Strategic Marketing Report: Rowlinson Knitwear's Market Entry

This report provides a strategic marketing plan for Rowlinson Knitwear, a UK-based uniform company, focusing on its potential expansion into a new market, particularly Australia. The analysis includes a PESTEL framework to assess macro-environmental factors such as political stability, economic conditions, social trends, technological advancements, legal considerations, and environmental impacts. Market entry options like exporting, mergers and acquisitions, contract manufacturing, and foreign direct investment are evaluated, with contract manufacturing identified as the most suitable option for Rowlinson Knitwear due to its lower investment requirements and risk mitigation. The report also addresses market segmentation strategies and utilizes Porter's generic strategies to identify competitive advantages, concluding with recommendations for Rowlinson Knitwear to effectively plan their market entry and operational actions, including managing threats through strategic sourcing and compliance with local regulations. Desklib provides this assignment solution along with other resources to aid students.

Strategic Marketing

Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY.............................................................................................................3
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
PESTEL...........................................................................................................................................3
MARKET-ENTRY OPTIONS........................................................................................................6
MARKET SEGMENTATION........................................................................................................7
PORTER’S GENERIC STRATEGY..............................................................................................8
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................10
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................11

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
For ensuring the expansion of the business it is important to analyse both internal and external
market so that an organisation can identify their capabilities along with the opportunities and
threats in the market. To support this pestle analysis is undertaken which facilities to understand
that macro environmental factor of Australia are favourable to establish business. Along with this
strategy of contract manufacturing is suitable for the company as it reduces the requirement of
investment and reduces the risk for the business. To efficiently manage the organisation
operation specific direction must be identified for which Porter generic strategy are analysed for
Rowlinson Knitwear so that they can accordingly plan their actions.
INTRODUCTION
Strategic marketing is the process with the help of which the organisation takes the
competitive advantage over others by creating difference in the services that they offer
(Kingsnorth, 2019). With the help of this the managers determines the strengths of the company
on the basis of which they determine the products and services to be offered to the customers as
per their taste and preferences in such a manner that they can easily covert their prospects into
customers. As a senior marketing consultant the recommendations are provided to Rowlinson
Knitwear to expand their business in a new country with suitable product and services.
Rowlinson Knitwear is a UK based company that offers uniforms to the schools and offices. The
company is planning their expansion for which the analysis of external market is facilitated in
the report. In addition to this the report includes the market entry strategies that can be adopted
by the company along with market segmentation and targeting strategy. Also business strategy
with the help of porters generic strategies are discussed that can enable the company in taking
competitive advantage.
PESTEL
The organisation plans to expand their market with the aim to ensure their survival and
growth. There are different macro environment factors which affects the decisions making of the
organisation. Some of the factors that has to be taken in consideration by the management
includes changes in the taxation policy, new trade barriers, changes in the demographics,
changes in the governmental policies etc. For this they need to analysis the factors of external
market as with the help of they can determine the opportunities and threats that are prevailing in

the business environment (Perera, 2017). It can be done with the help of PESTLE model which
includes the following factors:
Political Factors: The intervention of government has high impact on the economy as with
the businesses has to manage the policies so implemented by the government. The political
decisions have direct impact on various areas such as the education level of the workforce, the
quality of the life offered to the employees etc.
Opportunity: The business within the Australia have high degree of certainty because the
political and regulatory environment within the country is considered to be stable, progressive
and open due to which the investor have high degree of confidence and certainty to make
investment. In addition to this the government of Australia is more prone to accept the changes
with are prevailing through which make the country more effective and transparent for the
business. This is an opportunity for the Rowlinson Knitwear to expand their business as they can
easily get investors and the support of the government due to stable political environment (Pestel
analysis of Australia, 2016).
Economic Factors: The economic factors includes taxation policy, interest rate prevailing
within the country, rate of inflation, unemployment etc. These factors have direct influence on
the business activities due to which the business need to identify the factors which can impact
them.
Opportunity: The cost of living in the cities such as Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth is
quite less than other cities in the world along with better quality of life. Due to this it offers an
opportunity to the Rowlinson Knitwear to easily establish their business by attracting the people
to buy their goods. Also the economic stability than other OCED countries, US and UK is an
opportunity for them as it leads to stable interest rates, exchange rates etc.
Threat: The prices of the property are high due to which Rowlinson Knitwear may face problem
and it can become threat for them. But the government offers various low cost commercial
properties to the businesses with the help of which they can efficiently operate their business.
Social Factors: Due to change in perception, taste and preference the demand of the
product and services changes. In Australia three social classes exist that is working class, middle
class and upper class. The stratification of the people is done on the basis of their level of
income, expensive clothes, motor vehicle and their home (Armstrong, 2018).

Opportunity: Within the organisation to ensure the quality of life at the workplace the employees
are provided uniform as well as schools better quality of uniforms considered. Similarly in other
professions the Australian organisations prefer to have uniform this offers an opportunity to
Rowlinson Knitwear to expand their business.
Technological Factors: Adoption of Technology facilitates the organisation to attract
customers and to ensure reduction in cost as well as improvement in quality.
Opportunity: The Australian government has established two organisation that support research
and development with the help of which the aims to ensure better communication between
industry and to support businesses in enhancing their operation. This will be an opportunity for
Rowlinson Knitwear establishes their business with better technology and effective
communication as it will facilitate them to attract business houses that use uniform.
Threat: But adoption of innovation in technology will increase our requirement of investment
which can become threat for them initially.
Legal Factors: Legal factor affect the business as it includes various laws and
regulations that are enacted by the regulatory bodies and the judicial system of the country.
Opportunity: The implications in regards to contracts are strict with the aim to protect the interest
of the parties involved and this is an opportunity for Rowlinson Knitwear as they will not be
exploited in the new country (Kruesi, Kim and Hemmington, 2017).
Threat: The country has strict norms for minimum wage, disability discrimination legislation etc.
which can affect the operations of Rowlinson Knitwear as this will make the administration
procedure complex for them.
Environmental Factors: Environmental factor includes the weather and climate change
due to which the businesses get influence.
Opportunity: Various environmental protection regulations are imposed can easily be complied
by Rowlinson Knitwear as they have efficient waste management system and uses better quality
fabric with efficient technology with which the compliance of issues can be considered.
Threat: The environmental factor can affect the interest of Rowlinson Knitwear because the
preference of the clothes changes with change in temperature and it can become threat for them.
In addition to this, the scarcity of water is an issue in the country the manufacturing process of
Rowlinson Knitwear.

Solutions for managing the threats: The solution for managing various threats includes that
purchase of Off-plan property in Australia at the best possible prices so that the Rowlinson
Knitwear can manages the economic threats of higher property prices. The company can easily
procure funds due to which they can efficiently manage the technology as this will enables them
in managing the cost as well as quality of the products. In addition to this the company must
manage their production as per the demand of the goods from the clients and this will enable
them to manage the impact the changing environmental factors. Also they need to develop the
ability to fulfil the demand on short notice for the clients so that the adverse impact of this threat
can be managed. Apart from all this the Rowlinson Knitwear must hire the employees for
managing the legal aspects in terms of various norms and implications etc. so that they can avoid
the chances of legal proceedings and can make their employees satisfied.
The products with which they can enter into new market i.e., Australia is the uniform which
can be customised as per the needs of the clients and the fabric that they can used is organic and
pure instead of synthetic as it will enable them to provide better quality uniforms with better
techniques of productions so that the cost can also be minimised.
MARKET-ENTRY OPTIONS
The organisations has to identify various options with the help of which they can enter into
the new market as identification of the source enables them to determine the factors that they
need to take into consideration. The planning of entry into the foreign market is dependent upon
the culture within the new territory, the level of regulation and competition, availability of
various resources such as funds etc. Various market entry options are defined below with the
help of which can be taken into consideration by Rowlinson Knitwear.
Exporting: Exporting is an entry option in which companies sell their goods and services in
other countries which are produced in another country. The process of exporting can be direct or
indirect such as when a company capitalise their economics of scale for production of goods and
services in home country and make their goods available to other country through a proper
channel responsible for exporting and making sales is considered to be direct exporting while the
exporting in which exporter has no control and they make sales with the help of domestic export
intermediaries then it is considered to be indirect exporting (Grünig and Morschett, 2017).
Merger and acquisition: Mergers and acquisition is another better option to enter foreign
market as with the merger two different companies come together accumulating there assets and

liabilities with the aim of increasing economics of scale, enhance ability to diversify the business
etc. After merging the companies are considered to be a single entity. Acquisition is the process
of acquiring other company in which the company operates with different identity but are
regulated and managed by the acquiring company. This option enables company to directly
expand their market by taking over the existing business along with their resources.
Contract manufacturing: Contract manufacturing is option in which local manufacture is
hired by the foreign company for manufacturing their goods and services as per their guidance
and requirement. They utilize the resources and capabilities of local manufacturer which enables
them to reduce their requirement of investment as well as reduces the production cost. In this
market entry option the responsibility of marketing and selling of the product so produced is of
the foreign company (Andreu, Claver and Quer, 2017).
Foreign Direct Investment: FDI is entry mode in which the investment is done by the
companies into foreign market directly or indirectly through various Financial Institutions. It can
be done in terms of purchase of the shares of the company, assets or any property. It is dependent
upon the growth of the economy and pattern of investment with the help of which the investors
can ensure development and growth of their investment.
For Rowlinson Knitwear, out of all these the entry option of contract manufacturing is better
entry option as with the help of this they can manage the impact of threat such as high prices of
the property as they do not have to set up any manufacturing plant with this. In addition to this
they can easily get their products manufactured as per the requirement of their clients. It will
facilitate them to produce the uniforms with low cost of production and no dilution of the control
as well as it will lead to the development of small scale industries due to which the government
will also support them but they have to market their product on their own (Watson IV, 2018).
Also management of the standards of quality can become issues which can be managed by
providing the raw material with proper guidance for the manufacturing of the uniforms.
MARKET SEGMENTATION
Segmentation strategy: Market segmentation is considered to be the method with the help
of which the organisation divides the entire market into segments on the basis of similarities
among needs and wants of the people. With the help of marketing segmentation various useful
information are used by the companies for the prospects so that they can accordingly provide the
goods and services to them and plan their marketing activities. The market can be segmented by

the organisation on the basis of various factors such as demographic which includes age, income,
gender and education (Wirtz and Lovelock, 2017). On the basis of psychographic various factors
includes personality, behaviour, attitude and emotions of the people. Apart from this the lifestyle,
belief and values, stages of life cycle are also taken into consideration while classifying the
people into different segment. It facilitates to understand that who are the prospective customers
of the company as well as how can they be served. On the basis of the common characteristics
possessed by the segment specific marketing efforts are identified with which the risk related to
when, where, how and to whom the product or service is to be offered can be reduced.
Targeting strategy: The different identified market segment are analysed by the company so
that they can identify which segment they have to target. It can be done by evaluating the
potential of the segments and by analysing the commercial attractiveness of each and every
segment. To support this the factors that are taken into consideration includes criteria size with
which the market size is identified that the company can target as per their capability; the
difference among different segments is analysed so that most attractive segment can be identified
along with accessibility to the segment; the profitability from each and every segment is
identified on the basis of marketing efforts required to serve them efficiently. With the help of all
these factors the organisation can easily identify the segment which they have to target so that
they can ensure their profitability (Blythe and Martin, 2019).
The products that the Rowlinson Knitwear has been offering is uniforms due to which they
segments their market on the basis of the behavioural factors of the organisations as each and
every organisation have different attitude towards their workplace culture due to which they have
different patterns in their requirement. Out of this they will target the schools, universities and
the business houses which have uniform in their premises. In Australia living standard is better
due to which the quality of products and services will vary as per the living standards identified
by different organisation (Chan, 2019). So to satisfy the specific requirement the company will
provide customised goods and services so that they can improve the satisfaction level of the
customers.
PORTER’S GENERIC STRATEGY
The porter's generic strategies are used by the organisation for determining the direction for
the business with the help of which they can take competitive advantage by creating and
sustaining superior performance of the business. This model suggests that a company must

choose a clear course of action on the basis of their organisational objective. The three generic
strategies which are defined by porter include cost leadership, differentiation and focus where
focus is subdivided into cost focus and differentiation focus (Mishra, 2017). The basis on which
this strategy is considered includes sources of competitive advantage as well as scope of the
strategy. The strategies are given below:
Cost leadership strategy: An organisation can take cost leadership strategy by increasing
their profits through reduction in the cost and by offering their product at average prices so that
they can increase their sales. The lower prices with significant profit facilitates the organisation
and market share with which company can take competitive advantage over others. But the
sources of cost advantage are dependent upon the cost structure of the company as well as cost
structure of the entire organisation. In addition to this it is completely dependent upon the level
of technology possessed by the company, their economies of scale, access to the raw material
etc. Due to all these factors the company can take competitive advantage by exploiting all these
factors.
Differentiation strategy: This is a strategy in which the company into of a unique product
service to their customer by bringing innovation in their offerings and delivering high quality
product or services. To support this they have to undertake marketing and sales technique so that
they can target specific customer seeking unique products with premium prices. Large
organisation generally adopt differentiation strategy by focusing upon new product development
so that they can ensure their market share by offering better product with better customer value
(Marques, 2017).
Focus Strategy: This is the strategy which is considered by the company concentrating on
niche market by identifying the unique needs of the customers for low cost products for specific
differentiated products. As the company serve comparatively smaller market with specific needs
of the customer they have strong brand loyalty due to which the same market segment becomes
less attractive for the competitors. The cost focus strategy enables the organisation to exploits the
differences within the cost behaviour among different market segments in the niche market while
the differentiation focus facilitates the business to exploits the specific need of the narrow market
segments so that they can make the customers more loyal to them.
On the basis of these strategies it can be identified that the most suitable strategy for
Rowlinson Knitwear is cost leadership as they can provide their clients considerable quality of

the Uniforms with lower cost that can enable them in taking competitive advantage (Lapersonne,
2018). They can utilise their economies of scale and better technology for managing the cost
with the help of contract manufacturing in Australia. They can provide raw material to the
manufacturer from their UK plant along with the technologies with which they can ensure the
products to their clients as per their requirements.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded from the above report that need to consider the impact of various macro
environmental factors in context of various opportunities and threats offered by them so that
various policies can be developed to manage such impact. With the help of PESTLE analysis the
opportunities to establish business in another country can be identified along with various
solutions while with the help of market entry option the way of expansion can be identified.
Apart from this the marketing segmentation analysis facilitates the organisation to determine the
market segment which the company has to satisfy such as for uniforms market of the company
schools, universities and other business houses as well as various other professionals. To
determine the direction of the business specific strategy has to be identified for which Porter's
generic strategic model is considered out of which cost leadership strategy is recommended on
the basis of analysis of the report.

REFERENCES
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Kingsnorth, S., 2019. Digital marketing strategy: an integrated approach to online marketing.
Kogan Page Publishers.
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theories from a hotel industry perspective. International Journal of Hospitality
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combining differentiation and low-cost strategic approaches based on a case study of a
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Marques and et. al., 2017. Porter's competitive strategies in fashion industry: case study.
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Perera, R., 2017. The PESTLE analysis. Nerdynaut.
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