P&G and SK-II Essay

Paolo de Cesare heads to lacquer to make a decision on one of P&Gs most successful and fast festering products SK-II. SK-II was a high end product that had developed a strong following among Nipponese women, who were increasingly conscious astir(predicate) skin care and unstrained to spend a significant amount of their income. Cesare must decide among cardinal options continue to focus on the Japanese securities industry, introduce the product in china, or introduce it in europium. Decision After careful consideration and analysis, I would recommend that Cesare pursue a strategy that prioritizes a focus on the Japanese commercialise and eventually transitions into China.SK-II is a turn out product in a market that is has yet to be fully tapped. With a penchant for numbers and analysis, Japans consumers are some of the most sophisticated easiest to target in the world. However, Chinas expected prestige-beauty segment growth cannot be ignored. Intense tilt from companies th at have already set up camp in China is to be expected, but core cultural similarities can be extracted from the success of SK-II in the Hong Kong and Taiwanese markets. A table with pros (+) and cons (-) is listed below for each countryCAGE Analysis of the DecisionA CAGE (cultural, administrative, geographic, and scotch) analysis was performed to support this decision. Cultural As far as cultural distance, staying in Japan poses the least amount of threat as P&G would be staying in a market that they are familiar with and have established a strong understanding of consumer needs through massive amounts of market research. China has close ties to Hong Kong and Taiwan, which are countries where SK-II has in like manner been established strongly, however, the European cosmetics market is still in an infancy stage for P&G.Administrative P&G is a global company with administrative support available in various regions. The brand in Japan is well established and makes distance visible for managers. P&Gs comportment in European also well established and would not pose much administrative difficulties in setting up. China is still a unexampled market to P&G in terms of political/governmental systems and building administrative support would be difficult. Geographic Geographically, Europe is the closest to P&Gs headquarters in the US, however, a strong establishment of R&D facilities in Japan would arguably remove any worries about physical remoteness.Again, China is still a newborn market and has only tardily accepted foreign retailers. Economic Japans frugal temper is in stagnation, however, Japans target market for SK-II is strong as women are willing to spend up to $1,000 of their yearly income on the product. While the economic climate of European markets is strong, a high concentration of high-end cosmetics producers are already established and pretend high bargaining power among buyers. China is the most engaging in terms economy and the prestige-b eauty segment is growing significantly faster than that of Japan and Europe.However, high economic trade costs do slightly get-go Chinas potential. Based on the CAGE analysis, Japan is clearly the best choice as it provides the least distance for P&G. China is beautiful as it can take advantage of the cultural similarities to the established markets in Hong Kong and Taiwan and provides the most robust growth opportunity in terms of economic prowess. Adding Value Scorecard Analysis In order to establish a more robust analysis, an Adding Value Scorecard was used to evaluate Japan, China, and Europe.Adding Volume In terms of value creation and economies of scale, adding volume may very well reduce product costs when expanding into all three markets. Further information such as proximity to inputs and raw materials would provide a better view of this perspective. Decreasing Costs In terms of decreasing costs, China would have the highest consolidation costs as P&G would have to se t up a business in a completely new market. Japan and Europe are already well established. Differentiating Differentiating SK-II in Japan is one of the leading reasons for the products success.Consumers value the analysis of scientifically proven benefits that the product provides. Establishing this political theory in China will be difficult for P&G but the success of the product in Hong Kong and Taiwan may help help the issue. European markets are saturated and have a high level of competition with various established products, and thus, differentiation in this market will be difficult. Improving Industry Attractiveness De-escalating or escalating the degree of rivalry will be a crucial factor when deciding which market to prioritize.Focusing on Japan will further strengthen P&Gs foothold among competitors such as Shiseido, Lion, and Kao. Companies have already been in China for three years (at the time the case was written) and a quick entry for SK-II would foster early entry benefits. European markets are too highly competitive prioritizing this market may induce price wars. Normalizing Risk International operations can provide geographic risk reduction but can also create new sources of risk.While China will provide a new market to diversify P&Gs portfolio, it has still only recently opened its borders to foreign retailers. Strict governmental regulations and lack of transparency in economic predictability may actually increase risk. Europe and Japans economies, piece slow in growth, are established and can be considered low risk. Generating and Upgrading Knowledge/Capabilities Utilizing Japans strong R&D foundation, SK-IIs proven success can help the product line as it expands to capture more market share.For Europe, P&G does not have the expertise to buy with the perfumeries in Germany and France, two of the largest markets in the region. Developing SK-II in China may very well provide additional research findings in a new and growing market. B ased on the above Adding Value Scorecard analysis, P&G can capitalize on its competitive advantage and enter the Japanese market in full force. Further research and developments in Japan may possibly fuel a new strategy for entering the Chinese and European markets.