRM will be one of the most important aspects that will be considered
while Spud Shed’s entry in the Singapore market. The CRM in Spud Shed in Singapore will
focus on three major strategies along with integrating technology with the CRM function. In
this context, the focus will be on finding more and more about the opinions, purchasing
habits and preferences of the customers of Singapore. This can be done with the help of
survey and feedbacks that can be taken both online and offline. Secondly the CRM OF Spud
Shed in Singapore will focus on profiling the customers in the groups so that they can be
served effectively. Customer profiling will help in creating a portrait for the customers of
Singapore along with deigning the products and service according to the characteristic, goals
and needs. (Experienceux, 2018). Third, in order to improve the customer service and use the
customer data in the most effective manner focus will be on using the CRM software that is a
revolutionary tool in managing the customers of the organization (Wali & Wright, 15).

Marketing Strategy in Spud Shed Singapore
The marketing strategy of Spud Shed in Singapore will be one of the determining factors of
its success. The major objective of Spud Shed’s marketing strategy will be to attract the more
and more customers from Singapore along with differentiating itself from the competitors.
The marketing mix discussed in the above section has focused on the use of traditional media
for the advertisements such as television and print advertisements. In Singapore, the
traditional media advertisements will also be followed by digital marketing. In context of
using the digital media for the marketing and promotion of Spud Shed, new methods such as
“pre roll ads” will be used for engaging the customers with the company. The pre roll ads will
not be more than 15-20 seconds so as to optimally engage the people with the brand. Apart
from this, the blogs about company’s experiences and feedback will also be used to make
people aware about products and services of Spud Shed along with obtaining the feedback for
improving the overall customer experience.
The pricing strategy of Spud Shed will be one of the major factors that will help in
differentiating itself from other competitors along with gaining a footprint in the Singapore
market. The hybrid pricing strategy used by Spud Shed will include special deals and price
breaks that will continue to attract customers in Singapore.
The free offering of potatoes to the customers on the opening of the stores in Singapore will
further help in creating a buzz in the market and attracting the customers towards the Spud
Shed stores. According to the principles of sales promotions, it is indicated that customers
generally get attracted towards the product or service that is free of cost. This old age strategy
of Spud Shed has helped it in Australia and will also help in new markets like Singapore
(Sandhusen, 2008).

Sustainability
The last but not the least, Spud Shed should focus on operating in a sustainable manner in
Singapore. In this context, the focus should be on using the sustainable and ethical practices
in manufacturing, packaging and distributing the products (Mckinsey, 2010) Spud Shed
should especially adopt the sustainable practices for farming rather than using harmful
pesticides and chemicals on the farms (Giovannoni & Fabietti, 2014). The environmental
practices should be involved in supply chain of Spud Shed along with following the
environmental regulations of Singapore. The company should always focus on serving the
community in which it is working (Batista & Francisco, 2018).
Conclusion
The above paper has presented a comprehensive international marketing plan for Spud Shed
that is one of the leading supermarkets of Australia. The marketing plan has achieved its
major objectives by recommending the Spud Shed to use the market entry strategy of
Greenfield investments so as to expand its operations in Singapore without affecting the
quality and processes. The digital marketing and the innovative promotional strategies
recommended in the plan will help Spud Shed in marking a huge and rapid presence in the
Singapore market. The marketing plan has also recommended the use of a hybrid pricing
strategy along with an intensive distribution that will be done through the online and offline
channels. This marketing plan will help Spud Shed in expanding in a new market like
Singapore, but the company needs to ensure that it follows the best quality check procedures
for its farm and dairy products. Any quality issue in these products can severely tarnish the
company’s image in the new market. The culture of quality and cleanliness should be
embedded at each level of the organization so as to prevent any quality issue. In addition,
Spud Shed should continue to focus on the aspects such as employee training and

development so that the company can operate effectively in the new market. In essence, it can
be indicated that this international marketing plan will help Spud Shed in its future expansion
in countries including Singapore.
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