BUS30009 - Industry Consulting Project: External Environment Report

This report provides a summary and analysis of the implications of external environmental, industry, and competitive analysis for Artech Modular Paddle Sports (MPS) and its Easy Eddy paddleboard. The report uses PESTEL and Porter's Five Forces analyses to assess the Australian market, highlighting favorable climatic and socioeconomic conditions, the increasing use of social media, and consumer demand for sustainable products. It identifies key competitors like Rebel Sports and Decathlon, and discusses the high threat of substitutes and price sensitivity. The report concludes that a social media-focused marketing strategy, coupled with a market penetration approach, is suitable, while also emphasizing the need to monitor competitor tactics and market trends to ensure the product's competitiveness. The report references several sources to support its findings and recommendations.

Industry Consulting Project
Industry consulting project
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Industry Consulting Project
Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
Discussion..................................................................................................................................2
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................4
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Industry Consulting Project
Introduction
This report provides a summary and analysis of implications of external environment,
industry and competitive analysis done in Assignment 2 of Easy Eddy a three-piece modular
paddle board that is designed by Artech Modular Paddle Sports (MPS). The Easy Eddy board
connects into one piece to convert into a durable paddleboard that is differentiated from
competitors. In this report, we will summarize how the external and internal environmental
factors can impact the success of the marketing strategy and success of the new product
launch.
Discussion
According to the findings of PESTEL analysis, the climatic condition of Australia is
favorable for the retail sector wherein the expected growth rate is expected to be 9.3% of the
market by 2021 (NAB, 2017). One of the top-performing sectors is Hobbies and toys that
observed a 39% increase in the basket size in the year 2017 (netohq, 2018). The socio-
economic condition of Australia is considered to be above average. The work-life balance has
been depleted since the past few decades, but the citizens still manage to utilize most of their
leisure time.
The key trends in Australia suggest that consumers are always looking for more
sustainable options to purchase. The number of social media users are increasing constantly
and there is an increasing requirement for a flexible work arrangement. Thus, Easy Eddy can
likely be marketed effectively through social media platforms by establishing how the
product can prove to be a sustainable solution for their problems (Luo, et al., 2013). The
marketing plan is to target a large number of customers through social media and attracting
customers through offers, discounts, and schemes. Spreading information about discounted
rates also increases customer traffic on social media handles (Greckhamer & Gur, 2017).
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Industry Consulting Project
According to Porter’s five forces analysis, there is tough competition for retail
business in Australia and loyalty cannot be expected from the customers as they constantly
look for innovative products. However, customer loyalty can be established up to a certain
level by keeping them informed about the product’s features. The immediate competitor is
Rebel sports and the major competitor is Decathlon which holds almost 65% of the market
share (Business chief, 2018). The estimated revenue by the year 2025 is $ 949 million. There
is a high threat of substitutes as there are plenty of alternates available in the market. There
are also multiple uses of paddle board such as surfing, flatwater, and racing. Therefore, the
proposed variation in paddleboard will result in market differentiation. Due to multiple
options available in the market, the buyers are price sensitive and maintaining cost at a
competitive level is mandatory (Farm, 2017). The suppliers hold strong bargaining power as
they have few competitors.
Conclusion
Thus, from the above analysis, we can conclude that the marketing strategy aiming to
target customers through social media, and by adopting a market penetration strategy. The
external environmental factors in Australia are favorable to support the demand for the
product. However, the organization needs to take care of the tactics adopted by the
competitors and market trends to prove their product’s competency in the market.
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Industry Consulting Project
References
Business chief, 2018. Rebel leads Australian sport retail industry but faces Decathlon growth
challenge. [Online]
Available at: https://anz.businesschief.com/leadership/2832/Rebel-leads-Australian-sport-
retail-industry-but-faces-Decathlon-growth-challenge
[Accessed 2 september 2019].
Farm, A., 2017. Pricing and price competition in consumer markets. Journal of Economics,
120(2), pp. 119-133.
Greckhamer, T. & Gur, F., 2017. Know Thy Enemy: A Review and Agenda for Research on
Competitor Identification. Academy of Management Proceedings, 2014(1).
Luo, X., Zhang, J. & Duan, W., 2013. Social Media and Firm Equity Value. Information
Systems Research, 24(1), pp. 146-163.
NAB, 2017. Nab online retail sales index. [Online]
Available at: https://business.nab.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/norsi-sept-2017.pdf
[Accessed 13 September 2019].
netohq, 2018. The State of Ecommerce Report 2018. [Online]
Available at: https://www.netohq.com/l/state-of-ecommerce-report-2018
[Accessed 13 September 2019].
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