Comprehensive Marketing Plan for Boots in the Sri Lankan Market

Boots aims to expand its global footprint by entering the Sri Lankan pharmaceuticals market. This comprehensive marketing plan addresses key aspects such as identifying target markets, conducting a SWOT analysis, setting clear objectives, determining an optimal price range for products, and planning extensive advertising efforts. By leveraging strategic insights and robust research methodologies like Ansoff's Matrix, Boots can effectively penetrate this new market. The assignment includes a thorough competitor analysis and a well-structured action plan with detailed timelines to ensure successful implementation.

Running head: MARKETING PLAN 1
Marketing plan Boots Company Sri Lanka
Name
Institution Affiliation

MARKETING PLAN 2
Overview
Company overview
Boot Company is a pharmacy chain the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway, Thailand as well as
other territories. The parent Company, The Boots Company Plc, merged with the Alliance
UniChem in 2006 to form the Alliance Boots. In the year 2007, the Alliance Boots was bought
by the Kohiberg Kravis Roberts and Stefano Pessina who took the company to Private, and they
were able to move the headquarters to Switzerland (McDonald & Wilson, 2016).
The company operates over two thousand five hundred stores all across the United Kingdom as
well as Ireland which ranges from the local pharmacies to the large health and the beauty stores.
The stores of the company are primarily located on the high streets and at the shopping centers.
They sells many heath and the beauty products, and they also offers optician and hearing care
services within their stores as the standalone practices (Asseraf, Luis & Shoham, 2017)..
Boots was founded in 1849, by an individual known as John Boot. In 1920, the company was
sold to Jesse Boot who was the American united Drug organization, but because of the economic
circumstances in the company it was sold back to the British hands in 1933. The grandson of the
founder of John Boot who inherited the name Baron Trent from his father headed the
organization.
The CEO of Boots organization is Elizabeth Fagan for the UK operation. She is responsible for
the development of the organization pharmacy led health and the beauty retail business outside
UK as well as the Republic of Ireland, Asia and Europe (McDonald & Wilson, 2016) . The
company has employed more than twelve thousand employees and they are operating more than
4600 retail stores and in this number over 4,450 have the pharmacies.
Vision
To be the first choice for the pharmacy, health as well as beauty caring for individuals,
customers along with the communities everywhere.
Mission
The passion mission of Boot Company is to provide an upscale choice of the pharmacy, health
and beauty care to people, clients and the communities that are across the globe. The company
exists so as to attract and maintain the customers. The services provided exceed the expectations
of the customers.
Goals
The goal of Boots Company are as follows;
 To be the center for the health and the beauty customers.
 To secure the market leadership in the Sri Lanka.
 To build on their brands.

MARKETING PLAN 3
 Leading the development of products that are sustainable.
Objectives
The following are the objective of the Boots Company;
 To increase the repeat customers by 7% per quarter.
 To decrease on the acquisition cost of the customers by 8% per year
 To build an efficient pull campaign, bringing in new clients at the increased rate of 10%
per quarter.
 Boots Company intends to deliver a new wave of reformulation within the business in the
next three months.
 The organization intends to funds programs which are aimed to tackle real public health
issues such as influence health policy more positively.
Market trend in Sri Lanka
The current trend in Sri Lanka is that they intends to develop the pharma industry and enable
various organization to penetrate to the global market since the internal market in the country is
not sufficient for a big organization to operate at the optimum levels (Piercy & Evans, 2014).
This will offer Boot Company a market share since the sector has not been utilized fully by the
local companies.
Why Boots Company should be launched in Sri Lanka.
In Sri Lanka there is a favorable environment for the Boots Company to set up their outlet.
According to the data from the central bank of Sri Lanka, there has been a stable financial system
in the country which has provided a favorable environment to the depositors and the investors,
which has encouraged many financial institutions as well as the markets to enable them to
function more effectively as well as efficiently. This will help the country to promote investment
and the economic growth.
The data from the central bank shows that the banking sector in Sri Lanka that comprise LCBs
and LSBs, have dominated the financial system which have played a liquidity to the entire
economy. Boots organization will have an access to the liquidity, which will be useful to them to
setup the enterprise in the country as well as get payments to the various services, hence
facilitate all entities to carry out their financial transactions.
In Sri Lanka economy it has expanded to the average rate of 6% over the past five years. There
has been notable economic transition and economic transformation from the political
reconciliation and the economic transformation that has helped in the strengthening of the long
term development and competitiveness. With the economic transition, Boot Company could
gained a significant market share when it has been established. The country do not have properly
developed pharmaceutical store outlets and this will enable them gain the market share since the
sector has not been fully exploited.

MARKETING PLAN 4
PESTEL analysis for Sri Lanka
Political
 The changes in the government rules and the regulation in Sri Lanka will affect the
management of the activities of Boots Company.
 In Sri Lanka there might be trade barriers and this would make it difficult for the
organization to bring in the raw materials and products from the other countries.
 Sometime there are politically motivated strikes as well as the labor strike in Sri Lanka
which might affect the performance of Boots in Sri Lanka (Jain & Haley, 2009).
 The government has made changes in the tax policies, labor law policy and trade
restrictions. There has been streamline in the business startup process in Sri Lanka and
there has been a number of the licensing requirements which have been reduced.
Economic
 If there will be economic strength which will be poor in Sri Lanka it will affect greatly
the Boot organization in regards to its growth.
 In the event that the Sri Lanka economy was to suffer from the Inflation or perhaps
recession then it would adversely affect Boot organization (Jain & Haley, 2009).
 Sri Lanka labor market lacks efficiency, which has resulted for the imbalance between
the labour supply demand. In 2016, the IMF recommended that Sri Lanka government to
phase out some of their extensive system of the control of prices and subsidies which
distorted various sectors in the economy. With this implementation of these changes it
will be easier for Boots Company to be established in Sri Lanka economy.
Social

 Individuals are becoming more informed.
 There increased in the aging population provides range and threats to the pharmaceutical
industry (Meidan, Moutinho & Chan, 2015).
Technological
 There is social media for the Healthcare.
 Boots organization might be able to advantage for the internet through providing online
services.
Environmental
 The organization will need to take care of the issue of pollution which might be created
from the product or the service produced by the company.
 Boots need to see how their business and the marketing plans link in with the
environmental aspects (Piercy & Evans, 2014).
 It need to be mandatory to reduce the carbon footprint as well as increase the energy
efficiency.

MARKETING PLAN 5
Legal
 Boot will need to take care of the food merchandises, industrial training and also take
care of the local child labor laws in Sri Lanka.
 Legal factors which will affect the organization and it legislation will be on the
employment, and the health and safety. Others are changes in the government and the
trading policies (Piercy & Evans, 2014).
 In Sri Lanka Pharmaceutical industry there are many regulatory and legislative
restrictions, which Boot will need to abide.
Porters' five force analysis
Supplier power
 Boots Company in Sri Lanka it will have a strong influence on the suppliers.
 The switching costs of Boots in the industry has decreased.
Threats of New entrants
 There would be less new entrance in Sri Lanka pharmaceutical and beauty industry.
 Setting up business in Sri Lanka requires a lot of investment.
Degree of Rivalry
 There is continuous improvement of Boots stores as well as their marketing in order to
compete.
Threats of substitute
 Boots organization provides a wide range of products so as to lock the customers.
 The organization provides wide range of products so as to improve their performance.
 The company will try to look around for the new innovations (Jain & Haley, 2009).
Competitive Rivalry
This factor would likely be a high pressure for Boots Company. Boots Company currently faces
competitors from companies such as Tesco, Asda, and Superdrug which offers similar ranges of
products.
 There is also a low customer loyalty in regards to products of one company to another.
 The company will also encounter a high cost of leaving the market in case they want to
leave the Sri Lanka market in the future.
SWOT analysis
Strength
 Sri Lanka is a recognized company
globally as one of the largest in
dealing with pharmaceutical products.
This will enable the brand to be
Weaknesses
 There is a high rental costs for the
Licences as well as equipment in Sri
Lanka.

MARKETING PLAN 6
accepted by the customers in Sri
Lanka.
Boots Company operate international
therefore to be accepted in Sri Lanka
will be easier.
 As Boot Company are entering in the
Sri Lanka market the franchisor will
offer them support which will entail
the training, setting up the business
and how to run it (McDonald &
Wilson, 2016).
 Boots Company has been positioned
among ease and fastest developing
franchises. To grow in Sri Lanka will
be ease to grow.
 Boots Company will encounter high
costs of the training especially to the
workers in this new market.
 There would be high pricing
especially to certain products. Some
individuals may not afford to buy
products (Piercy & Evans, 2014).
Opportunities
 Boots Company has various outlets
which are driving profits.
 Boots Company operated 24 hours a
day, and this will provide a
competitive edge to the other
companies (Asseraf, Luis & Shoham,
2017).
Threats
 In Sri Lanka there are existing
competition from the other
pharmaceutical organizations.
 There is threat of new entrance
organization in Sri Lanka which are
offering similar products to those of
Boots Company (Piercy & Evans,
2014).
STP strategy
Boots Company will utilize the concepts of Segmentation, target and positioning as they consider
to enter Sri Lanka market. These aspects will be analyzed as follows;
Segmentation
The company has identified various segmentation based on the demographic, behavioral,
psychographic segmentation.
Geographic segmentation
When looking at this segmentation Sri Lanka could be divided in various categories depending
on the standards of living of individuals, such as urban and the estate. In this segmentation there
is comparison of the demand of the local products versus the foreign brand which the
organization will produce.
Behavioral segmentation
The segment examines at the need for the convenience stores which are operating twenty four
hours per days. The organization has looked at how the other large firms shows the qualities of
the switchers.

MARKETING PLAN 7
Psychographic segmentation
This segmentation highlights the convenience which plays a significant role especially when the
consumers demand lower prices for the other products. Based on the various culture within Sri
Lanka various aspects are condemned since they are against their culture.
Targeting
Boots Company intends to target the customers from the urban and the estate areas. They will
also visit the patients and the visitors in the hospital in order to find the kind of the products
which they utilize (Asseraf, Luis & Shoham, 2017).
Positioning.
When it comes to positioning there are various aspects which are analyzed such as the quality
and the price. When the quality of the product is high the organization intends to increase the
price on the products. There are also other products in the market that are low, but the price is
also low to match on the needs of these kind of customers (Asseraf, Luis & Shoham, 2017). The
location selection will be near the hospital in order to attract more customers.
Marketing Mix
Product
Boot Company has been committed in offering innovative products to the customers. They have
a portfolio in relation to the product brands which will be offered in Sri Lanka market which will
also include beauty, health as well as personal care range (Asseraf, Luis & Shoham, 2017).
Price
The pricing will be designed to be competitive to the other pharmaceutical organizations which
are in Sri Lanka so as to offer the organization competitive edge.
Place
Boots Company will come to Sri Lanka as a Franchise organization which will have different
retail stores that will be opened in strategic areas across Sri Lanka especially in the high streets
and in shopping malls. The distribution strategy that will be used will be exclusive where the
organization will sell their products directly to the client.
Advertising and Promotion
Boots will spend a massive amount of money when it comes to advertising and promotional
activities. There will be advertising in the public places, use of commercial TV, and the use of
the social media advertising (Asseraf, Luis & Shoham, 2017).
Customer services
The company will be offering exceeding customer expectations in Sri Lanka which is inclined to
the mission of the organization.

MARKETING PLAN 8
People
In Sri Lanka there is skilled workers. There are many school leavers and undergraduate
individuals who are looking for the part time employment. Therefore, for the Boots Company
they will have access to the workforce in case they want to hire.
Physical evidence
Boots Company will have uniqueness in terms of the appearance of the stores, where they will
also have a free Wi-Fi facility which will be accessible by all their customers. This will provide a
competitive edge over the other rival organization that are in similar business.
Process
Sri Lanka economy operate 24/7 and many businesses they are operational all throughout. Boots
Company will their product mix will be able to satisfy the customers anytime of the day since
they will also be operational all throughout.
Theoretical models
The approach which would be used to achieve these marketing objective use of Ansoff matrix.
Figure 1: The diagram highlight Ansoff’s Matrix
The matrix highlights the current position of Boot Company in the market. Their products which
they produce exists in the current market since they utilize this strategy so as to penetrate the
market.
Budget for marketing plan

MARKETING PLAN 9
Control
The marketing plan has been structured in a manner which will enable the organization to
achieve on their strategic goals that has been set in relation to increase the overall revenue and
differentiating on their products and services as those from competitors (Asseraf, Luis &
Shoham, 2017). This marketing team will ensure that the plan would be implemented to the best
of abilities with high accuracy along with efficiency. The control techniques which will be used
is the competitor’s analysis so as to know how the organization product, services as well as
marketing strategy compare to the regional, and international competitors.
Action plan
Boot Company has a strong benefit of product as comparison to the current offering in the
market. In order to achieve our objectives the company will provide a unique watch to various
designs (Nijssen & Frambach, 2013). The current distribution cover 80% of the market.
Therefore at this time the company will not expand on the distribution. Boots Company in Sri
Lanka will increase the sales force by 30 individuals and add a sales trainer so as to support the
market plan. The trainer name is John MacDonald. The company will utilize one million dollars
so as to advertise with some of the revenue going to printing the banners and the point of
purchase display. The company will use television advertising which will be scheduled three
times in a week in the next 6 months of this campaign.
Gantt chart
The Gantt chart will provide a graphical illustration of a schedule that helps to coordinate
marketing plan for establishment of this business.

MARKETING PLAN 10
Research in
regards to Sri
Lanka market
Project analysis
based on the
data gathered.
Presentation of
the findings
Final changes to
be made.
Final report for
implementation
of the plan
11th November
2017
30 December
2017.
25th January
2018
14th March 2018
The above Gantt chart shows the schedule of events that will lead to the final project being
given.
Conclusion
Boot Company is undoubtedly the leader in the Pharmaceutical health care and beauty products
in UK. Establishing a franchise in Sri Lanka market will enable the organization to increase
market share across the globe. This marketing plan sought to carry an analysis of this market and
some of the merits the organization will gain. Additionally, the research has provided
recommendations which the company could utilize to thrive in the industry.

MARKETING PLAN 11
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References
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Jain, S. C., & Haley, G. T. (2009). Marketing planning and strategy. Cincinnati South-Western
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McDonald, M., & Wilson, H. (2016). Marketing Plans: How to prepare them, how to profit from
them. John Wiley & Sons.
Meidan, A., Moutinho, L., & Chan, R. S. (2015). Marketing Effectiveness Index (MEI)-Tool for
Strategic Marketing Planning. In Proceedings of the 1992 Academy of Marketing Science
(AMS) Annual Conference (pp. 480-485). Springer, Cham.
Nijssen, E. J., & Frambach, R. T. (2013). Creating customer value through strategic marketing
planning: A management approach. Springer Science & Business Media.
Piercy, N., & Evans, M. (2014). Managing marketing information (rle marketing) (Vol. 17).
Routledge.