International Business: Waitrose and Partners' Expansion in New Zealand

This report analyses the significance of international business and how it could assist in improving the growth of Waitrose and Partners. It includes the rationale behind the expansion of business, barriers in international business, and critical evaluation of relevant implementation approach for the internationalization process.

International Business

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
International business refers to a process of exporting goods and services across national
boundaries at international level. It involves transactions between two or more countries
associated with products and services. The main objective of this report is to analyse the
significance of international business and how it could assist in improving the growth of a
business. In this report, many benefits and barriers of international business has been discussed.
It is also discussed with the implementation of suitable method of internationalisation process.

Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................2
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
TASK...............................................................................................................................................4
Background of the Waitrose and Partners..............................................................................4
Country which recommend to enter and the rationale behind such decision.........................6
Barriers that will be faced while internationalising a business..............................................9
Critically evaluate a relevant implementation approach for the internationalization process for
the particular target market...................................................................................................10
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................11
REFERNCES:................................................................................................................................12
Books and Journals:..............................................................................................................12

INTRODUCTION
The term International business refers to all those commercial activities which may
include import and export of products, services, capital, technology, or knowledge across the
national boundaries and at transnational or global scale. It includes cross border transactions of
products and services between two or more countries. This kind of business is also known as
globalization. When business expands internationally, it boosts the competition in domestic
markets. It also creates new growth opportunities to other markets (Aagaard, Aagaard and
Harrison, 2019). This encourages innovation and efficiency in the utilization of resources. The
company which is taken in this report is Waitrose and Partners which is a supermarket chain in
UK. The company was established in 1904 by Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor.
The report is based on the internationalization of business of Waitrose. It includes various topics
such as background of business, rationale behind the expansion of business, rationale behind the
chosen country, barriers in international business, critical evaluation of relevant implementation
approach for the internationalization process.
TASK
Background of the Waitrose and Partners.
Waitrose and Partners is a company which sells groceries in UK. It is a supermarket store
which was founded as Waite, Rose and Taylor and lately it is recognized as Waitrose in London
city. In 1904, the company started by three partners Waite, Rose and Taylor but in 1908, David
has left the company that is why name “Waitrose” was adopted by the left partners (Becker-
Ritterspach, Simbeck and El Ebrashi, 2019). It was also recognized as the first seller of organic
food in London. Since 2000, the brand has expanding their business by purchasing shops from
Morrisons, Somerfield, The Co-operative Group, Woolworths and many more. The headquarters
of company is in Bracknell, Berkshire and Victoria, United Kingdom. It is a British supermarket
chain has 332 shops throughout the UK. It is found as the eighth-largest retailer of groceries in
England. It is also allocated their business in Middle East and export their goods to 52 nations. It
has a royal warrant to supply their products such as wine, groceries and spirits to Queen
Elizabeth II and as of January 1st, 2011 to Prince Charles.
Rationale to expand business internationally:

International business can be understood as a process of trading goods and services
across the national boundaries at a global level. It mainly focuses on the business objectives and
resources on the international business. In context of Waitrose, there are various reasons that
motivates to expand their business internationally. The following are the importance or benefits
to expand business at global level:
 Market expansion:
Globalizing business facilitates to perform in varieties of countries across national
borders. It provides Waitrose to expand their market share as well as explore new markets for
retailing their products and services (Bylieva, Lobatuk and Nam, 2019). It also helps to generates
high amount of profits which supports in increasing market share.
 Spreading business risks:
Presence of globalized business also aids in spreading the risks of business. Suppose, if
there is a loss obtained in any one of the nation then can be easily recovered with profit
generated in other countries. It also assists in transferred their resources and surplus goods in one
nation to another nation which facilitates with reduced risks. Non-availability of product in new market:
International business provides one the major benefits to the company is that goods and
services that it produces is unavailable in the global market which the Waitrose is targeting.
Hence, it gets a production benefit which simultaneously raise profits. As a result, when the
Waitrose establish in the New Zealand, it facilitates with monopoly or duopoly which helps to
create a lot of revenue for the business. Product Differentiation:
If a company is able to differentiate its products and services, then it should definitely
expand their business to international level (Choi and Et.al., 2020). Also, if the brand is confident
of its product design and implementation and setting up new goods and services, then the
business has several advantages of globalization already available. In context of Waitrose, as it is
one of the leading brand in organic foods, it can differentiate their current products with some
modifications and creativity. Government Support:
International business also receives support from government in order to carrying out the
business activities and expanding its size. The local government of the particular country

facilitates several tax benefits and financial benefits to such businesses because they earn a huge
amount of foreign reserves.
 Access to new talent:
Most of the companies find difficulties to hire specialised people in the home country, so
expanding business in other countries can provide a chance to assess new talents and skills. Such
people will be very beneficial in the growth of company and develop a goodwill in other markets
as well. Therefore, hiring international talents creates many opportunities for the business of
Waitrose which involves different educational background and language skills as well as local
hirings will better help in serving the local customers of the particular country (Chuin, 2019). Exposure to Foreign Investment:
Foreign investment can be very significant to the Waitrose as it provides benefits for
economic growth. As internationalizing business creates job opportunities for the people which
helps in the development of economy. It also exposes an organisation to currency depreciation.
When countries are developed, it has powerful regulations of investment which facilitates
security to investors against insider trading crime, cheats, liquidations and many more.
Country which recommend to enter and the rationale behind such decision.
As the international business allows company to grab new growth opportunities to
diversify the markets. The main reason behind the internationalization of company is to facilitate
clients with more reliable services. Also, it attracts new more customers when business goes
international. It has been recommended to expand Waitrose's business in New Zealand which
creates new growth opportunities in the foreign markets (Cos, Colom and Cabasés, 2019). The
reason behind to select this country is that it facilitates stable and transparent business conditions
which supports entrepreneurship.
The following are some reasons which must be taken into consideration by the Waitrose
to expand their business in New Zealand's market: Strong Government and legal system:
It has been found that New Zealand is the most least corrupt country in the whole world.
The nation follows the British Westminster parliamentary democracy and constitutional
monarchy set-up with the local government. Also, New Zealand boasts her Queen Elizabeth II as
its official head of state. For a foreign investor like Waitrose who have a background in UK,
locating their business to New Zealand means that they will be able to implement plans and

strategies with a prior knowledge of the laws of New Zealand and responsibilities of employers.
There are some differences in UK law and New Zealand law but the general principle is common
which increases confidence.
 Lucrative export market:
New Zealand is place to lucrative export market with exported products making up
approximately 30% of the GDP. The nation export over US$38.4 billion worth of products and
services throughout the world in 2018, with more than ½ (55.3%) being traded to Asian markets.
The most popular goods shipped are dairy products which making up 26% of overall exports,
and wood, fish, fruits, meat, beverages, cereal and many more food preparation products. In
Waitrose's context, it provides a great chance since it is a grocery retailer.
 A Forgiving tax system:
Undoubtedly, tax is one of the crucial factors. For small scale businesses, tax tends to be
very sensitive concern as it affects the revenue of the organisation (Donthu, Kumar and Pattnaik,
2020). An organisation pays their tax based on the net income of the business which earned by
selling goods and services. This formed based on the business size and the revenue generate in a
year. New Zealand facilitates a relief from tax where some of the tax concessions include a 6.7%
discount on taxes for the self-employed business or partnerships if their revenue falls down to or
below NZD 38k.
 Work-life balance:
Managing work-life balance is very important and meaningful to someone. There are
various factors that affect the individual's productivity such as natural environment, individual's
responsibilities to their friends, family, society. Personal lifestyle is one of the factor among
those. As per the survey by HSBC Expat Explorer, New Zealand positioned 6th for balancing
work life and 1st in the Asia Pacific. When an organisation wants to expand business, it is vital to
ensure that the Waitrose meet the legal requirements.
 Easy visa processing:
As a foreign investor, one can apply for entrepreneur work visa which allow to establish
the business or to buy in the specific country. For the approval of visa, an individual require to
make an initial capital investment of NZD 1lac or more and score 120 minimum on a scale used
to understand the position of proposed business organisation (Elia, Larsen and Piscitello, 2019).

Market selection is a very crucial process in which a company go through on the
evaluation of various markets with reference to specific objectives and resources as well as well-
defined criteria by the organisation (Gertner, 2019). In context of Waitrose, the following are the
stages consisted in the process of market selection: International Marketing Objectives: It is the very first step in which export marketing
objectives of the company is ascertain or determine. The market chosen to deliver a
certain international marketing aims need not to be the best approachable to attain some
other global marketing aims. Several markets consist different degree of attractiveness
from the viewpoint of many aims. In context of Waitrose, the main purpose to expand
their business is to increase their market share and to generate profits. Parameters for selection: When a company wants to evaluate and select the markets, it
is very important for them to lay down the parameters and criteria for market evaluation.
In context of Waitrose, the various parameters are resources, market situation,
government policy, international environment, nature of competition and many more. Preliminary screening: It aims to eliminate those markets which are non-potential. The
parameters utilized for the screening may different from product to product. Like,
parameters such as per capita income, size of the population, infrastructural factors,
structure of the economy and political conditions are usually practiced. Short-listing of markets: The above step helps to eliminate the markets which do not
match with the expectations. But, there are many markets left even after the preliminary
screening. They are evaluated with more information than used before. Evaluation and selection: In this step, the short-listed markets are more evaluated with
feasibility study and cost benefit analysis. Then, they are ranked based on the
attractiveness. In context of Waitrose, they are choosing New Zealand country to
expand their business due to their stable conditions. Test marketing: In this stage, the market is tested on a smaller scale by introducing their
goods and services in a section of the market (Hennart, Majocchi and Forlani, 2019).
This facilitates an overview and feedback to the owner about the market. Also, it helps
is evaluating the overall response of the customers in the target market. When the
market is succeeding, then the production can be enhanced on a bigger scale.

 Commercial Production: The company produces their products on a mass scale. If any
changes are required, then it will be done in the product mix during this phase.
Barriers that will be faced while internationalising a business.
Taking business at international level is never be easy. The barriers while expanding
business at international level could be natural barriers such as language barrier, cultural barrier
or local competition and many more (Khan, Lew and Marinova, 2019). There are also non-tariff
barriers which affect the business such as government laws and regulations. In Waitrose's
context, some of barriers are discussed underneath: Language barrier:
While entering into new market or country, it is very important to examine the local
languages of the specific country. A miscommunication or failed message with customers could
end the relationship with them. Gaps in conversation with foreign customers, suppliers or
partners could lead to major financial losses or failed implementation of tactics. In New
Zealand's context, English is the most common language used by the people live over there.
Almost entire population can speak English either as proficient speakers or native speakers. Cultural barrier:
Every country has its own culture, community, traditions, art, food which is followed by
local citizens. It becomes very necessary to understand the local traditions and cultures of the
certain country before entering or expanding their business into it. By selling goods and services
to prospective customers, providing facilities globally, managing team overseas, demonstrate the
organisation is taking time to understand the local culture. In New Zealand's context, the
company may find barriers like difficulty in the thinking way, changing of their body languages
and so on.
 Managing international team:
It is one of the barrier to manage team or employees who live throughout the globe.
While try to put all employees together, it can be uneasy to account for time zones, cultural
differences, language barriers, varying levels of technologies and many more. It is essential to
develop and maintain a strong corporate relationship with international team, preferably using
video conferencing platforms, facilitate regular check-ins so that it will be easy to interact in real
time.
 International company structure:

The company structure of the international business is very complex because of the
involvement of large number of internal and external stakeholders and complying laws of the
specific country. It creates complexities in decision-making while increases risks in the
international business. In Waitrose's context, the company requires to make effective decisions
which will be helpful to work with complexities of global company culture.
Critically evaluate a relevant implementation approach for the internationalization process for
the particular target market.
Internationalisation process refers to a process of entering the new market and providing
goods and services to the new customers (Kottaridi, Giakoulas and Manolopoulos, 2019). It is
very important to adopt the best method or procedure of targeting a new market. It is also very
essential that an organisation must analyse import and export duties of specific country where
they want to target the market. When an organisation wants to expand their business in other
country, it is very important to evaluate the investment since it is the very important factor to
target any new market. The following are some models which facilitate effective implementation
of internationalisation process. In context of Waitrose, the following are 4 stages of
internationalisation process:
 No regular export activities:
It is the first stage where most of the organisations did not launch their business in the
new market nor they import and export on the regular basis in the new country (Lee, Kriscenski
and Lim, 2019). In this phase, an organisation adopts import and export activities only for few
days or months in order to analyse whether the new nation is appropriate for business or not.
Companies highly focused on collecting the information regarding new markets, new customers,
local government rules and policies or how local government will assist new companies in the
country. All such information is collected about the new nation. With a reference to Waitrose, if
the company expand their business in New Zealand then first it must export their products for a
specific period of time in New Zealand and notices whether their strategies are liked by the local
population or not.
 Export through independent representative:
In the second stage, an agent or middleman has been appointed for the company where
they want to expand their business. An agent or middleman represents the respective company
and promote their goods and services in the local market of new country which will be helpful to

create awareness in the consumer's mind since they communicating the quality of their products
and services. In Waitrose’s context, it is very essential and mandatory to choose a representative
of their brand so that they can be able to influence the local customers to buy their goods and
services (Li and Et.al., 2019). A middleman or an agent communicate with local customers in
their own language and style as they also understand their buying pattern in a better way.
 Establishment of foreign Sales subsidiary:
In this phase, a company is well aware about the local market of the particular country
where they want to expand their business. Also, there is no agent or middleman in the process
and start launching their business on regular basis. In Waitrose's context, since they are well
aware about the growth opportunities and threats to overcome in New Zealand market they can
choose activities which help them to grow on a larger scale. Apart from this, the respective brand
can also directly influence their new customers and develop a healthy relationship with them. It
will be helpful to company in their decision-making to establish their new supermarkets in the
specific country.
 Foreign Production/manufacturing:
This is the last phase in which after analysing all the information about the new
customers, new market, company can launch their business in the target country (Nguyen and
Et.al., 2019). In context of Waitrose's context, with the help of collected information the
company can launch their business in the New Zealand market. It is also mandatory that the
brand must follow the local government rules and regulations and certain laws of New Zealand
country so that they can trade without any complexities.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it has been summarised that when a company expand their business
at global level it can improve the growth opportunities in the new market. It facilitates a business
to explore new geographical locations and improving their market share. Taking Waitrose in the
new market of New Zealand will help attain international business objectives. Since, the New
Zealand provide stable and transparent business conditions it will support the entrepreneurship in
the new market. In this report, it is also discussed that when a business wants to expand their
business they face several barriers which includes language barriers, cultural barriers,
government policies and many more. From the last section, it can be also understood that it is

very important for the business to choose right kind of procedure to launch their business in
international market.

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