International Business Project: Ah Huat White Coffee Company Analysis

This project analyzes Ah Huat White Coffee, a Malaysian coffee company, examining its operations within the international business landscape. The project begins with a company description, outlining its specialization in coffee production and its retail business structure. It then delves into product and service factors, discussing consumer demand and the competitive environment. Environmental factors, including the host country's business climate and a SWOT analysis, are also considered. The project further explores business strategies, such as product positioning and pricing, along with financial planning, including cash flow and profit and loss statements. Management considerations, including personnel training and motivation, are discussed. The project also covers the group's approach to completing the project, potential difficulties, and solutions. The project concludes with a list of references, showcasing the research and sources used to support the analysis.

Running head: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
International Business
Name of student
Name of University
Author note

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Table of Contents
Company description.................................................................................................................3
Product or service factors...........................................................................................................3
Environmental factors................................................................................................................3
Business strategies.....................................................................................................................4
Financial planning......................................................................................................................5
Management considerations.......................................................................................................6
Ways group going to complete the project................................................................................6
Anticipated difficulties and Solutions to overcome the issues...................................................6
References..................................................................................................................................6

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Project brief
The project is prepared to discuss about the aspects of competing a project. The
assignment or project includes the company description, the product or service factors as well
as the environmental factors, which can affect the business functioning. It will also shed light
on the marketing mix strategies including product, price, place and promotion and how it has
contributed to the business functioning.
Company description
Ah Huat White Coffee is a major company specialised in the production of finest
coffee items, which has catered to the needs of people all over Malaysia. The coffee items
have been prepared from freshly roasted coffee beans, which has helped in the production of
premium coffee based items and is also specialised in the wholesaling, distribution, training
and providing necessary services and support to the individuals working at the coffee shop
too. It is a retail business and it holds a partnership legal structure1. Moreover, the mission
statement represents the company’s focus on becoming the number one coffee company in
Malaysia.
Product or service factors
The demand for coffee consumption was quite high but at present, the consumption of
coffee has been on the lower side in spite of the growing demands for coffee consumption
among the young consumers in Malaysia2. The rich flavoured coffee has a strong aroma and
1 Davcik, Nebojsa S., and Piyush Sharma. "Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments
and brand equity on pricing strategies." European Journal of Marketing (2015).
2 David, Fred, and Forest R. David. Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach,
concepts and cases. Pearson–Prentice Hall, 2016.

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blending with the foamy taste has somewhat helped in delivering great taste and increased the
quality of coffee items largely too3. Thus, the customer profile comprise of those young
individuals who love coffee products and prefer rich aromatic taste blended with flavours that
could enrich their coffee consuming experience largely. The competition is quite intense and
thus the company might face some issues while competing with its rivalries in business4.
Environmental factors
The host country business climate is good, which allows the company to utilise its
strengths properly. Based on the SWOT analysis, the company’s strengths include good
quality coffee items, positive brand equity, great and effective promotional campaigns,
diversity management in terms of coffee tastes along with excellent promotional campaigns
too, which has brought good economies of scale5. The weaknesses include high competition
in the market, changing behaviours of consumers due to health consciousness while the
opportunities of Ah Huat White Coffee are to manage tie ups or start business partnerships to
gain bigger market share while at the same time, the growth in public income has helped in
increasing the customer base for Ah Huat White Coffee. The threats could be associated with
the emergence of new entrants, substitute products, rivalries and poor supplies6.
3 Verbeke, Alain. International business strategy. Cambridge University Press, 2013.
4 Cavusgil, S. Tamer, Gary Knight, John R. Riesenberger, Hussain G. Rammal, and Elizabeth
L. Rose. International business. Pearson Australia, 2014.
5 Clarke, James E., Rick Tamaschke, and Peter W. Liesch. "International experience in
international business research: A conceptualization and exploration of key themes."
International Journal of Management Reviews 15, no. 3 (2013): 265-279.

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Business strategies
The product positioning has helped in making the products available in different
market segments, which drew in enough potential customers while the cost leadership and
cost differentiation strategy also helped in setting competitive prices7. This could influence
the buying behaviours and increase the profit level for the company largely. Moreover, the
promotions and advertisements with the help of email marketing and also by involving social
media platforms could be beneficial for targeting the right audiences and ensure generating
higher revenue in business as well8.
6 Doh, Jonathan, Suzana Rodrigues, Ayse Saka-Helmhout, and Mona Makhija. "International
business responses to institutional voids." (2017): 293-307.
7 Shavarini, Sohrab Khalili, Hossain Salimian, Jamshid Nazemi, and Mahmood Alborzi. "Operations
strategy and business strategy alignment model (case of Iranian industries)." International Journal of
Operations & Production Management (2013).
8 Huang, Rong, and Emine Sarigöllü. "How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity,
and the marketing mix." In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors, pp. 113-132. Springer, New
York, NY, 2014.

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Financial planning
The above figure represents the cash flow statement for Ah Huat White Coffee
Company. The figures reflects growth in the sales revenue and profit margin. Stagnancy is
measured in the expenses on wage, advertising, legal accounting and miscellaneous9.
9 Davcik, Nebojsa S., and Piyush Sharma. "Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments and brand
equity on pricing strategies." European Journal of Marketing (2015).

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The above figure is the profit and loss statement of the Ah Huat White Coffee
Company. The data range is from February to June. It is striking to note that the income
encountered a decline from the data of February to that of June. This situation is
simultaneously reflected in the expenses of sales, operating profit, tax changes and others10.
10 Huang, Rong, and Emine Sarigöllü. "How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the
marketing mix." In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors, pp. 113-132. Springer, New York, NY, 2014.

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Fig: Cost Benefit analysis
The figure is the representation of cost benefit analysis of Ah Huat White Coffee
Company. The company benefits from the expense of training and development programs for
the staffs, which is more than double of the refurbishment and the interior décor charges11.
Fig: Report on the financial performance
11 Liu, Qian, and Dan Zhang. "Dynamic pricing competition with strategic customers under vertical product
differentiation." Management Science 59, no. 1 (2013): 84-101.

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The above figure is a summarization of the overall financial performance of Ah Huat
White Coffee Company. The market size is stable and market value is effective for attracting
the leading coffee operators. Average pricing technique makes the brand a preferred one
among the stakeholders and shareholders12.
12 Verbeke, Alain. International business strategy. Cambridge University Press, 2013.

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Management considerations
The personnel or the employees are encouraged and motivated with the help of
necessary training sessions and by identifying their professional needs or development. This
would not only help in keeping the staffs motivated and encouraged, but would also benefit
the organisation to drive the overall performance13. The employees should be provided with
rewards and benefits that could allow them to remain motivated and perform to their
potential14.
Ways group going to complete the project
The group must at first, conduct a feasibility analysis to check whether the project
would tend to be successful and bear good results or outcomes or not. Group discussions
should allow the employees to share their individual thoughts, ideas and opinions, thereby,
facilitate the process of decision making as a whole15. The leadership plays an integral part in
driving employee behaviours towards the accurate strategic direction, thereby, guide them
and provide them with necessary support for ensuring that the employees follow the right
path to accomplish the goals and objectives effectively16.
13 Londhe, Bhausaheb R. "Marketing mix for next generation marketing." Procedia Economics and
Finance 11, no. 1964 (2014): 335-40.
14 Liu, Qian, and Dan Zhang. "Dynamic pricing competition with strategic customers under vertical
product differentiation." Management Science 59, no. 1 (2013): 84-101.
15 Davari, Arezoo, and David Strutton. "Marketing mix strategies for closing the gap between green
consumers' pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors." Journal of Strategic Marketing 22, no. 7 (2014):
563-586.
16 Karande, Aarti M., and D. R. Kalbande. "Business process analyzed factors affecting business
model innovation." In 2015 International Conference on Nascent Technologies in the Engineering

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Anticipated difficulties and Solutions to overcome the issues
Few of the difficulties could be the budget and time constraints while completing the
project and in such cases, it would be essential for the company to make sure that the
investors or shareholders are attracted, who could make investments and raise the working
capital of the organisation17. The lack of skills and knowledge could be another anticipated
issue and thus proper training and developmental sessions are required to improve their
performances and skills and ensure completion of the project effectively too18.
Field (ICNTE), pp. 1-5. IEEE, 2015.
17 Eden, Colin, and Fran Ackermann. Making strategy: The journey of strategic management. Sage,
2013.
18 Davcik, Nebojsa S., and Piyush Sharma. "Impact of product differentiation, marketing investments
and brand equity on pricing strategies." European Journal of Marketing (2015).

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References
Banker, Rajiv D., Raj Mashruwala, and Arindam Tripathy. "Does a differentiation strategy
lead to more sustainable financial performance than a cost leadership strategy?."
Management Decision (2014).
Cavusgil, S. Tamer, Gary Knight, John R. Riesenberger, Hussain G. Rammal, and Elizabeth
L. Rose. International business. Pearson Australia, 2014.
Clarke, James E., Rick Tamaschke, and Peter W. Liesch. "International experience in
international business research: A conceptualization and exploration of key themes."
International Journal of Management Reviews 15, no. 3 (2013): 265-279.
Davari, Arezoo, and David Strutton. "Marketing mix strategies for closing the gap between
green consumers' pro-environmental beliefs and behaviors." Journal of Strategic Marketing
22, no. 7 (2014): 563-586.
Davcik, Nebojsa S., and Piyush Sharma. "Impact of product differentiation, marketing
investments and brand equity on pricing strategies." European Journal of Marketing (2015).
David, Fred, and Forest R. David. Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach,
concepts and cases. Pearson–Prentice Hall, 2016.
Doh, Jonathan, Suzana Rodrigues, Ayse Saka-Helmhout, and Mona Makhija. "International
business responses to institutional voids." (2017): 293-307.
Eden, Colin, and Fran Ackermann. Making strategy: The journey of strategic management.
Sage, 2013.
Huang, Rong, and Emine Sarigöllü. "How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand
equity, and the marketing mix." In Fashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors, pp. 113-132.
Springer, New York, NY, 2014.