Strategic Marketing Tools: SWOT & PESTLE Analysis of Estee Lauder

This report provides a business analysis of Estee Lauder Inc., a cosmetic manufacturer, focusing on its operations in the Australian market. It explores two key strategic marketing tools: SWOT analysis and PESTLE analysis. The SWOT analysis examines the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, considering factors like product quality, pricing, and online presence. The PESTLE analysis evaluates political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors affecting Estee Lauder. The report concludes by comparing the two tools and arguing that the PESTLE analysis is more appropriate for providing a comprehensive view of the market conditions for Estee Lauder in Australia. The report references various sources to support its findings and recommendations.

Running head: STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
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1STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Business analysis refers to the discipline of research that deals with the identification
of the needs of the business and the determination of the solutions to the problems that may
arise in the course of the business. The following report attempts to look into the tools of
business analysis and evaluate them on the basis of their appropriateness for the esteemed
cosmetic manufacturer, Estee Lauder Inc. in the Australian market. The report deals with the
two commonly used tools for business analysis, the SWOT analysis and the PESTEL
analysis. The report concludes with the comparison between the two tools and stating the tool
that is more appropriate for the concerned company.

2STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
Table of Contents
Introduction....................................................................................................................3
Discussion......................................................................................................................3
SWOT analysis...........................................................................................................3
PESTLE analysis........................................................................................................4
Conclusion......................................................................................................................5
References......................................................................................................................6

3STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
Introduction
Business analysis refers to the discipline of research that deals with the identification
of the needs of the business and the determination of the solutions to the problems that may
arise in the course of the business. There are certain tools that are used to conduct the analysis
of a given business. These tools generally refer to the SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, the
Porter’s Five Forces analysis, Four Square analysis and other such tools. Estee lauder
companies is an esteemed American manufacturer and marketer of skincare, hair, fragrance
and makeup products(Elcompanies.com, 2017). The company owns a variety of brands that is
distributed internationally through ecommerce and retail markets.
Two strategic marketing tools
SWOT analysis
SWOT analysis refers to the method that attempts to evaluate four elements of a
business venture, project or an organization. These four factors include the strengths, the
weaknesses, the opportunities and the threats that may be faced by the project, organization
or the business in discussion (Sayyed, 2013). This type of analysis involves the specification
of the objectives of the project or venture. It also involves the identification of the external
and the internal factors that are either unfavorable or favorable to the achievement of the
objective (Brooks, Heffner & Henderson, 2014).
PESTLE analysis
The PESTLE analysis is a marketing principle concept that is used as a tool by the
concerns that help them track the conditions of the environment in which the company plans
to launch a new product, service or project or are currently operating in (Rothaermel, 2015).
The PESTLE analysis helps the company to have a bird’s eye view of the concerned
environment from a variety of angles. The factors included in the PESTLE analysis include

4STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
the political factors, the economic factors, the social factors, the technological factors, the
legal factors and the environmental factors.
SWOT analysis of Estee Lauder group of companies
Strengths  In case of the Estee Lauder group of companies, the strengths of the
company include the fact that the products of Clinique, a brand that
is marketed by the Estee Lauder companies in Australia, maintain
the high quality of the products (Esteelauder.com.au, 2017).
 The brand may boast of the fact that the products that are
manufactured are never tested on the animals.
Weaknesses  The brand faces a backlash because the competitors of the company
set the price of their products in the public market at a higher rate
thereby making the products of Clinique appear to be of a lower
quality than the others in the market (Elcompanies.com, 2017).
 The customers may avail the delivery of the products at their
doorsteps.
Opportunities  The products that are marketed by the brand can be availed by the
consumers over the ecommerce sites that are operated by company.
Threats  The company faces high costs for the maintenance and the starting
up of the websites.
 The customers of the company may become more conscious about
their decisions to purchase certain products thereby there may be a
decrease in the number of the customers who are served by the
company.
PESTLE analysis of Lauder group of companies
Political  The political factors include the safety and the quality issues that
may surface in the country where they are operating.
 The intervention on the part of the government has increased
considerably in the recent years may also prove to be a concern
for the esteemed cosmetic manufacturer operating in Australia.

Economical  The economic factors include the changes in the living standards
of the target customers, which in turn lead to the economic
development of the country.
 This has also affected the increased pursuit of the advanced
products that were targeted at the consumers.
Social  The social factors that should be taken care of by Estee Lauder
are the provision of the financial aids towards the projects that
aim at the health and physical well-being of the children and the
women of Australia.
 The company should also look forward towards providing
support to the charitable organizations that aim to assist the
people who are affected by cancer.

5STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
 The social factors also help determine the demand for the
cosmetic products that are produced and marketed by Estee
Lauder.
Technological  The technological factors that should be taken into consideration
by Estee Lauder are the rapid amount of growth in the IT sector
and the innovation of the products that the company aims to
produce and market.
Legal  The government is observed to be spending finances on the
researches that the cosmetic companies are willing to embark on.
 The company should focus more on the developments and the
discoveries that they aim to achieve in the future.
 The legal factors involved in the case of Estee Lauder companies
that are operating in the Australian market refer to the labor laws
and the industry relations of the company.
 The company should abide by the wages laws of Australia
(Bismarket al, 2012). The company has to abide by the laws
pertaining to the patents and copyrights in order to establish a
business in the Australian market.
 The organization must also follow the schemes related to the
municipal licenses and the taxations that are imposed by the legal
system of the country in order to continue with their business in
the country.
Environment  The environmental factors that may affect the growth of Estee
Lauder in the Australian market is the shortage of raw material
that is needed for the production of the cosmetics that they aim to
provide to their customers.
 The increase in the population of the country may also be a
concern for the business of the concerned company in the
Australian market.
Conclusion
In lieu of the above discussion, it might concluded that the PESTLE analysis is more
appropriate a tool for the analysis of the business of esteemed cosmetic products
manufacturer, Estee Lauder, in the country of Australia. The PESTLE analysis provides a
clearer view of the conditions of the market than that which was provide by the SWOT
analysis of the company in the Australian market. The SWOT analysis helps in the assessing
the strengths, weaknesses, the opportunities and the threats of a given concern in a given
environment while the PESTLEanalysis helps to precisely define the areas which need to be
paid special attention in order to run a business organization smoothly on its way to success.

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7STRATEGIC THINKING TOOLS (MARKETING)
References
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(2012). Legal disputes over informed consent for cosmetic procedures: a descriptive
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Retrieved 21 November 2017, from https://www.esteelauder.com.au/
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